22 February 2023 – Place-Based Impact Investing Forum all-stakeholder online event with The Local Government Association

An update on, and discussion about, the government’s levelling up agenda with Joanne Donnelly, Head of Pensions at the LGA.

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Pensions for Purpose was delighted to invite Place-Based Impact Investing (PBII) Forum members to its online all-stakeholder member-only event on 22 February 2023.

We were pleased Joanne Donnelly, Head of Pensions at the LGA and Secretary to the LGPS Advisory Board, provided this update, after which we then opened the conversation and invited our audience – members, partners and sponsors – to contribute to the discussion.

Our partners and sponsors include The Good Economy, The Impact Investing Institute, Legal & General and Triple Point.

Martin Pattinson, Lead on the Place-Based Impact Investing Forum at Pensions for Purpose moderatered the event to encourage open dialogue and ensure our forum members have a greater understanding of the government's position on the levelling up agenda.

The outcomes from this session and the broader work of the PBII Forum, is invaluable in helping to shape the PBII agenda across all UK stakeholders. We are particularly keen to receive contributions from asset owners.

Who was this event for?

This event was suitable for trustees of corporate defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, LGPS pensions managers and committee members, in-house pension teams, legal, actuarial and investment advisers, asset managers particularly in private capital markets, other investment service providers, local government representatives and other stakeholders involved in developing PBII opportunities.

Speaker's biographies

Martin Pattinson, Lead of The Place-Based Impact Investing Forum, Pensions for Purpose

Martin PattinsonMartin has had a career of over 40 years spent in property, banking, asset management and consulting to small and medium-sized enterprises, working with organisations across the UK, Europe, Middle East, North America and Japan.For most of his career, Martin has focused on growing businesses , but latterly moved into management, leadership and strategy setting roles.

At Pensions for Purpose, Martin is responsible for the PBII Forum, bringing stakeholders together to inform, share knowledge, influence and advise, to bring about environmental and societal impact through PBII.

Joanne Donnelly, Head of Pensions, Local Government Association

Joanne DonnellyJoanne joined the Local Government Association in January 2021 as Senior Pensions Secretary and was promoted to Head of Pensions from 1 April 2022. She also acts as Board Secretary to the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board.

Before joining the LGA Joanne worked at HM Treasury for four years as a senior policy adviser on public service pensions. Prior to joining HM Treasury, she worked for the Department of Health as a policy manager on the NHS Pension Scheme for just over three years.


John Godfrey, Director of Levelling Up, Legal & General

John Godfrey
John has worked in the City of London for over 35 years, including for US, Japanese and European financial institutions. He joined Legal & General in 2006, and over the following decade was responsible for group communications, public policy issues and the group brand.

From 2016-17 John worked at Number Ten Downing Street as Head of Policy for Prime Minister Theresa May, where his team was responsible for advice on a broad range of issues. He re-joined Legal & General as Corporate Affairs Director following the 2017 General Election. John was educated at Lochaber High School and Oxford University and has also served as a special advisor to the Home Secretary.

Mark Hepworth – Co-Founder and Director of Policy and Research, The Good Economy

Mark Hepworth

Mark has 40 years of UK and international experience in urban and regional development, spanning academia, public policy and strategic consultancy.

Mark created the Place-Based Impact Investing (PBII) model and is now actively promoting and supporting the establishment of PBII partnerships that bring together local authorities, investors and other stakeholders. PBII offers investors in private markets a clear, direct route to sustainable development in the UK and other regions of the world.

Mark Hall, Programme Manager, Place-Based Impact Investing, Impact Investing Institute

Mark HallMark joined the Institute as Programme Manager for place-based impact investing in January 2023. He is focused on making it easier for investors to do effective place-based impact investing (committing to investments within a target geography that generate a financial return as well as positive social, environmental and economic impacts for local communities).

Mark joined the Institute from Waltham Forest Council where he was Policy and Projects Manager in the Leadership Office. Mark previously spent 10 years at the Royal Society of Arts, most recently leading research and impact projects in the economy team. He led the RSA's community banking movement and Collective Defined Contribution Pensions (CDC) Forum, paving the way for new models of banking and pensions to be adopted in the UK.

Mark has co-authored several RSA reports including 'The road to resilience: how community financial services can help level-up Britain' (2020) and 'The cash census: Britain's relationship with cash and digital payments' (2022).


The Place-Based Impact Investing Forum

The Place-Based Impact Investing Forum was established by Pensions for Purpose and The Good Economy and is run in partnership with the Impact Investing Institute to help pension funds and other asset owners make informed decisions about place-based investments. We do this by sharing place-based-related thought leadership written by our members (asset managers, consultants and lawyers), by running training workshops for trustees and by engaging in industry-wide conversation through our quarterly all-stakeholder and asset-owner events.

To join the Place-Based Impact Investing Forum please email the Forum Lead.

Pensions for Purpose

Pensions for Purpose exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. Our aim is to empower pension funds to seek positive impact opportunities and mitigate negative impact risks. For membership information, please email our Membership Manager.

To the extent that anything on this website constitutes a financial promotion it is exempt from the general prohibition in S21 of FSMA on the basis that the site is only intended for investment professionals as such term is defined in S19 of the Financial Promotions Order. Please note that Pensions for Purpose does not provide consultancy services, advice or personal recommendations on any of the investment opportunities mentioned on the platform. We curate content written by Influencer members and do not endorse any underlying funds.

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