In this i-PLACE talk, Dr Tony Sampson, Reader in Digital Communications at University of Essex, sets out a new way of thinking about how policy is designed, translated, and implemented. The presentation introduces the concept of the mezzo-level: an intermediate scale of governance operating between macro-level strategy and micro-level lived experience. Tony argues that many place-based policies fail not because they lack evidence or ambition, but because there is no dedicated infrastructure to translate them into locally resonant forms. Using the Imaginarium project in Essex as a case study, the talk shows how imagination can function as policy infrastructure — a practical capacity that enables neighbourhoods, policymakers, scientists, and creative practitioners to co-create shared futures. The session covers:
- The implementation gap in environmental and place-based policy
- Speculative and “what if?” methods as tools for governance
- Emotional geographies and neighbourhood-scale engagement
- Why imagination should be resourced and embedded, not treated as decoration
The talk will be of interest to those working on environmental strategy, local governance, culture-led engagement, and innovation policy, particularly in the context of Local Nature Recovery Strategies and place-based reform. This session forms part of the i-PLACE series, which brings together policy, practice, and research to explore how innovation happens in and through place.