Co-production of Place-based policy: The Case of Teesside, UK

This paper argues that co-production of place-based policy has an important part to play in enabling opportunity and addressing disadvantage in regions such as Teesside in the UK. Teesside contains some of the most deprived local authorities in England: Middlesbrough has 48.8 per cent of its LSOAs among the 10 per cent most deprived in England, the highest figure nationally. However, in a 2021 report by the UK2070 Commission, it is argued that the Tees Valley has the potential to increase its contribution to the UK economy by over 40% (UK2070 Commission, 2021). This transition requires that complex socio-economic challenges within the region are addressed. Nuanced place-based approaches are needed to bring together insights from local, regional and national government, business and industry, local communities, and regional universities. Drawing on the results of a range projects located in Teesside that have combined inter-disciplinary expertise from the social sciences, humanities and arts practices specialising in public engagement (Vall, 2017; Newbury-Birch, 2020; Lawrence, Adriana, Jones, Rodgers, Harrison, 2024), we show how these have supported the designing of innovative and imaginative practices, experiences and products to support communities, businesses, and policymakers to better understand and work with local areas to co-produce solutions to pressing issues.