To put it simply, if a country wants to do well, it must do good. Simon Anholt, founder of the Good Country Index, shares his thoughts on how nations can make a real impact on the global stage and create genuine, lasting positive perceptions.

Understanding how we can build on community goodwill will be critical for authentic and resilient recovery. Power to Change, an independent trust that supports community businesses in England, shares lessons from some of England’s most innovative community leaders to understand how places around the world can work more effectively with their community as we rebuild.

COVID-19 has encouraged us all to find new ways of working, but can we ever lose the personal touch in investment promotion? Sirpa Tsimal, Director of Investment Promotion at Switzerland Global Enterprise, shares her insights on the digital vs the human approach to investment attraction.

If there are any silver linings to the COVID-19 pandemic, the renewed spirit of global collaboration and creative innovation would be one. As one of the few EDOs to collaborate with the private sector in the UN's Global Hack, Locate in Kent share advice for EDOs looking to ensure their organisations are sufficiently resourced and agile to survive and thrive through the crisis and the recovery period.

In our recent survey looking at Place Branding for the 2020s, we asked our respondents whether their storytelling was rooted in place values or focused primarily on place assets – the answers suggested a slightly stronger focus on assets. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us an opportunity to pause and think about whether we want to continue on the same tracks we've been running along for the last five decades or if there's time for real change in the way that we think about what we are doing, and what our places stand for.