In this episode of Placecast, Nicola Headlam is joined by Professor Martin Jones, Professor Emeritus and former Professor of Human Geography and Vice Chancellor at Staffordshire University, to explore what a new era of devolution could mean for places across the UK. Against the backdrop of the government's emerging "rewiring the state" agenda, they discuss the growing importance of place-based leadership, the opportunities and challenges of local government reorganisation, and whether the UK is finally moving beyond decades of place-blind economic policy. Nicola Headlam and Professor Martin Jones examine how local identities, institutional capacity and devolved decision-making can shape more inclusive forms of growth.
Their conversation ranges from the lessons of Greater Manchester and Welsh devolution to international examples of innovation, including the Danish job rotation model that Professor Jones believes could transform skills, productivity and employment outcomes in the UK. Along the way, they ask some big questions: Can every place grow? What comes after neoliberalism? And how can policymakers build economies that are not only more productive, but more rooted in the places they serve?
Professor Martin Jones is a higher education leader, researcher and specialist in economic and political geography, state theory, local and regional economic development. He served as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Staffordshire from 2022 to 2026 and is now Professor Emeritus.
Previously, he held senior leadership positions at the University of Sheffield and Aberystwyth University, including Director of the White Rose Social Science Doctoral Training Centre and Pro Vice-Chancellor. Martin has authored or edited 13 books, is the originator of the journal Territory, Politics, Governance, and received the Regional Studies Association’s 2021 Best Book Award for Cities and Regions in Crisis: The Political Economy of Sub-National Economic Development.
Nicola Headlam has over 20 years of experience working across all aspects of the multi-helix innovation system, including central and local government, civil society and campaigning, academic research and knowledge mobilisation, and industry. Along the way, she has honed her expertise in urban and regional subnational economic development, the roles of government in shaping place, and in utilising data and evidence for transformation.
In 2024, she became a freelance economic advisor on the role of leadership and partnerships, urban and living lab forms for research, the future of cities and foresighting methods, urban transformations, place-branding and urban regeneration and the spatial consequences of public policy.
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