Prof Leslie Budd

Professional biography

Leslie Budd is Emeritus Professor of Regional Economy in the Department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise (PuLSE) at the Open University Business School. He is an economist who is internationally known for his work on regional and urban economics in the context of global issues, the digital economy, the socioeconomic impacts of BREXIT and evaluatig the socioeconomic benefits of space exploration. He was formerly  Director of the Space Exploration and Analysis Research (SPEAR) Cluster in the Faculty of Business and Law and is presently Visiting Professor at the Centre for Brexit Studies, Birmingham City University.

Leslie has undertaken economic and financial analysis for a number of regional, national and international organisations.  These include the Corporation of London; the Small Business Service; the Capital Market Authority in Riyadh; and, the Iraq Ministry of Planning.  Between 2014 and 2016, he was Special Economic Advisor to the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, producing research and policy briefings, for example the consequences of devolved taxation and the impact of BREXIT on the Northern Ireland economy.

 He is author of a number of books on subjects including global finance; the digital economy; electronic governance;  urban studies; devolution of the UK economy; and, the political economy of BREXIT.   He has also published papers on financial crises, regional competitiveness, cohesion policy in the EU, city leadership,  and impact of Brexit, including challenges for  Northern Ireland and indutrial policy and sectors, the potential role of the space sector for Levelling Up, evaluating future urban mobilities. 

He was member of the research team that evaluated the European Commission-funded Electronic Government for You (EGOV4U) project at the University.  Other research projects include the economic growth and employment projections for the Outline Spatial Strategy for Iraq on behalf of the Danish Foreign Ministry; the  ESRC-funded eGov4All: Creating a Digital Social Economy; and, the Higher Education Innovation Fund suppported  The Economic Impact of Sport on the Milton Keynes City-Region.  Leslie was Technical Lead for Benefits of the ESA  Exploration Roadmap in Socioeconomics (BEERS) project funded by the European Space Agency. A related project undertaken with  space science colleagues evaluated the socioeconomic benefits of Spaceport Scotland,  jointly supported by Research England and the Higher Educition Innovation Fund.

 Leslie is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, former Chair and current Fellow of the Regional Studies Association. At present he is Chair of the Urban and Regional Economics Seminar Group (URESG).  

Research interests

Leslie's research interests lie in the fields of regional economic development particularly global and European Union economic governance with regard to international financial markets; eEconomy; eGovernance; and, eEntrepreneurship in relation to changing functional and territorial scales; public governance; policy and management; and,  socioeconomic benefits of space exploration. 

Teaching interests

Leslie is currently supervising a student in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) whose thesis evaluates the soicioeconomic impact of space exploration.

Impact and engagement

Leslie has engaged with policy makers and practitioners throughout his academic career. Part of the work of the  BEERS project team  was included in the European Space Agency Ministerial Council strategy Space 19+ in October 2019  that set out funding for the agency for the next five years. Leslie continues to build upon his knowledge exchange activities in Northern Ireland, being a member of the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS) at the Northern Ireland Assembly.

External collaborations

The SPEAR network included external collaboration with colleagues from a number of univesities, public and policy agencies and institutions in the UK and abroad related to industrial strategy for space, Space 4.0. This is also related to the international place-based leadership network, co-ordinated through the Regonal Studies Association, of which Leslie is a leading member producing webinars, books and papers aimed at academic, policy and practice audiences.

International links

As a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences as well as  the Regional Studies Association, Chair of the Urban and Regional  Seminar Group and  former Director of SPEAR Leslie is at the centre of a number of international networks and connections. His work for the Outline Spatial Strategy for Iraq still forms the basis of policy for regional economic development.  He has been been and continues to be a keynote speaker at many international conferences and other public engagements.