In a recent WONKHE article about the implications of the Budget for higher education (HE), Justine Andrew and Debbie McVitty explore how to move the conversation about strategic collaboration in HE from speculative to practical action. They argue that “the sector in England has a sympathetic government in Westminster that seems to have fundamentally accepted the premise that the sector is struggling for funds, and to recognise the critical importance of engaging universities as partners in its core missions, especially on economic growth and opportunity. There is also a cultural shift in train in that the Labour government’s underpinning theory of change is that partnership and collaboration can be powerful mechanisms for achieving desirable public policy ends”.
The WONKHE team reference regional collaboration but say little about the need to consider the conjoint development of higher education and places – towns, cities and regions.
More specifically, there has been no government steering of the geography of HE – what is researched, taught to whom and where – while, at the same time, we face widening regional and social disparities. Indeed, the fact that the UK hierarchy of universities mirrors the hierarchy of cities and regions may be one incidental consequences of this neglect of geography.
A notable exception to this was the 1997 Dearing Review into the future of HE. Dearing noted that “HE is now a significant force in regional economies as a source of income and employment, a contribution to cultural life and in supporting regional and local economic development… As part of the compact we envisage between HE and society each institution should be clear about its mission in relation to local communities and regions”.
Dearing clearly recognised that this ‘compact’ was wide-ranging, had a strong local dimension, and was one where the university’s contribution to the economy could not be separated from the wider society in which it is embedded.
But his missives were largely ignored until the Civic University Commission proposed Civic University Agreements, co-created and signed by other key partners, in which universities:
- Understood local populations by asking them what they want, and worked with other local anchor institutions, businesses and community organisations to agree where the short, medium and long-term opportunities lie in each area.
- Understood themselves by the adoption of a holistic engagement and place Strategy co-created with partners including procedures for public accountability.
- Had clear internal processes for connecting teaching, research, internationalisation and civic engagement at Executive Board Level.
Key to this is institutional leadership. We need more people with experience of the leadership of place in key roles in the higher sector, like those I have interviewed in the National Civic Impact Accelerator’s CiviCast podcast series.
But so far, this largely ‘bottom up’ process has struggled against the differential impact of national market-orientated policy in higher education. The consequences of this for the civic role has reached a climax in the current financial crises facing the sector
In response, Andrew and McVitty reference Prof Sir Chris Husband’s scenarios for the future of the sector as set out in his recent HEPI paper. Husband’s final scenario is for a government differentiated system with four groups: fundamental research institutions; institutions focused on translational research; teaching institutions; and several specialist institutions. In this scenario, the system is radically reshaped by the end of the decade. A small number of universities would be undertaking fundamental research across the country, collaborating closely with a much larger number of translational research universities and specialist institutions to drive regional and local growth. Meanwhile, teaching institutions – many of which had would have merged with larger FE colleges – would focus on high-quality professional and academic programmes. This could be in the form of the founding redbrick civic universities working in partnership with others to support the development of their city regions.
But, as Husbands admits – and it is a big ‘but’! – these scenarios ignore the ways in which wider policy, societal and global developments will impact on universities.
In this regard, the UK can learn from experience across the globe. There can be no doubt that the UK has been a pioneer of the civic university movement and others are looking to us. But the UK government must also take note of the experience of linking universities into other policy domains, as we confront the challenges represented in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These can only be tackled by local as well as global action. That will require developing collaborative capacity, to enable universities with access to global knowledge to work more effectively with their local communities. The case is well made in the essays in the recently published “Kerslake Collection” memorial volume to the Late Lord (Bob) Kerslake.
But for this to happen, we need an ongoing hub to build on the work of the Civic University Network that can facilitate the development of:
- compacts between universities and local civil society, and;
- contracts with central government that makes some funding conditional on having the structures recommended by the Civic University Commission in place.
The hub could support this process and address the issue of accountability to places for public funds by institutional self-evaluation and linked, international peer review. This could build on the experiences of the OECD, including its recent review of the Geography of Higher Education in England and Wales, and The British Academy’s work on the role of universities in building place based community infrastructure
In conclusion, it is clear that civic universities are “pushing on an open door” in Government. In their article reviewing the Government’s announcement of an increase in student fees, WONKHE notes these key points in the Ministerial statement:
- “to link investment with major reform across universities and public services by growing and strengthening higher education’s role in the economy, communities, and the country;
- “University collaboration with Skills England, employers, and further education partners to deliver necessary skills;
- “world-class research to create good jobs nationwide”;
and last but not least,
- “universities embedding themselves within local communities – civic anchors and integral parts of local life, moving away from being perceived as “ivory towers.”
In its upcoming series of Roundtables in 2025, the National Civic Impact Accelerator (NCIA) programme seeks to “push the door with government open further”, to imagine a world where higher education and city and regional development are fully joined up.
Prof John Goddard OBE is Special Advisor to the National Civic Impact Accelerator programme, and has recently published a series of podcast interviews with leading voices from the HE sector. You can find the NCIA CiviCast podcasts on all podcast platforms and via this link.
In a recent WONKHE article about the implications of the Budget for higher education (HE), Justine Andrew and Debbie McVitty explore how to move the conversation about strategic collaboration in HE from speculative to practical action. They argue that “the sector in England has a sympathetic government in Westminster that seems to have fundamentally accepted the premise that the sector is struggling for funds, and to recognise the critical importance of engaging universities as partners in its core missions, especially on economic growth and opportunity. There is also a cultural shift in train in that the Labour government’s underpinning theory of change is that partnership and collaboration can be powerful mechanisms for achieving desirable public policy ends”.
The WONKHE team reference regional collaboration but say little about the need to consider the conjoint development of higher education and places – towns, cities and regions.
More specifically, there has been no government steering of the geography of HE – what is researched, taught to whom and where – while, at the same time, we face widening regional and social disparities. Indeed, the fact that the UK hierarchy of universities mirrors the hierarchy of cities and regions may be one incidental consequences of this neglect of geography.
A notable exception to this was the 1997 Dearing Review into the future of HE. Dearing noted that “HE is now a significant force in regional economies as a source of income and employment, a contribution to cultural life and in supporting regional and local economic development… As part of the compact we envisage between HE and society each institution should be clear about its mission in relation to local communities and regions”.
Dearing clearly recognised that this ‘compact’ was wide-ranging, had a strong local dimension, and was one where the university’s contribution to the economy could not be separated from the wider society in which it is embedded.
But his missives were largely ignored until the Civic University Commission proposed Civic University Agreements, co-created and signed by other key partners, in which universities:
- Understood local populations by asking them what they want, and worked with other local anchor institutions, businesses and community organisations to agree where the short, medium and long-term opportunities lie in each area.
- Understood themselves by the adoption of a holistic engagement and place Strategy co-created with partners including procedures for public accountability.
- Had clear internal processes for connecting teaching, research, internationalisation and civic engagement at Executive Board Level.
Key to this is institutional leadership. We need more people with experience of the leadership of place in key roles in the higher sector, like those I have interviewed in the National Civic Impact Accelerator’s CiviCast podcast series.
But so far, this largely ‘bottom up’ process has struggled against the differential impact of national market-orientated policy in higher education. The consequences of this for the civic role has reached a climax in the current financial crises facing the sector
In response, Andrew and McVitty reference Prof Sir Chris Husband’s scenarios for the future of the sector as set out in his recent HEPI paper. Husband’s final scenario is for a government differentiated system with four groups: fundamental research institutions; institutions focused on translational research; teaching institutions; and several specialist institutions. In this scenario, the system is radically reshaped by the end of the decade. A small number of universities would be undertaking fundamental research across the country, collaborating closely with a much larger number of translational research universities and specialist institutions to drive regional and local growth. Meanwhile, teaching institutions – many of which had would have merged with larger FE colleges – would focus on high-quality professional and academic programmes. This could be in the form of the founding redbrick civic universities working in partnership with others to support the development of their city regions.
But, as Husbands admits – and it is a big ‘but’! – these scenarios ignore the ways in which wider policy, societal and global developments will impact on universities.
In this regard, the UK can learn from experience across the globe. There can be no doubt that the UK has been a pioneer of the civic university movement and others are looking to us. But the UK government must also take note of the experience of linking universities into other policy domains, as we confront the challenges represented in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These can only be tackled by local as well as global action. That will require developing collaborative capacity, to enable universities with access to global knowledge to work more effectively with their local communities. The case is well made in the essays in the recently published “Kerslake Collection” memorial volume to the Late Lord (Bob) Kerslake.
But for this to happen, we need an ongoing hub to build on the work of the Civic University Network that can facilitate the development of:
- compacts between universities and local civil society, and;
- contracts with central government that makes some funding conditional on having the structures recommended by the Civic University Commission in place.
The hub could support this process and address the issue of accountability to places for public funds by institutional self-evaluation and linked, international peer review. This could build on the experiences of the OECD, including its recent review of the Geography of Higher Education in England and Wales, and The British Academy’s work on the role of universities in building place based community infrastructure
In conclusion, it is clear that civic universities are “pushing on an open door” in Government. In their article reviewing the Government’s announcement of an increase in student fees, WONKHE notes these key points in the Ministerial statement:
- “to link investment with major reform across universities and public services by growing and strengthening higher education’s role in the economy, communities, and the country;
- “University collaboration with Skills England, employers, and further education partners to deliver necessary skills;
- “world-class research to create good jobs nationwide”;
and last but not least,
- “universities embedding themselves within local communities – civic anchors and integral parts of local life, moving away from being perceived as “ivory towers.”
In its upcoming series of Roundtables in 2025, the National Civic Impact Accelerator (NCIA) programme seeks to “push the door with government open further”, to imagine a world where higher education and city and regional development are fully joined up.
Prof John Goddard OBE is Special Advisor to the National Civic Impact Accelerator programme, and has recently published a series of podcast interviews with leading voices from the HE sector. You can find the NCIA CiviCast podcasts on all podcast platforms and via this link.
