Role
Will is Professor of Regional Policy and Development and Director of the Centre for Economy, Policy and Place at Nottingham Business School. This centre brings together researchers working on economic and public policy issues with an emphasis on ‘place’, public and emergency services and applied economics.
Will's research interests relate to local and regional economic development, the policy process, economic and institutional path dependence. He teaches on a number of economics modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The main focus of his teaching is economic evaluation and regional policy where he provides a practitioner's perspective on the application of economics to policy and practice.
Will also contributes to the delivery of executive education on the East Midlands Transformational Leadership Programme, for the National Fire Chiefs Council and on Institute of Economic Development CPD Approved short courses relating to economic evaluation and economic development.
Career overview
Prior to joining NTU in 2011 Will had spent 15 years working in a variety of Economic Development roles within the East Midlands. As Head of Strategy and Research at the East Midlands Development Agency will led EMDA's Strategy, Research and Evaluation Team. Principal responsibilities included provision of corporate strategy and intelligence functions included the development and monitoring of the Regional Economic Strategy and its underpinning evidence base; leading the design and delivery of EMDA's programme of impact evaluation; and provision of expert public policy support and monitoring Parliamentary affairs.
Research areas
Will's research interests relate to regional and local economic development, economic evaluation, public policy and governance.
Recent research projects have include ESRC funded research on the impacts of the Covid pandemic on voluntary sector organisations, community engagement and domestic fire risk, local economic impacts of extending the Nottingham Tram, the emergence of a bioscience cluster in Nottingham, bio-science business incubators in the UK, local and regional economic path creation.
Will welcomes research proposals from students interested in undertaking projects addressing aspects of local and regional economic development, regional policy in the UK, economic development and regeneration in the East Midlands. Will is currently supervising a PhD studentship focussing on developing community led approaches to inclusive growth with the East Midlands County Combined Authority. Will is Co-Chair of the EMCCA/RA Inclusive Growth Commission's Expert Evidence Advisory Group.
The NTU Doctoral School website has more information on doctoral research opportunities at NBS.
External activity
- Fellow of the Regional Studies Association
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member and of the Institute for Economic Development
Sponsors and collaborators
- Will is Co-Chair of the EMCCA/RA Inclusive Growth Commission's Expert Evidence Advisory Group (2025).
- Will works with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Services on data and evaluation relating to community engagement, fire risk and workforce development.
- Will is a member of the ESRC's Peer Review College (2025)
- Will contributed to the first Independent Economic Review of the Midlands (2020)
- Will was founding Deputy Director of the Midlands Engine Observatory (2019)
- Will is an Associate of City REDI at the University of Birmingham (2016+)
- Worked with the Nottingham Civic Exchange and the Royal Society of Arts to advise the D2N2 LEP on inclusive growth metrics and related investment criteria (2017).
- Have undertaken strategic consultancy work for Oxford Innovation (2015).
- Member of the Midlands Engine Economic Planning Group.
- Worked with the Nottingham Post on the ‘Great Nottingham Debate’ (2015).
- Participated in the New Economics Foundation’s Good Jobs Taskforce (2013).
Press expertise
economic aspects of spatial planning / development
employment and skills policy
economic and business policy
economic and labour market issues
economic development and regeneration
economic wellbeing and sustainability