Panel Speakers
James Wilson
General Director, University of Deusto
James Wilson is General Director at Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness and teaching faculty at Deusto Business School, University of Deusto. His research is focused on regional competitiveness, clusters, governance, regional strategy, and the roles of universities in territorial development. James has over 20 years of policy analysis experience, working with governments and institutions at different levels, and has edited numerous policy reports including the annual Basque Country Competitiveness Report. He has published widely in peer-reviewed academic journals and books and has played leading roles in several European research projects. James is regularly invited as an expert speaker/advisor by institutions such as the European Commission and by national and regional governments and is an active member of international networks such as the Regional Studies Association and TCI Network.
Anna Humphreys
Strategic Lead for Inclusive Growth, West Midlands Combined Authority
Anna is the Strategic Lead for Inclusive Growth at the West Midlands Combined Authority, working to ensure that regional policy focuses on the same set of social, environmental and economic missions. These missions, or fundamentals to equitable and sustainable growth, help the region to thrive, maximising the social impact that can be delivered for people and places. She has a particular interest in Doughnut Economics, the role of social value in public procurement, and community wealth building.
Carolin Ioramashvili
Assistant Professor, University of Sussex
Carolin Ioramashvili is Assistant Professor in Innovation Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex. Her main research interests are in the role of innovation and technological change for local and regional development. Her work frequently spans policy and academia. She is currently a UKRI Policy Fellow at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport where she examines the impacts of Horizon Europe funding for the cultural and creative industries. In 2024/25 she was a British Academy Innovation Fellow in Cabinet Office where she worked on approaches to strengthen capacity and capability for policy evaluation in local government. Prior to joining SPRU, she was a Research Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham. She holds a visiting fellowship at the London School of Economics, where she also earned her PhD.
David Waite
Senior Lecturer, University of Glasgow
David Waite is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Glasgow's School of Social and Political Sciences. David's research focuses on the development of second-tier city-regions, with a particular interest in the governance responses for these places. He co-authored a report on Inclusive Innovation which explores the ways in which four UK city-regions in Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and Greater Manchester are addressing the challenge of delivering inclusive innovation in practice.
Chloe Billing (Chair)
Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
Chloe Billing is a Research Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham, specialising in the UK space sector. Her research focuses on advanced manufacturing, innovation ecosystems, regional economic development, and industrial policy, with particular interests in commercialisation pathways, innovation pathways and programme evaluation. She has contributed to major funded projects for Innovate UK, the ESRC, the UK Space Agency, and the West Midlands Combined Authority, examining space cluster development, innovation assets, and how universities and industry can work together to develop regional talent. She has published in journals including Industry and Innovation, Urban Studies, Regional Studies, and Economic Geography.
As part of the organisation of this conference, the University of Birmingham is collecting income via registration fees and sponsorships on behalf of the
RegInnoPol 2026 organising committee.