The Place-Based Investing Network
The UK stands at an inflection point. New policy direction, growing stakeholder expectations, and a widening investment gap are reshaping what “good investing” needs to look like. Across the country, more organisations want to align capital with real-world outcomes for people and places – but too often they’re navigating unfamiliar territory alone.
We envision a future where financial investment is not just about returns, but is aligned with societal needs, driving good jobs, business dynamism, human development and social cohesion. But this vision cannot be realised in isolation. It requires a fundamental shift in how we collaborate, innovate and invest.
Introducting The Place-Based Investing Network
Join other key players from across the local investing and productive finance ecosystem to discuss the key actions required to build a good economy. Become part of a network of asset owners, fund managers, place-makers and public leaders – all looking to collaborate, network and learn together to scale local investing and build an ecosystem of productive finance.
Because scaling local investing and productive finance isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s an ecosystem challenge – and ecosystems advance when people learn fast, act together, and trust one another.
Interested in becoming a Place-Based Investing Network Member?
Why Now?
The Place-Based Investing Network moves the debate from "what" and "how" to "who"
The Good Economy was founded with the purpose of accelerating the transition to a good economy where financial systems deliver not just returns but better outcomes for society. We have always seen this is a collective endeavour – our mission cannot be realised working alone.
The Place-Based Investing Network builds on the momentum of our previous network, the PBII Network, which was launched in 2023 with the support of the Institute of Economic Development and the Impact Investing Institute. It raised awareness of place-based impact investing, provided a forum which enabled members to start building relationships and trust, and helped to advance the agenda. That success, evidenced by the new government mandates we now see in play, means our focus must shift.
We are expanding the concept of place-based investing and building a broader ecosystem to deliver it. We believe that the role of private capital is to support the real economy and see an opportunity for this new network to promote and support productive finance across the UK.
The policy environment has transformed, creating an auspicious moment for market change. But the marketplace remains fragmented. To seize this opportunity, we must break down the silos between public policy and private capital. The Place-Based Investing Network is the space where this new ecosystem comes together to build trust, share knowledge and co-create solutions.
Today, the need is clear:
- Local investing is moving from innovation to expectation
- Stakeholders are being asked to collaborate in new ways
- Impact needs to be evidenced, not just asserted
- Places need more capital – and capital needs better pipelines
The Place-Based Investing Network is where these realities meet – and where the market learns how to respond.
The Right People in the Room
Join the member ecosystem designed to close the UK’s investment gap
The Place-Based Investing Network is not just a membership body – it is a market-building engine designed to accelerate the investment ecosystem. We do this by creating a trusted environment where the public and private sectors can leave their silos, build mutual understanding, share knowledge and co-create solutions.
Asset Owners & Allocators: (LGPS, DC Master Trusts, Foundations) seeking to align fiduciary duties with the delivery of place-based impact.
Asset Managers: Who want to build trusted relationships with local stakeholders and deploy capital into high-impact sectors.
Local and Strategic Authorities: Who need to engage with institutional investors in order to turn their Local Growth Plans into a fundable reality.
Public Finance Institutions: (National Wealth Fund, Homes England, British Business Bank) working to catalyse private investment.
Interested in becoming a Place-Based Investing Network Member?
Our Programme of Action
Accelerate Market Building – Surface real-world barriers, share what works, and develop practical solutions with industry peers in exclusive working sessions.
Build Trusted Relationships – Connect investors and local stakeholders in a curated community designed to reduce friction and strengthen collaboration.
Gain Strategic Insight – Access frontier thinking, market intelligence and emerging best practice to inform your strategy, product design, and delivery.
Shape Future Standards – Test and influence the measurement frameworks and reporting practices that will define credible place-based investment for the next decade.
Included in Membership
In Person Roundtables
Three cross-sector, themed roundtables with fellow members per year
Sector and Regional Roundtables
Attendance at one additional sector or regional closed-door event for free
Webinars
Access and participate in additional topical webinars / online meetings (e.g. policy reform, etc)
Thought Leadership
Access and contribute to industry insights, best practice case studies and FAQs.
Newsletter
Keep up to date on industry developments with The Place-Based Investing Network’s quarterly newsletter.
Informal Networking
Opportunity to build connections through a series of informal networking events
Why Join?
The Place-Based Investing Network is built for the full investment-to-place ecosystem. Member benefits are tailored to your role, but united by a common goal – to help capital flow where it matters most.
Asset Owners & Allocators
- Market Visibility: Gain a clear view of the national and regional investment landscape and the managers delivering results.
- Peer Insight and Confidence: Learn from peers how to navigate local impact reporting, fiduciary alignment and portfolio construction.
- A Trusted Forum: Benchmark approaches and influence what “good” looks like across the market.
Asset Managers
- Build Trust: Gain sustained access to local government and pension fund stakeholders.
- Shape the Market: Influence the thematic focus of the sector and co-design the frameworks that define “good” investing.
- Deepen Insight: Access exclusive intelligence on emerging policy shifts and regional investment needs.
Local Government & Strategic Place Leaders
- Build Relationships: Gain practical insight into how institutional investors think and invest, and build relationships that de-risk collaboration and unlock capital for delivery.
- Unlock Investment: Understand the financing requirements of institutional investors to make your Local Growth Plans investable.
- Navigate the Market: Demystify the investment ecosystem and build the partnerships required to deliver housing, regeneration, and infrastructure.
Public Finance Institutions
- Catalyse Private Investment: Better understand how public investment can catalyse private investment.
- Target Strategic Priorities: Align investment flows with national and regional policy goals, ensuring capital reaches the sectors and places that need it most.
- Unlock Pipeline Barriers: Work directly with local authorities and fund managers to identify and overcome the structural obstacles preventing projects from becoming investable.
Join the Movement
The transition to a Good Economy is the defining challenge of our time.
It requires more than just capital; it requires a coalition of the willing, working together with clarity and conviction.
If you are ready to be part of the ecosystem that delivers real-world change, your place is with us.
Help us build a Good Economy, one that works for everyone
Rooted in Rigour
The Place-Based Investing Network is grounded in rigorous research and practical experience. It operationalises the thinking set out in our trilogy of market-defining publications and the learnings from the PBII Network.
Together we will build on this foundation, reflecting the emerging market structure as the Government’s new policy agenda unfolds.
The Vision
The Good Economy: A Better Future for Everyone (2016)
Our launch position paper that established the four pillars of Good Jobs, Business Dynamism, Human Development and Social Cohesion
The Framework
Scaling Up Institutional Investment for Place-Based Impact (2021)
The white paper that defined the “Place-Based Impact Investing” (PBII) model
The Strategy
Scaling-Up Local Investing of Place-Based Impact (2025)
Our latest white paper unpacking the government’s new local investing mandate for the LGPS
