Burnham's 'Blueprint for National Renewal' has won acclaim from academics for its pioneering approach to co-designing policy with experts and communities. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham's innovative methods are being hailed as a scalable model for nationwide implementation, offering a refreshing alternative to traditional top-down policymaking.
Professor Kate Pickett of the University of York, who chaired the Greater Manchester independent inequalities commission, highlights Burnham's commitment to incorporating research and frontline expertise into policy-making. The city-region's inequalities report, which was once set aside, is now being actively utilised by Burnham to reorient Greater Manchester towards addressing interconnected factors contributing to a thriving population and place.
The blueprint suggests that if Burnham were to assume a national leadership role, he would require robust support to prioritise social and economic policies that are demonstrably effective and cost-efficient, even if politically challenging. To facilitate this, Professor Pickett advocates for the establishment of a new national institute for social change, modelled on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This body would provide a framework for improved medium to long-term policymaking.
The proposed institute would be tasked with generating a continuous pipeline of independent, objective, and rigorous guidance and information. Its primary function would be to quantify the long-term benefits of present investments in social and environmental infrastructure, thereby providing clear justifications for sustained strategic investments that transcend short-term electoral pressures.
The concept underscores a desire for evidence-based policymaking that looks beyond immediate electoral gains, focusing instead on sustained societal improvement. By prioritising long-term thinking and objective analysis, this proposed framework seeks to address the limitations imposed by the current political landscape, where policy decisions are often influenced by short-term public opinion or economic pressures.