Policy Press
13 Realising the potential of universities for inclusive, innovation-led development: the case of the Newcastle City Futures Urban Living Partnership pilot
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Abstract
Universities are increasingly seen as key actors in their local innovation systems and important catalysts of inclusive growth. This has accelerated since the financial crisis in 2008 and through the subsequent decade of austerity, with significant cuts to public sector budgets hollowing out much of the UK’s regional level of institutional capacity and resources. At the same time, universities are seen to have gotten off lightly. Indeed, many have emerged in an even stronger position financially following the increase in the tuition fee cap to £9,000 in 2012. Meanwhile, the disparities in economic performance between London/the Greater South East and the rest of the country have continued to grow, and many analysts expect the effects of COVID-19 to impact more negatively on people and places that have historically been less resilient to economic shocks. The Brexit vote in 2016 has been cited as an illustration of the disconnect between many universities (which, as a sector, strongly argued for remain) and the leave-voting communities in which they are located or adjacent to. It is therefore unsurprising that the government has tried to pull a range of policy and funding levers in recent years in an attempt to encourage universities, not least those that are considered to be nationally and globally ‘excellent’, to play a more proactive role in contributing to the economic and social development of the places in which they are located.
One of these programme levers was the Urban Living Partnership pilot funded by UK Research and Innovation,1 which aimed to ‘harness UK research and innovation strength to help cities realise a vision of healthy, prosperous and sustainable living’ (Future Urban Living, 2021).
Abstract
Universities are increasingly seen as key actors in their local innovation systems and important catalysts of inclusive growth. This has accelerated since the financial crisis in 2008 and through the subsequent decade of austerity, with significant cuts to public sector budgets hollowing out much of the UK’s regional level of institutional capacity and resources. At the same time, universities are seen to have gotten off lightly. Indeed, many have emerged in an even stronger position financially following the increase in the tuition fee cap to £9,000 in 2012. Meanwhile, the disparities in economic performance between London/the Greater South East and the rest of the country have continued to grow, and many analysts expect the effects of COVID-19 to impact more negatively on people and places that have historically been less resilient to economic shocks. The Brexit vote in 2016 has been cited as an illustration of the disconnect between many universities (which, as a sector, strongly argued for remain) and the leave-voting communities in which they are located or adjacent to. It is therefore unsurprising that the government has tried to pull a range of policy and funding levers in recent years in an attempt to encourage universities, not least those that are considered to be nationally and globally ‘excellent’, to play a more proactive role in contributing to the economic and social development of the places in which they are located.
One of these programme levers was the Urban Living Partnership pilot funded by UK Research and Innovation,1 which aimed to ‘harness UK research and innovation strength to help cities realise a vision of healthy, prosperous and sustainable living’ (Future Urban Living, 2021).
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and boxes v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Foreword xv
- Islands of hope in a sea of despair: civil society in an age of austerity 1
- The North East of England: place, economy and people 19
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The public sector and civil society
- The public sector and civil society: introduction 37
- Innovation outside the state: the Glendale Gateway Trust 43
- The Byker Community Trust and the ‘Byker Approach’ 57
- Cafe society: transforming community through quiet activism and reciprocity 73
- ‘Computer Says No’: exploring social justice in digital services 89
- Drive to thrive: a place-based approach to tackling poverty in Gateshead 105
- City of Dreams: enabling children and young people’s cultural participation and civic voice in Newcastle and Gateshead 121
- Are we ‘all in this together’? Reflecting on the continuities between austerity and the COVID-19 crisis 137
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The civic university
- The civic university: introduction 147
- Reinventing a civic role for the 21st century: the cathedral and the university 153
- Realising the potential of universities for inclusive, innovation-led development: the case of the Newcastle City Futures Urban Living Partnership pilot 169
- Future Homes: developing new responses through new organisations 187
- The good, the bad and the disconcerting: a week in the life of university project-based learning for schools 203
- The containment of democratic innovation: reflections from two university collaborations 221
- Citizen power, the university and the North East 235
- So what is a university in any case? A grass-roots perspective on the university and urban social justice 251
- Conclusion: hope in an age of austerity and a time of anxiety 257
- Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and boxes v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Foreword xv
- Islands of hope in a sea of despair: civil society in an age of austerity 1
- The North East of England: place, economy and people 19
-
The public sector and civil society
- The public sector and civil society: introduction 37
- Innovation outside the state: the Glendale Gateway Trust 43
- The Byker Community Trust and the ‘Byker Approach’ 57
- Cafe society: transforming community through quiet activism and reciprocity 73
- ‘Computer Says No’: exploring social justice in digital services 89
- Drive to thrive: a place-based approach to tackling poverty in Gateshead 105
- City of Dreams: enabling children and young people’s cultural participation and civic voice in Newcastle and Gateshead 121
- Are we ‘all in this together’? Reflecting on the continuities between austerity and the COVID-19 crisis 137
-
The civic university
- The civic university: introduction 147
- Reinventing a civic role for the 21st century: the cathedral and the university 153
- Realising the potential of universities for inclusive, innovation-led development: the case of the Newcastle City Futures Urban Living Partnership pilot 169
- Future Homes: developing new responses through new organisations 187
- The good, the bad and the disconcerting: a week in the life of university project-based learning for schools 203
- The containment of democratic innovation: reflections from two university collaborations 221
- Citizen power, the university and the North East 235
- So what is a university in any case? A grass-roots perspective on the university and urban social justice 251
- Conclusion: hope in an age of austerity and a time of anxiety 257
- Index 275
