HEPI: Stronger Together: Why we need a new and expanded role for universities and university groupings
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The new Government at Westminster is placing emphasis on economic
growth, devolution and local empowerment. A new paper from the
Higher Education Policy Institute and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc,
Stronger Together: Challenges of devolved regional economic
development (HEPI Report 178) by Alistair Lomax, considers the role
that groups of universities might play in delivering this. The
paper considers the role of university collaborative groupings and
how they interact with other...Request free trial
The new Government at Westminster is placing emphasis on economic growth, devolution and local empowerment. A new paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, Stronger Together: Challenges of devolved regional economic development (HEPI Report 178) by Alistair Lomax, considers the role that groups of universities might play in delivering this. The paper considers the role of university collaborative groupings and how they interact with other groups, such as pan-regional partnerships and private sector boards. Some universities are organised into coherent groupings that, largely speaking, have a remit that runs deeper than any regional economic development agenda and these are seen by others as pivotal to the science and technology agenda. As well as characterising what is happening in England, the paper looks at models from other countries that might hold lessons. Professor Dame Karen Holford, Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Cranfield University, which is the host institution for the Arc Universities group, and Chair of Midlands Innovation, said: “UK universities play a critical role in regional economic growth acting as magnets for investment and innovation. When we join forces and work together around our areas of expertise in technology, research, and skills we can speak with one voice and forge strong regional alliances with business and local authorities. With the arrival of a new Government, this report is timely and valuable – universities need to be ready to collaborate and contribute to the opportunities that any further regional devolution will bring.” In his Foreword to the Report, Professor Alistair Fitt, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and Chair of the Arc Universities Group, writes: “Collaborating is a key part of what universities do. Universities approach regional collaboration in ways that are consistent with their independent nature: largely self-determined, self-funded, self-organised and self-governed. It is perhaps inevitable that good working arrangements and alliances have formed between university groupings, and others. It is they who will provide the skills base of the future and play a major role with industry in innovation, in stimulating sustainable economic growth and in tackling net zero challenges.” Alistair Lomax, author of the report, said: “The language that is in use around regional economic partnership is interesting. We talk about weaving, knitting or stitching the pieces together. It is true that so many of these ‘pieces' exist, but they have emerged and become strong not in response to any strategy from government, but through self-determinism and a belief in partnership working.” When, during a recent conference on whether the UK needs a new industrial strategy, the Chair, Professor Greg Clark CBE, asked hundreds of attendees to identify the single most enduring scientific superpower advantage in the UK. The resulting word cloud word had one word ten times larger than any other: ‘universities'. The report has three recommendations:
For further information, please contact Alistair Lomax, Director, Arc Universities Group at 07884 196423 / A.lomax@arcuniversities.co.uk Notes for Editors
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