Local & Regional Development

“Working-class voices” in economic policy – Report 1

The purpose of this report is to look at working-class involvement in local government and regional decision making. It covers whether there is engagement, at what level, and in what depth. It further offers a brief outline of what it means to be defined as working class, given that there are distinctions that set the UK apart from other countries (LSE study, 2021). The report will also look at how policy is determined and how consultation and participation by various actors feed into that process. A short survey of those involved in policymaking feeds into this report as does previous research undertaken for Wakefield District Council around poverty (Jose 2019). A rich vein of local community engagement around existing projects, such as the implementation of local community food shops. Recently the term “community engagement” has come to the fore in local government circles and is driven by a framework of ideas, ideologies, strategies and methods.

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Terms of Reference of the PERN Academic Steering Group

PERN is an academic-led and multi-University model of policy engagement and collaboration, facilitated by Yorkshire Universities. The independent academic steering group of PERN has been established as the prime vehicle through which this model is achieved. The academic steering group was initially informally arranged and developed to meet the urgency of economic recovery.

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Ambitions and aspirations for University-Investor links in R&D in Yorkshire and the Humber

Read our new joint publication with the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) titled ‘Ambitions and aspirations for University-Investor links in R&D in Yorkshire and the Humber’ exploring the findings and recommendations from the Research England-commissioned Rees Review and what they mean in practice for Yorkshire. This publication also captures the discussion from the …

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2021 West Yorkshire Innovation Festival: Innovation now – opportunities for business and universities to work together

Learn more about how working with universities can benefit your business. The opening plenary explores business resilience and opportunities in the face of the pandemic, presenting a range of insights and an overview of available business support initiatives and programmes. Explore opportunities for collaboration with universities on initiatives across healthcare, inclusive creative industries, textiles and …

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Unpacking the role of universities as civic anchor institutions

Professor Roger Lewis, YU Associate

The phrase ‘anchor institution’ is currently in vogue but what does it mean in reality? What defines an ‘anchor’? What kinds of organisation are in a good place to take on the role? How might their different contributions complement each other as part of a wider system?  More specifically for YU, what role should universities play? These questions were posed at a roundtable convened last week to discuss a new report published by Newcastle University researchers on universities and place-based leadership.

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Health in all Local Industrial Strategies?

Guest contribution from Michael Wood, NHS Confederation

The government published its Industrial Strategy in November 2017, setting out a long-term plan to create an economy that boosts productivity and earning power throughout the UK. Critically, every local economic area in England, along with the devolved administrations, is now developing its own local industrial strategy. This briefing reflects on the emerging importance of health to many of the early draft local industrial strategies, explores the opportunities for the NHS that exist at both system and organisational level and outlines how to engage with and influence the development of these strategies in the coming year.

Key points

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YU on the front foot in thinking about future ‘growth’ funding

Kevin Richardson, Local Academy

Yorkshire Universities (YU) are very much on the front foot, working collaboratively with important local stakeholders, well in advance of the expected consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The new strategic approach of YU is certainly helping members and their partners to prepare for important decisions ahead. Delivered in association with the Local Academy, those attending a recent workshop challenged each other to identify the five biggest challenges ahead;

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