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The main aim of this paper is to develop a holistic understanding of place branding and reflect on its practical value and implications, by drawing evidence from the rebranding process of three UK towns (Alsager, Altrincham and Holmfirth) that participated in the HSUK2020 project.

A comprehensive place branding process that includes the interrelated stages of research, deliberation, consultation, action and communication is presented. The practical value of this theoretical proposition is linked to the experiences of three UK towns that participated in the HSUK2020 project.

The importance of research, the challenges of participation and the role of communications in place branding processes were identified as primary issues in all towns. The results of the project demonstrate the significance of the initial research stage of the place branding process and show that the process as a whole is valuable in helping places deal effectively with identity issues.

Participatory place branding processes can flourish when place stakeholders are engaged in the right context and are encouraged to work together. In addition, place brands are important cues and empower stakeholders’ participation in all stages of place brand processes.

Knowledge exchange projects that have the potential to engage a plethora of place stakeholders should be considered by practitioners for future place branding strategies.

The paper offers a refreshing practical grounding on participatory place branding concepts and theories. The value of knowledge exchange strategies for examining the field of place branding is also highlighted and can become a useful research approach for future research.

The purpose of the paper is to present and critically discuss the findings of the ESRC-funded HS2020 project. The aim is to discuss the retail-led change that has happened to the High Streets that participated to the project that, in some cases, is revolutionary and is leading to the reinvention of the place. To do so reference is made to various retail change theories discussing both institutional and consumer-led change.

This is a discussion paper on the findings of the HS2020 project.

The major finding reported in this paper is that the reinvention is a natural learning process that involves the comprehension of change and the development of knowledge that will lead to the reinvention of the High Street.

The findings of the research are based on data that were collected from a total of ten towns across the UK.

The paper suggests that to reinvent the High Street the stakeholders that are involved in the place decision-making processes they should embrace the change as a natural development and try to understand and learn from it rather than resisting to it. The HS2020 project provides a comprehensive guide of the areas that change can be managed and if it happens it can facilitate the reinvention.

The paper is relevant to the academic community, as it offers insight to the theories of retail change, and to the practitioners, as it provides evidence as to how to deal with the change that happens to the High Streets.

Drawing on evidence from ten towns (across England, Wales and Northern Ireland) participating in the High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020) project, the purpose of this paper is to reveal how local stakeholders involved in place management respond to high street decline through a strategy of repositioning.

This paper identifies the challenges faced by the towns considering repositioning, and highlights examples of good practice of relevance to the practitioners. First, it outlines the perspectives on repositioning from the academic research and theory, before drawing on evidence from across ten UK towns that participated in the HSUK2020 project, to reveal how repositioning involves more than just taking a snapshot profile of a place.

The research revealed major challenges faced by local stakeholders in clearly identifying and communicating their market position, in particular, the maintenance of up-to-date information on catchments was lacking at all the locations. Despite having local knowledge and some data, stakeholders still did not possess a clear (or shared) understanding of the identity or function of their towns. This evidence reflects the complexity of analysing and understanding repositioning and developing coherent strategies.

Knowledge exchange between stakeholders involved in place management can help inform the identification of new strategic objectives, appropriate interventions and project planning and delivery. Where resources are limited, particularly in smaller towns and settlements, the research demonstrates the significance of collecting and sharing data and analysis with other stakeholders, because this can generate positive outcomes for all.

By offering empirical evidence based on the experience of local practitioners, this paper provides valuable insight into how town centre stakeholders collect, interpret and analyse data, revealing the challenges, opportunities and practicalities involved in developing and implementing repositioning strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to document the results and the impact of the ESRC-funded High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020), a project designed to take the existing academic knowledge relating to retail and high street change directly to UK High Streets, to improve local decision-making and, ultimately, their vitality and viability.

Through a systematic literature review, and by following the tenets of engaged scholarship, the authors identified 201 factors that influence the vitality and viability of town centres. Through the consensus-building Delphi technique, a panel of 20 retail experts identified the top 25 priorities for action.

Taking a place management approach led to the development of a more strategic framework for regeneration, which consisted of repositioning, reinventing, rebranding and restructuring strategies (4R’s of regeneration). Collaboration with the project towns resulted in identification of the strategy area that would add the most value, and the impact of the 4R’s and the top 25 priorities is demonstrated via numerous town examples.

Knowledge exchange projects, such as High Street UK2020, have an important contribution to make, not by developing even more theory that is unlikely to get utilised, instead their contribution is to bring existing theory into practical use.

This study aims to explore UK Business Improvement Districts' (BIDs) responses and practices to the COVID crisis and evaluates how these influenced their organisational identity. The paper aims to highlight the possible shift in BIDs' operations that can lead to their positioning as integral facilitators of place management initiatives in their local areas.

The authors stress the confused nature of BID identity and highlight how BID activities and business plans correspond to subsequent crises through the lens of crisis management and disaster management frameworks. A mixed-methods, exploratory, sequential approach was taken, incorporating interviews and survey responses from UK BID managers in two distinct phases between October and December 2020.

The findings of the study suggest a greater emphasis on communication strategies and the formation of partnerships during the lockdown periods, along with a renewed understanding of a BID's role towards place leadership, resilience and public safety.

The practical implications of this work show a shift in BID business practices, programmes and services and highlight the need to establish a set of industry standards and best practices with enhanced place leadership responsibilities.

The research provides a detailed snapshot of the UK BID industry during the COVID crisis and shows the possibility for BIDs to reframe their identity as locally bound, place-based organisations that have a more direct role in place management.

The purpose of this paper is to review the development and current position of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in the UK, drawing on the content within a State-of-the-Art Review of Business Improvement Districts in the UK: setting the agenda for policy, practice and research, commissioned by The BID Foundation and produced by members of the Institute of Place Management.

The paper is divided into seven main sections. The first section defines the concept of BIDs, outlines their process of establishment and provides a brief critique of BIDs from the academic literature. Second, the process of introducing BIDs into the UK is discussed. Third, the different types of BIDs that currently exist are detailed. The fourth section outlines the development of BIDs since their introduction in 2004. Fifth, an analysis of BID ballots is provided, involving details of ballot results, demonstrating a general improvement as BIDs develop over time. The sixth section comprises a discussion of unsuccessful ballots and BID terminations. The paper concludes with a brief analysis of issues BIDs face in the UK, looking into the future.

The paper contains three main empirical contributions: first, a numerical analysis of the different types of BIDs in the UK; second, a timeline of their development from 2005 to 2018; and third, a statistical analysis of BID ballot results over this period, with an indication of the numbers of unsuccessful ballots and BID terminations.

This paper provides the first comprehensive overview of BIDs in the UK detailing development and performance (e.g. ballot results) in the 15 years since their introduction.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce engaged scholarship as a method for addressing the “wicked problem” of High Street change through successful collaboration and co-production of knowledge between academics, practitioners, citizens and other place stakeholders.

The first part of this paper introduces engaged scholarship as a participatory form of research and situates it within the context of the High Street. The second part presents the case of High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020) via Van de Ven’s diamond model of engaged scholarship as a guide.

Engaged scholarship’s focus on knowledge production and on collaboration between the research team and the community enabled us to improve the understanding of factors affecting High Streets amongst a diverse group of stakeholders and focus on what works for the towns. The ongoing impact of HSUK2020 on the project towns’ action plans and on this current research is testament to how engaged scholarship research can drive the agendas for both academics and communities.

The paper presents engaged scholarship as an alternative collaborative method of conducting research on the High Street, one that is more in line with the current trends in retailing and works as a motivating factor for community engagement.

The purpose of this short article is to outline a research agenda to further our understanding of how retail areas are influenced by, and adapt to, change. This is part of an Economic and Social Research Council-funded project High Street UK 2020.

We outline a research agenda – containing factors which High Street stakeholders in Alsager, Altrincham, Ballymena, Barnsley, Bristol, Congleton, Holmfirth, Market Rasen, Morley and Wrexham have identified as influencing the vitality and viability of their retail areas. Currently, there is little or no academic evidence available to support these factors; therefore, they are worthy of further research.

The towns assert that the following factors influence High Street performance (either positively or negatively) and need further research: business support; engagement and engaged businesses; fragmentation; information; Internet connectivity; local knowledge; measuring economic impact/value; media coverage; networking; public sector dependency and risk aversion.

Only 10 towns have taken part in the research. Nevertheless, they are representative of the research-user community for retail centre research.

This research agenda will enable researchers to respond to a clear gap in our knowledge about High Street performance, as identified by towns themselves.

By undertaking the research that people that manage retail areas need, it will enable practitioners to make better informed decisions and manage these important areas more effectively to the benefit of their local communities.

By allowing town centre managers, traders, council members/officials and “concerned citizens” to set the agenda for research production in the area of retail centre change, we anticipate forthcoming research in this area will be more highly valued by practitioners and have more impact in “the real world”.