Understanding the impact of inclusive ‘innovation District’ Initiatives

We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD researcher eager to work with a friendly, supportive team of supervisors to conduct high-quality research on Innovation Districts, an increasingly important phenomenon in urban regeneration and innovation, and at the same time work closely with the team behind Manchester’s exciting new ID development, SISTER Manchester. The student will join the Ph.D. Programme in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research.

IDs are fashionable strategies for driving urban innovation, increasingly integral to place-making and -branding strategies in cities like Barcelona, Berlin, Melbourne, Stockholm and Toronto. As urban, mixed-use developments, IDs differ from earlier waves of single-use suburban/exurban development, such as science parks, and are often associated with efforts to support sustainable urban development, innovation and inclusion. But critics worry that IDs can become gentrified high-tech enclaves.

The project will explore how IDs can support inclusive innovation at the neighbourhood and city-region scale, and how this might be evidenced. The candidate will study cases of ID initiatives to draw lessons about how IDs could become positive drivers of inclusive, knowledge-based economic development and regeneration and avoid merely sucking economic activity from other districts, excluding local people or generating other negative spillovers. The key academic gain from the project will be improved critical understanding of the practice-based idea of IDs, but the insights will also directly inform the design of an evaluation and impact assessment framework for the SISTER Manchester development, which has ambitious aims to be inclusive.

The Manchester Institute of Innovation Research is a highly interdisciplinary and engaged research environment, and we welcome applicants from a range of disciplinary and methodological backgrounds such as STS and innovation studies, economic geography and regional studies, planning or architecture, public policy studies and sociology.

Eligibility

Academic requirements

• Bachelor’s (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
• Normally, a Master’s degree in a relevant cognate subject normally with an overall average of 65% or above (or overseas equivalent)
• Professional qualifications other than a Bachelors Degree and/or relevant and appropriate experience may be taken into account for entry to a PhD programme.

English Language

All applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency:

• IELTS test minimum scores – 7.0 overall, 6.5 other sections.
• TOEFL (internet based) test minimum scores – 100 overall, 25 in all sections.
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) UKVI/SELT or PTE Academic minimum scores – 76 overall, 76 in writing, 70 in other sections.
• To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
• Other tests may be considered.

Application Procedure

The application deadline will be Midnight (GMT) on 05/03/2025. Apply online for PhD Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at the University of Manchester.

Under Section 6 Research Details select ‘Yes’ to Are you applying for an advertised project. Insert the project title as stated at the top of the advert. It is recommended when entering the name of the supervisor to simply enter this and not use the supervisor search function.

Please indicate in Section 9 Funding Sources your intention to apply for the ESRC CASE Studentship.

Please ensure all required supporting documents are included at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. Your application must include the following:

• A copy of your Bachelor’s academic transcript and certificate.
• A copy of your Master’s academic transcript and certificate. If your Master’s degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
• If you have completed more than one Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, please provide evidence for each. If your transcripts are in a language other than English, you must provide an official English translation. If your weighted average mark or GPA is not included on these documents, please also include an official document from your university verifying this information.
• An academic CV, summarising your employment history, publications and highlighting experience demonstrating your research potential.
• Supporting statement of a maximum of 700 words indicating why you would like to undertake this studentship and explaining how your focus, experience, and skills link to the research outlined above
• Example of a piece of academic writing produced by you of up to 5,000 words (you may consider submitting two shorter pieces if these deal separately with conceptual and empirical analyses). This may be an academic essay or chapter(s) from a dissertation, in which case, an abstract or introduction outlining the context/aims/research questions of the study must also be included. In Section 12, upload the Writing Sample under Research Statement/Proposal and label it clearly as “Writing Sample.”
• You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution). Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following the submission of your application form. You may wish to contact your referees to request they submit your reference in a reasonable timeframe as this forms part of the review process.
• Please submit a complete copy of the ESRC NWSSDTP Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form.
• A PhD Proposal is not required.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Prof. Kieron Flanagan (kieron.flanagan@manchester.ac.uk)

Formal interviews: Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 24th March 2025.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and are at the heart of all of our activities. We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.

We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.