EXPLORE OUR RESEARCH
Housing & Communities
We explore the policies, challenges, and opportunities shaping housing and communities across the Midlands. Our research focuses on building thriving, inclusive neighbourhoods where people have access to safe, affordable homes and resources they need to flourish.
Digital
Digital technology is transforming how we live, work, and connect. Our research examines how the Midlands can harness digital innovation to boost productivity, close the digital divide, and ensure everyone benefits from the opportunities of a connected future.
Infrastructure
From transport networks to energy systems, infrastructure is the backbone of a thriving region. We investigate how the Midlands can develop sustainable, resilient infrastructure that drives economic growth, improves connectivity, and enhances quality of life.
Employability & Skills
The region faces some of the UK’s highest levels of economic inactivity, persistent productivity gaps, and deep inequalities between places. The Board will provide a policy platform capable of shaping long-term solutions that support inclusive growth and a competitive, future-ready workforce.
We are the only independent, non-partisan, not for profit think tank for the West Midlands region.
Producing Research. Informing Policy. Creating a ‘better’ West Midlands.
RTR MEMBERS
Individuals and organisations united to shape the Midlands’ future.
EVENTS
TO DATE
Thought-provoking gatherings connecting people and ideas across the region.
KEY ADVISORS
Experts and researchers driving our mission forward every day across the region and beyond
LINKEDIN FOLLOWERS
Active business partners collaborating to deliver real impact in the Midlands.
NEWS & EXPERT COMMENTARY
Ten Years On, St Basils’ Innovative Housing Model Is Changing Young Lives Across the West Midlands
A major new evaluation published today by the Centre for the New Midlands (CNM) reveals that St Basils’ pioneering Live...
The Renters’ Rights Act: welcome reform but unintended consequences?
As the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force this Friday, England’s private rented sector enters a new era: one that...
Growth Doesn’t Fail—It Gets Misdefined
There is a persistent and comfortable belief in both business and regional development that when growth slows, the problem must...
Mandating the Future: What Happens When Choice Disappears in Housing?
Last month the government finally announced the introduction of the new Future Homes Standard (FHS). In the midst of the...
A CNM response to the Future Homes Standard
Following the publication of the Government’s Future Home Standard (FHS), our Housing and Communities Leadership Board has offered its reflections...
No such thing as a problem
A Dutch man I used to work with many years ago had a saying, “Er bestaat niet zoiets als een...
New report released – The Data Dilemma in Housing
At the start of March, we took a group of 20 senior leaders from across the housing sector and digital...
#CFP26: 16 July 2026
Save the date!
Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham
UPCOMING EVENTS
