This project looks into the role universities have played in informing public policy, and how this in turn has effected regional development.
There is a vast body of international research on the impact of universities on regional development that has informed public policies which have sought to maximise the benefits. Broadly speaking this can be divided into passive local economic impacts of a large business and the dynamic impact arising from purposive collaborative working between universities and local actors and agencies.
This project aims at gaining a better understanding of the role that different types of universities can play in their localities and their ultimate contribution to regional socio-economic development and growth. It will seek to create a new typology of "universities and places". This will combine UK wide time series data covering university profiles, their interaction with business and the community and student pathways into higher education and labour market data about changing local socio-economic circumstances. The national analysis will be supplemented by more detailed information from selected universities and places in different clusters. The output will provide a baseline against which to assess the capacity of universities individually -and the overall higher education system - to respond to the needs of different places in a Covid-19 induced local development crisis.
WMREDI
Research Theme 4
Local and Regional Economic Development
- What types of universities have contribute the most to regional economic growth and change in the recent past?
- Can we create a typology of universities and regional economies in terms of the fit between higher education and research supply and regional needs and opportunities?
- What are the trade-offs / complementarities between public support for university led contributions to regional economic development and other investments?
- How can we measure and compare the contribution of different types of universities to regional economic growth?