Productivity Research Conference  4th – 5th September 2025 Find out more

A diverse community of leading experts, policymakers and practitioners

The Institute’s key research themes are led by ten academic partners spread across the UK.

Investment in Places research project

Working closely with policymakers

We’re a UK-wide research organisation exploring what productivity means for business

Businesses are crucial to solving the UK’s productivity problems.

Research

TPI Insight papers

The UK’s capital gap: a short-fall in the trillions of pounds that will take decades to bridge

A low level of capital to support workers is a key cause of the UK’s low labour productivity.

Measurement & methods
Jun 2, 2025

Productivity, performance indicators and motivation: A case study in the UK’s non-profit cultural heritage sector

What factors give performance indicators motivational power in the non-profit cultural heritage sector?

Productivity Studies
Apr 16, 2025

Purpose in business: a review

This review explores the debates underpinning purpose in business, defined in terms of focusing on finding profitable solutions for people and the planet.

Organisational Capital
Feb 24, 2025

So, What Went Wrong with HS2?

An investigation into how HS2 got into a financial mess, with the goal of learning the lessons and ensuring that they are never repeated.

Productivity Studies
Feb 12, 2025
Ely cathedral

East Anglia: Exploring Economic Strengths and Addressing Productivity Challenges

The East Anglia Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 31, 2025

NI Productivity 2040: Addressing Northern Ireland’s productivity gap for greater prosperity

The Northern Ireland Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 31, 2025

Wales’ Productivity Challenge: A Focus on the Future

The Wales Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 27, 2025

Productivity in the Midlands: Trends, Challenges & Solutions

The Midlands Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 27, 2025

Productivity, Training and Skills in Yorkshire, the Humber and the North East

The Yorkshire, Humber and North East Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 27, 2025

North West Productivity and Growth Strategies

The North West Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 27, 2025
View of Edinburgh

Scotland’s Productivity Challenge: Exploring the issues – 2025

The Scotland Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 27, 2025
View of London

The Productivity Picture: London and the South

The London and South Productivity Forum's 2025 updated Insights Paper.

Productivity Studies
Jan 27, 2025

Enhancing Productivity: Work-Integrated Learning in the Midlands Space Cluster

Examining the potential of work-integrated learning models to address skills challenges in the UK space sector

Geography & Place
Jan 7, 2025

Directions for Regional Economic Policy in the UK: Lessons from Canada

This paper looks at the regional economic and political structure of the UK and Canada, and how these have evolved over time.

Geography & Place
Jan 7, 2025

Regions, cities and finance: The role of capital shocks and banking reforms in shaping the UK geography of prosperity

This paper examines the role played by financial markets in shaping UK regional growth fortunes.

Geography & Place
Nov 25, 2024

Unbound: UK Trade post-Brexit

A comprehensive analysis of the significant and persistent impact of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK-EU trade relations.

Productivity Studies
Nov 13, 2024
View of Rochdale

Framing a place-based investment strategy for Rochdale

An overview of results from the Investment in Productive Places study for Rochdale

Geography & Place
Nov 13, 2024
Media City, Salford

Making innovation more inclusive

Innovation drives economic growth, but its benefits are not always shared equally.

Knowledge Capital
Nov 6, 2024

Navigating the Productivity Paradox: Strategic Insights from Chief Information Officers

The disconnect between rising ICT investments and stagnant productivity gains remains a significant challenge for organisations.

Organisational Capital
Oct 10, 2024

UK Business Investment: Economists, Managers, Financiers

A review of UK investment assessing the past and offering perspectives on how to improve the UK business investment outlook and outcome.

Productivity Studies
Jun 18, 2024

Maximising productivity through managing new technology

This report focuses on the relationship between the management of new technology and productivity

Productivity Studies
Jun 17, 2024

The role of intermediate Research, Development and Innovation institutes in building regional and sectoral innovation capabilities

A study of international examples of Research, Development and Innovation institutes from the UK’s close competitors such as US, Germany and Japan.

Knowledge Capital
May 17, 2024

A framework for understanding transformation FDI

Exploring the potential for inward investment into the UK to contribute to reducing regional inequality.

Organisational Capital
May 10, 2024

Climate Change and Productivity: Exploring the Links

This paper provides a conceptual overview of the different measures of productivity that are relevant to climate change.

Transitions
Apr 23, 2024

Part-time work and productivity

Part-time work can be a mechanism to enable productive lives for those with care responsibilities or ill-health, But it also may limit talent utilisation even for those able to secure a retention-type part-time job.

Human Capital
Mar 15, 2024

Rebuilding local democracy: the accountability challenge in English devolution

Identifying four different types of accountability in English devolution to help foster economic growth and productivity at a place-based level.

Institutions & Governance
Mar 14, 2024

Public Sector Productivity Review: Fifteen questions

This report suggests a shift in the public sector productivity discussion from cost efficiency to a more comprehensive evaluation of organisational productivity and effectiveness.

Productivity Studies
Mar 7, 2024
Wind turbine and electric vehicle charging

Charging Towards Productivity: Moving Past the Bump in the Road?

This research identifies significant challenges that impede the deployment of charging infrastructure for individuals without access to home charging.

Transitions
Mar 6, 2024

A new UK policy institution for growth and productivity – a blueprint

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 10: A new statutory growth and productivity commission is needed for the UK.

Productivity Studies
Nov 26, 2023

The UK’s productivity challenge: people, firms, and places

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 1: The UK needs an integrated range of pro-productivity policies coordinated within all levels of government.

Productivity Studies
Nov 26, 2023

Regional productivity, inequalities, potential causes, and institutional challenges

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 9: Productivity differences in the UK regions have been increasing for 35 years and cannot be addressed without institutional reform.

Productivity Studies
Nov 24, 2023

Public Sector Productivity – managing the Baumol cost disease

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 8: Further public sector efficiency gains will be hard to achieve through cost-cutting measures alone.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

The green transition: Net Zero as an opportunity to improve productivity

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 7: The Net Zero business opportunity requires action on the supply and demand side.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

Skills for productivity growth

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 6: The UK's policy architecture is inadequate for a high productivity, high skill growth model.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

Why isn’t digitalisation improving productivity growth?

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 5: Investment is needed in physical infrastructure and organisational change to get the full benefits of digital technology.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

Productivity, Innovation and R&D

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 4: The UK’s innovation economy needs to focus on translation, innovation diffusion and discovery.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

The changing landscape of firm-level productivity – anatomy and policy implications

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 3: UK firms would benefit from a simpler and more stable policy environment.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

Investing for the long-run

The Productivity Agenda Chapter 2: Investment should be high in public spending priorities and policy design to help the Net Zero transition.

Productivity Studies
Nov 23, 2023

Driving change in UK housing construction: a Sisyphean task?

This research identified five primary issues that limit the use of MMC as a way to improve productivity in housing construction.

Transitions
Oct 4, 2023
Cranes in the sky

New insights on regional capital investment in the UK – 1997 to 2019

Exploring new data from the Office for National Statistics about the capital investment done in different parts of the UK.

Measurement & methods
Aug 21, 2023
Image of a hand using a touch screen filed with innovation icons

The Rise of Pro-Productivity Institutions: A Review of Analysis and Policy Recommendations

Reviewing the scope, role and impact of national productivity commissions in 10 countries, including the UK.

Productivity Studies
Mar 22, 2023
Graphic of images relating to science and r&d policy

Science and innovation policy for hard times: an overview of the UK’s Research and Development landscape

A look at the history and future of the UK's science and innovation policy.

Knowledge Capital
Dec 16, 2022
National Productivity Year stamps

Reflections on the National Productivity Year of 1962

What were the context, aims and legacy of the National Productivity Year IN 1962 and what does it mean for today’s productivity debate?

Productivity Studies
Dec 6, 2022
Image of ladders against a yellow wall

Between a rock and a hard place: Trade offs between prosperity and inclusivity when implementing regional growth policies

Providing initial data to explore the relationship between prosperity and inequality growth at a UK regional level.

Organisational Capital
Nov 30, 2022
Image of people climbing up books

FECs, innovation, and skills: A literature review

Reviewing the literature on Further Education Colleges (FECs) in the UK and internationally and their role in skills provision to the local and regional economy.

Knowledge Capital
Sep 27, 2022
Coordination graphic

Levelling Up: The Need for an Institutionally Coordinated Approach to National and Regional Productivity

The UK’s endemic regional-national productivity problems cannot be addressed by the UK’s current institutional and governance set-up.

Geography & Place
Jul 4, 2022
Ely cathedral

East Anglia’s Productivity Challenge: Exploring the issues

A look at the productivity issues in East Anglia, part of a series of regional insights from TPI.

Productivity Studies
Feb 1, 2022
Spaghetti junction

The Midlands’ Productivity Challenge: Exploring the issues

An in-depth look at the productivity challenges in the Midlands, part of a series looking at regional issues throughout the UK.

Productivity Studies
Jan 17, 2022
Houses of Parliament

The fiscal implication of levelling up and UK governance devolution

What reforms to the UK's interregional fiscal system will be needed to help deliver the Levelling Up agenda?

Geography & Place
Dec 8, 2021
Truck with a Welsh flag on the side

Wales’ Productivity Challenge: Exploring the issues

An in-depth look at the productivity challenges in Wales, part of a series looking at regional issues throughout the UK.

Productivity Studies
Dec 6, 2021
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