Creating a UK Social Mobility and Dynamism Index

The Social Mobility Commission seeks to develop a comprehensive index measuring economic dynamism and business innovation across UK regions. Economic dynamism is defined as the rate of structural change, fluidity, and renewal within an economy, characterised by business creation and closure, labour reallocation, and capacity to absorb new talent and ideas. The index will improve upon the US Index of State Dynamism by incorporating UK-specific indicators including startup rates, firm age distribution, inventor numbers, housing permits, labour reallocation, workforce participation, and migration patterns. The index must be available at multiple spatial levels (Local Authority, Mayoral Combined Authority, ITL3, and ITL1) and presented as an interactive online tool allowing users to explore how components interact and influence each other. This work addresses the UK's significant regional inequality—for example, productivity in Greater Manchester is 35% below London—and aims to identify areas with the fewest structural barriers to new entrants, innovators, and workers seeking upward mobility. Deliverables include an analysis plan with quantitative methodology, an interactive prototype index tool, a cleaned dataset, detailed technical documentation with lay summary, and a final report with dissemination support.