Manchester City Council:
Economic Recovery and Investment Plan
Project Overview
Amid spiking unemployment and a sharp downturn in the economy in the early days of the first Covid-19 lockdown, we were invited by Manchester City Council to develop the work and skills priorities and recommendations within Manchester’s Economic Recovery and Investment Plan.
With Government yet to formulate its response to the economic impact of the pandemic, our team undertook extensive desk-based analysis of key data and policy developments, providing new insight on the impact of the pandemic. Working to a challenging timescale, we used the conclusions of this work to inform a programme of interviews with over forty employers, training and welfare to work providers, local, national and regional policymakers and stakeholders.
Having built a set of evidence-based findings about the issues facing the city’s labour market, we developed priorities and actionable recommendations in response (with associated implementation plan), working with the grain of local, city regional and national policy thinking. This was endorsed by elected members and incorporated within Manchester City Council’s Economic Recovery and Investment Plan. The project’s conclusions were subsequently adopted by Core Cities and used in dialogue with HM Government to shape its ‘Plan for Jobs’, which included policy decisions that mirrored our recommendations.
What our client said
“Think provided a very rapid and deep analysis of the early changes that were happening in Manchester’s labour market as a result of Covid and who and where was most adversely affected. As well as the quantitative analysis, it included helpful feedback from businesses and stakeholders. It has stood us in good stead and we are still using the report’s analysis and conclusions (albeit amended in the light of experience) 20 months later”
— Angela Harrington, Director of Inclusive Economy at Manchester City Council