Dr Jonathan Webb MSc BA
Principal Research Fellow
Summary
Jonathan is a Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic Social Research (CRESR). He has a primary focus on housing research and co-ordinates the Centre's Housing and Place research cluster. Alongside his interest in housing, Jonathan has produced influential policy reports on topics ranging from industrial decarbonisation to regional economic policy. Jonathan’s academic research focuses on a plethora of housing and land issues, as well as an interest in policymaking and knowledge mobilisation within the policymaking process. The latter includes an interest in international and comparative politics. Alongside these thematic interests, Jonathan has extensive experience of deliberative research methods. He has applied these in a range of research projects and is interested in both the practical and theoretical implications of deliberation in relation to policymaking.
About
Jonathan is currently leading on key aspects of CRESR’s contract work with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Previously, he worked as a Research Director at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) where he was based in the Centre for Deliberative Research. He continues to apply this methodological expertise in deliberative methods to his work and he maintains an interest in analysing the role that deliberation can play in improving policymaking. Prior to NatCen, Jonathan spent several years at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and IPPR North think tanks. Here, he led the IPPR’s work on housing and contributed to a range of policy reports. These covered topics such as regional governance, economic policy, housing quality and the net zero transition.
Jonathan obtained his PhD in politics in 2018 from the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield. His early post-doctoral research resulted in several publications. It focussed broadly on analysing policymaking processes and policy outcomes in relation to European Union policy in South East Europe. This background informs his contemporary interest in analysing policymaking in the UK, with a view to using comparative politics approaches.
Research interests
- The politics of housing
- Homelessness
- Poverty and housing
- Housing affordability
- Housing and land policy in an international and comparative context
- Decarbonisation of homes
- Energy policy
- Governance and devolution, with a specific focus on devolution in England
- Policymaking processes
- Policy analysis and evaluation
- Deliberative research methods
Publications
Journal articles
Webb, J. (2022). The ‘refugee crisis’ and its transformative impact on EU-Western Balkans relations. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48 (6), 1363-1380. http://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2020.1851466
Parramore, S., & Webb, J. (2021). Rejecting the Neoliberal Balkan Land Grab Hypothesis: The Absence of the EU’s Transformative Power in Land Use Governance in Bosnia and Serbia. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 23 (2), 358-377. http://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2020.1867804
Webb, J. (2018). Resolving contestation through discursive engagement: towards the contextual diffusion of EU rule of law norms? Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 18 (3), 401-418. http://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2018.1504187
Reports
BIllingham, Z., Frost, S., Swift, R., & Webb, J. (2023). Parallel lives: Regionally rebalancing wealth, power and opportunity. IPPR and IPPR North. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/parallel-lives
Webb, J., Emden, J., & Gray, N. (2023). The hydrogen powerhouse?: Demystifying the North's hydrogen economy. IPPR North. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/the-hydrogen-powerhouse
Webb, J., Swift, R., & Qureshi, A. (2022). High standards: Developing a property improvement model for the private rented sector in Greater Manchester. IPPR North. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/high-standards-developing-a-property-improvement-model-for-the-private-rented-sector-in-greater-manchester
Webb, J., Qureshi, A., Frost, S., & Massey-Chase, B. (2022). Net zero places: A community-powered response to the climate crisis. IPPR North. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/net-zero-places
Webb, J., Johns, M., Roscoe, E., Giovannini, A., Qureshi, A., & Baldini, R. (2022). State of the North 2021/22: Powering northern excellence. IPPR North. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/state-of-the-north-2021-22-powering-northern-excellence
Bramley, G., Morris, M., Mort, L., Netto, G., Filip, S., & Webb, J. (2021). The scale, causes, and impacts of homelessness among EEA Citizens, Heriot-Watt University and IPPR. Crisis. https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/246343/eea-report_v3.pdf
Webb, J. (2021). Forging the future: A vision for northern steel’s net zero transformation. IPPR North. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/forging-the-future
Webb, J., Emden, J., & Murphy, L. (2020). All hands to the pump: A home improvement plan for England. IPPR. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/all-hands-to-the-pump
Webb, J., & Murphy, L. (2020). Renting beyond their means: The role of living rent in addressing housing affordability. IPPR. https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/living-rent
Webb, J., Neesom, S., Johnson, C., & Tilley, H. (2019). The Value of Trade Unions in Wales. Wales Centre for Public Policy. https://www.wcpp.org.uk/publication/the-value-of-trade-unions-in-wales/
Webb, J., Parken, A., Hodges, H., & Mathias, M. (2018). Promoting Job Progression in Low Pay Sectors. Wales Centre for Public Policy. https://www.wcpp.org.uk/publication/promoting-job-progression-in-low-pay-sectors/