New Deal or no go?

Another of the government's many schemes to boost the economy in the parts the market doesn't reach is coming up for evaluation. The New Deal for Communities, a ten-year, £2 billion regeneration programme aimed at the most deprived parts of England, is to be judged by a consortium led by Sheffield Hallam University, according to a press release from that uni.

Professor Paul Lawless, from Hallam's Centre for Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University: “This is a real chance to evaluate fully how areas benefit from sustained neighbourhood renewal. NDC puts regeneration into the hands of the communities who will benefit and this study will help us to see how and why partnerships have been able to transform their localities.”

An admirable aim, so be interesting to see how it's all panning out. It would of course be cynical to suggest that the £9 million research funding from the scheme's architects at the ODPM might sway the conclusions.

For a more informal look at another government scheme to fix perceived market failures, see this recent article on the progress so far of the Regional Venture Capital Funds.