We are delighted that the ESRC, BEIS, DfT, and MHCLG have agreed to extend funding of the WWCLEG for another three years. New funding has placed us in a great position to expand our programming and build upon what we have learned to date.
One important element to help deliver our new work plan is finding great candidates to take up our new senior roles: Head of Evidence and Head of Policy. The Head of Policy will help ensure that evidence and evaluation are embedded in the policy making process – both in Whitehall and local governments. The Head of Evidence will focus on the evidence base, teaching policy makers how to use it and engaging with academics to help us fill the most glaring gaps. They will also have responsibility for managing our new Stimulus Fund, which will give us the ability to fund robust evaluations for the first time.
One of our most important goals is to build a community of practice among economic development professionals with evidence and evaluation as a central tenet. I believe that such a community is starting to take shape – and I am counting on it to spread the word about the new jobs and encourage good candidates to apply!