What Are Place-Based Business Cases?

This report explains what a place-based business case is and how such cases can support more effective, strategic, and accountable investment decisions across local and national government. Drawing on insights from the Green Book review and City-REDI research, this document outlines three potential purposes for place-based business cases: funding gateways, strategic investment frameworks, and governance tools. It recommends a hybrid model that enhances decision-making, strengthens collaboration, and supports place-wide outcomes.

“A place-based business case is not just a bid, it’s a decision-making tool. Done well, it can clarify priorities, improve transparency, build local capability, and help central government allocate resources fairly.”

Professor Rebecca Riley

Read the full analysis and explore how place-based business cases can strengthen strategic planning and fairer investment across the UK.

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Meet the author

Professor Rebecca Riley

Professor Rebecca (Bec) Riley is Co-Director of City-REDI, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Regional Engagement, Director of the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub, and Professor of Enterprise, Engagement, and Impact at the University of Birmingham’s Business School.

Bec’s research interests focus on regional economic development, including research to develop policy and regional strategies, monitoring frameworks, economic forecasting, skills and labour market analysis, and strategic business cases and project evaluation. She applies a mixed methods approach in her research, with a strong focus and record of impactful policy-relevant applied research and stakeholder engagement. She is an experienced lead on research projects, with over 200 research projects carried out across academia, policy, and consultancy roles.

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Publications

Outside-In: The Role of Social Entrepreneurs in Public Sector Transformation

This policy paper explores the role of social entrepreneurs as “outside-in” actors in public sector transformation. It argues that, in a period of profound institutional transition, public systems need to learn not only from within formal structures but also from actors operating at their boundaries. The briefing examines how social

Building Intergovernmental Capability Through Secondments: Lessons From Japan for the UK

This policy briefing explores how England’s devolution reforms could work more effectively by using staff secondments as a core part of the delivery system. Drawing on lessons from Japan’s structured, legally grounded approach, it shows how predictable and reciprocal staff movement can strengthen local capability, improve coordination across government tiers,

Policy Fragmentation and Place-Based Opportunity in UK Fashion and Textiles

This report analyses the positioning of the UK fashion and textiles sector within national, devolved and local policy frameworks to assess its capacity to operate as a stable, place-based economic system that supports skills retention, inclusive growth and regional resilience. Using fashion and textiles as a case study for the

AI in Local Government: Adoption, Benefits and Challenges

This report provides a timely stocktake of how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government, what benefits are emerging, and what barriers still limit its wider deployment. It draws on analysis of 101 published AI case studies and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, from local and central