A key output of the Institute are short, impact-focused policy briefings aimed at addressing topical issues and important policy questions. Since 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, IMP Researcher, Dr Mathew Flynn has authored two policy briefings, and co-authored a further briefing.
In late 2020, the briefing ‘Securing the Future of Liverpool City Region's Live and Dance Music Sector’ outlined the challenges faced by the Liverpool City Region’s music sector in navigating a return to live music events and presented several key recommendations for the sector and policymakers written at a point of great uncertainty pre-vaccine rollout.
Following the success of Liverpool’s hosting of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, the briefing ‘Eurovision 2023: Delivering a Eurovision legacy for Liverpool's music sector’ discussed ways in which the Liverpool City Region could capitalise on the successes of Eurovision 2023, maximise the city’s UNESCO designation as a City of Music, and support the region’s live music sector and wider night-time economy.
In May 2024, a further Eurovision themed policy briefing was released. This was co-authored by Dr Mathew Flynn, Dr Patrick Ballantyne (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Liverpool Department of Geography and Planning), Dr Richard Anderson (Postdoctoral Research Associate and fellow Institute of Popular Music Researcher) and Professor Alex Singleton (Professor of Geographic Information Science at University of Liverpool). The briefing uses Mastercard transaction data to offer a detailed and robust analysis of the distribution of consumer spending during Eurovision 2023, demonstrating an uplift in consumer spending alongside a hyper-localised boom in the area surrounding the event’s Eurovision Village. The briefing concludes by pointing to “the power of data drawn from partnerships with private companies” which “can inform future policies around large-scale events in cities and regions.”
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