Hot on the heels of being voted in for a second term, Cardiff’s BID is aiming to position the Welsh Capital as the UK’s first Equality City. Before she joins us at City Nation Place UK this November, Carolyn Brownell, Head of Marketing and Communications at FOR Cardiff, explains how the city has taken it’s first steps towards realising this ambitious vision.

How does place branding evolving during a pandemic? Mark Thomas, President of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance - and one of our jurors for the upcoming City Nation Place Awards - joined us to explain the thinking behind Pittsburgh's re-brand and how they're putting the focus on inclusive recovery. 

How are cities evolving to meet global challenges? And what does the future talent market look like? We reached out to Mateu Hernandez, Director at Barcelona Global, to understand how Barcelona is putting talent and equitable development in the spotlight as they work towards recovery.

Nine months on from the start of a global lockdown, the path for recovery is still very much unclear. But many places are making strong headway into their recovery strategies. Laurence Garino, Head of Monaco’s Welcome Office, shared how the Principality is adapting to support their residents and businesses during the crisis.

Globally, FDI inflows are expected to decrease up to 40% according to the UN and competition is fierce as places look to shore up shaken economies and the pressure on governments to create employment increases. Now more than ever, investment destinations need to stand out.

Pittsburgh is revolutionising their talent attraction strategy – and having the hard conversations about racism and inequality. Alison Treaster, Senior Director of Talent, at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, shared how the Pittsburgh Passport initiative is connecting to talented individuals around the world and helping the region move towards a more equitable future.

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 2018, Discover Harlow were shortlisted at the City Nation Place Awards for their comprehensive place brand strategy that was overturning decades of negative perceptions. We caught up with Sharon Summerfield, Place Brand Manager at Discover Harlow, to understand how their strategy has evolved over the last years - and how it's underpinned their COVID-19 response.

A global recession is unavoidable. UNCTAD [The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development] are estimating that global FDI could drop by as much as 40%. And with companies likely to look towards regionalising their supply chains, a comprehensive Aftercare strategy has never been more important. But how has Aftercare evolved to meet the demands of a COVID-19 world?

Singapore has been praised for its rapid response to the outbreak of COVID-19. We spoke to Keith Tan, CEO at the Singapore Tourism Board, to understand how they played a key role in supporting the Government's containment strategy and how they're supporting their stakeholders through the crisis and the recovery that will follow.