Connecting Universities to Regional Growth
Louise Kempton
Centre for Urban & Regional Development Studies
Newcastle University, UK
Outline of the presentation
• The potential contribution of universities to regional innovation - the
promise and the practice
• The specific mechanisms that can be used
• What are the issues/barriers
–
–
–
–
National vs regional policy making
Regional structures and governance
Finance
HEI leadership, governance and management
• Recommendations - building regional partnerships
Source material (unless otherwise acknowledged)
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/
docgener/presenta/universities2011/
universities2011_en.pdf
(Or just Google ‘connecting universities to
regional growth’!)
POTENTIAL ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES
Seen by policy makers as KEY actors in supporting
growth and jobs
• ‘In assessing the role of HEIs in the region it is useful to identify the steps
needed to create a ‘connected region’ in which the institutions are key
players. Through this connection process institutions become key partners
for regional authorities in formulating and implementing their smart
specialisation strategies’
• ‘They can contribute to a region’s assessment of its knowledge assets,
capabilities and competencies, including those embedded in the
institution’s own departments as well as local businesses, with a view to
identifying the most promising areas of specialisation for the region, but
also the weaknesses that hamper innovation’
Source :
‘An agenda for modernisation of Europe’s higher education system’
European Commission COM (2011) (567)
But this may not be a universal view
• ‘While in some quarters universities are heralded as engines of
technological advance and economic prosperity…elsewhere they are
attached for being “self indulgent”, “backward looking” and “elitist”’
• ‘…the sheer scale of university expansion around the world in recent
decades indicates that much is expected of these curious institutions –
perhaps too much, or at least perhaps not exactly what they are best
designed to provide.’
Source :
Stefan Collini, (2012). What are Universities For?
5 Roles of Universities in Innovation (and Growth)
1.
Driving forward the research frontier
2.
Giving people the skills for innovation
3.
Knowledge exchange and people transfer
4.
A node in an international network of knowledge
5.
Providing regional leadership – specialisation: focussing on strengths
and the needs of regions
Source:
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, UK
http://www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/five-ways-universities-v4.pdf
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The contribution universities can make (to regional
innovation/development)
Societal
Education relevant
to the workplace
Translation of
knowledge into
innovation
Research
Teaching
Academic
education
World class
research
Academic
Source:
DR M Wedgwood,
Manchester Metropolitan University
How engaged is the academy?
UK Innovation Research Centre Survey of 22,000 UK academics External interaction and commercialisation activity (% of respondents)
http://www.cbr.cam.ac.uk/pdf/AcademicSurveyReport.pdf
SPECIFIC MECHANISMS
The mechanisms by which universities can and do
contribute to regional development and growth
4 Key Areas;
•
Enhancing innovation through
their research activities
•
Promoting enterprise, business
development and growth
•
Contributing to the development
of human capital and skills
•
Improving social equality through
regeneration and cultural
development
Transactional Services vs. Transformational Activities
•
When exploring mechanisms for intervention we need to make a distinction between the
impact of ‘normal’ university activity (financed as part of the core business of teaching and
research) and ‘purposive’ interventions (initially funded from a source outside higher
education and then ideally ‘mainstreamed’.)
high
Physical
regeneration
and capital
projects
Complexity
of the
activity
Stimulating
innovation
International
links and
investment
Helping
businesses
articulate
demand
Workforce
development
& CPD
Technology
transfer
Consultancy
services
Academic
Research
Student
volunteering
& community
work
Graduate
enterprises
transactional
Research &
innovation
Social mission
&engagement
Talent
retention
Talent
attraction
Museums
and galleries
Teaching
Public
lectures
low
Teaching
&learning
Human
capital
development
Intervention
type
transformational
Universities are a critical ‘asset’ of the country and
region; even more so in less favoured regions ….but
•
Universities have often been absent from or had a minimal role in national or
regional innovation and economic growth strategies
•
Technology push model has dominated - potential contribution of the Arts,
Humanities and Social Sciences has been generally ignored
•
The principles underlying why universities can be important agents in economic
development have not been well understood by public authorities
•
While a range of mechanisms have been used with varying success, they have
generally not been coordinated strategically to produce the maximum impact.
•
To achieve this means understanding and addressing a range of barriers and
challenges, both internal to the universities and in the wider enabling environment
THE BARRIERS
National vs. Regional Policy Making
•
Lack of a territorial dimension to HE policy
•
HE meeting national/international research and education aspirations
•
Uncoordinated HE, S&T and territorial policy at national level
•
HEIs reinforcing hierarchies of regions (e.g. link between city status and citations)
•
Neglect of the role of teaching and learning in knowledge transfer and human
capital development
•
Barriers between levels in HE (e.g. vocational and non vocational HEIs)
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What is the interaction between national and regional policy making?
Nationally
driven
Science and
Innovation
Locally
driven
Higher
Education
Economic
development
Employment
and skills
Transport and
infrastructure
Planning and
regeneration
Regional Growth and
Innovation Strategies
Impacted by international policies
and drivers
Impacted by local policies and drivers
Regional Structures and Governance
• HE not domain of local government
• Fragmented local governments
• Limited regional level powers/authority
• Intra regional competition and urban/rural tensions
• Absence of strong private sector R&D base
• Fragmented SME populations – lack or critical mass, absorptive capacity
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Finance
•
Third role legislation but not part of core funding
•
Teaching funding related to student numbers/graduate output – poorly connected
to regional needs
•
Research not fully costed – no headroom for investment in translational research
capacity
•
Intra regional competition for consultancy / CPD
•
Short term project based funding from variety of non HE sources
•
Metrics – outcomes in non HE domains (e.g. job generation)
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HEI Governance, Leadership and Management
•
Lack of institutional autonomy to respond to regional opportunities (e.g. in some
countries limited control over estates, senior academic appointments etc.)
•
Weak internal management in old research intensive HEIs
•
Unrelated drivers for Teaching, Research and External Engagement
•
Partnership working confined to senior management and / or isolated
entrepreneurial academics
•
Intermediate organisations (e.g. science parks, centres for continuing education)
detached from academic heartland
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BUILDING THE PARTNERSHIP
HOW TO BUILD CAPACITY AND INCENTIVES FOR
UNIVERSITIES AND PLACES TO WORK TOGETHER
•
Understanding where the place is ‘at’
•
Building the partnership
•
Designing and implementing interventions
•
Capacity building and leadership development
The disconnected region
PUBLIC SECTOR
Lack of coherence between national
and regional/local policies
Lack of political leadership
Lack of a shared voice and vision at
the regional/local level
PRIVATE SECTOR
No coordination or representative
voice with which to engage
Motivated by narrow self interest
and short term goals
Dominated by firms with low
No boundary spanners
HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR
demand or absorptive capacity
for innovation
Focus on supply side, transactional
Seen as ‘in’ the region but
interventions
not ‘of’ the region
Ineffective or non existent
Policies and practices
partnership
discourage engagement
Lack of a shared understanding
about the challenges
Focus on rewards for
Entrepreneurs ‘locked out’ of
academic research and
regional planning
teaching
The ‘connected’ region – strong partnerships based on shared understanding of the
challenges and how to overcome them
PUBLIC SECTOR
Developing coherent policies that
link territorial development to
innovation and higher education
Evidence based
policies that
support ‘smart’
innovation
and growth
Generating intellectual and human
capital assets for the region
HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR
Investing in people and ideas
that will create growth
PRIVATE SECTOR
Questions for partners
Public Authorities
What is the role of universities in economic growth?
What are some of the mechanisms for involving universities in delivering growth?
How can the barriers to mobilising universities be identified and overcome?
How can effective partnerships and strategies be created to maximise the relationship between
universities, nations and regions?
Universities and other research or academic partners
What benefit can universities get from working with economic and social development partners?
What specific activities can universities get involved in?
How can universities improve their ability to engage with national and regional development
actors?
Businesses and other commercial or social partners
What can be done to influence policy makers?
What are the benefits of cooperating with universities?
What specific activities can be used to leverage the resources of universities?
Capacities needed for regions to move from
‘disconnected’ to ‘connected’
• Research labs
• Talent attraction
• Universities
Generative
Capacity
Absorptive
Capacity
• Private sector
investment
• Clusters
• Critical mass
• Networks and
associations
• Joint projects and
shared facilities
Leadership
Capacity
• Boundary spanners
• Ability to create a
shared vision for
the future
Collaborative
capacity
See OECD report ‘How Regions Grow’
Recommendations (1/2)
•
There should be an active attempt to a shift from ‘transactional’ to ‘transformational’
interventions with a greater emphasis on programmes rather than one-off discrete
projects.
•
Build partnerships in the region to specifically address the issues of engagement between
universities and regions with particular attention is given to ensuring the sustainability of
partnerships in the longer term, independently of funding cycles.
•
Managing Authorities should assign funds from their technical assistance budgets to
support capacity building within the partnership.
•
Universities, business communities and other public sector authorities should
demonstrate their commitment to the process by investing in their own development.
Recommendations (2/2)
•
Regional Partnerships should consider participating in the OECD programme of regional
reviews in order to help identify their current strengths and areas that may require
capacity building and consider carefully the findings of EUIMA and other related
programmes.
•
Some simplification and flexibility in implementing Cohesion Policy Regulations should be
considered and Managing Authorities actively encouraged to adopt a more flexible
approach.
•
Managing Authorities and Universities adopt a broader definition of innovation to
acknowledge the role that arts, humanities and social sciences can play, especially in
responding to the ‘grand challenges’ and develop mechanisms that draw on the expertise
and contribution from the arts, creative industries etc.
Building the Bridge between HEIs and Regions
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