Abigail Taylor

Dr. Abigail Taylor is a Research Fellow at City-REDI within the Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham. Her work is centered on understanding the role of place in social and economic inequalities, with a strong emphasis on cross-national comparative research and qualitative methodologies.

Research Interests:

• Regional and Local Labour Markets
• Skills Ecosystems and Lifelong Learning
• Place-Based Policy and Economic Inequalities
• Employment Support Policy and Governance Structures
• International Comparative Studies and Policy Transfer

Her recent research has focused on skills ecosystems in cities like Cardiff, Chicago, Leipzig, and Lille, and funding flows for youth employment in deprived UK areas. Her work consistently bridges academic research and policy impact.

Scientific Contributions:

• Authored multiple high-impact policy reports for the Industrial Strategy Council, CIPFA, and the Youth Futures Foundation.
• Published in journals such as Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning and Journal of Education and Work.
• Disseminated findings via webinars and podcasts with regional partners.

Dr. Taylor has demonstrated significant leadership through managing complex, multi-stakeholder research projects and secondments to national policy bodies. Her expertise in French enables her to conduct in-depth international research. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and serves as the Early Career Researcher Representative on the Birmingham Business School committee.

Education:

• PhD, University of Sheffield (Geography and French)
• MA French Studies Research Track, University of Sheffield (Distinction)
• BA Hons French Studies, University of Sheffield (First Class)
• Better Business Cases (Practitioner), APMG
• Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner, Axelos