Spring Budget 2023: What do our experts want to see?

Here at Y-PERN we boast economic experts from across the 12 Universities in Yorkshire. The Spring Budget is nearly upon us and we thought it could be useful to ask our experts what they would like to see announced tomorrow.

Professor Dave Spicer, Director of Business and Community Engagement in the School of Management at the University of Bradford and a Y-PERN Academic Steering Group Member would like the budget to support small businesses:

The budget needs to consider the support available for small and medium sized business in light of the current cost of living crisis and the current economic challenges. Whilst support exists for SMEs development (notably through Help to Grow), there remains a significant concern in the SME community that the budget will not really address their needs. SMEs we  have been speaking to want to see more support for the challenges they are currently facing.

In this regard resilience is key – those SMEs who have weathered the experience of the last few years know this is key and continued support for the same is recognised as important. SMES thrive through flexibility, adaptability and innovation, and our research through Covid showed how these traits were significant in driving superior performance through Covid and beyond. The challenge is that many of these firms are limited in their capacity and resources to continue to maintain their business in the face of continuing pressures financially.

Professor Alex Nunn, Dean of Research at Leeds Trinity University and Y-PERN Academic Steering Group Member, would like:

Help with childcare costs through an uplift in Universal Credit payments has been promised already.  This is welcome but challenges remain and the prospect of this being matched by greater expectations for recipients may prove ineffective.

Measures to improve the skills offer and support for the unemployed rather than merely relying on benefit conditionalities are badly needed. This is not a matter of being nice or nasty to people that any one particular section of the electorate may see as deserving or otherwise.  Rather, it is absolute economic necessity that will benefit all of us through increased growth, increased tax revenues and a more socially just society.  The support needed is wide-ranging.  Part of this is about well-designed and accessible training matched to areas of skills growth in the economy.  However, it is also about other forms of support, notably mental health services and services supporting people with other needs such as addiction.

Special measures to incentivise older workers back into the labour market may be needed but there are some signs that this is already happening. However, the issues in our labour market that led to the Great Resignation were a long-time in the making.  Measures on the supply-side of the labour market will increase skills in the workforce, but reforms are also needed to improve pay, work quality and employee wellbeing.  Long-term structural change is required across a range of policy areas.  These include workplace cultures, improving employer skills utilisation and training provision.  They also include housing issues; housing costs have played an increasing role in overall inequality over a period of thirty years or more.

A new approach to migration – Successive governments have whipped-up an unhelpful political climate on migration and then responded to that climate by both rhetorically and materially constraining migration, especially, but not only, by ending EU free movement.  There are many reasons why this is problematic. Restoring the prospects for growth is just one of them. 

The full blog can be found at https://yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk/2023/03/14/action-needed-in-budget-to-deal-with-workforce-shortages/

Professors Andy Brown and Gary Dymski from University of Leeds Business School and Y-PERN Directors have a focus on the cost of living crisis and decentralisation:

For us, the most pressing budget issue is the cost of living crisis. Whilst energy prices are coming down they remain very high. Large numbers of people in the region and nationally are having to choose between eating food and heating their homes, at a time when social and health services are at or beyond breaking point. This is not a sustainable position for the UK. Therefore, the budget must sustain help on energy bills whilst laying foundations for longer term investment in people, places and institutions.

To take the example of institutions, there is a need to recognise that the UK suffers from being one of the most highly centralised nations in terms of fiscal and monetary powers. The budget should initiate a process that empowers localities and regions to undertake place-specific investment in skills, amenities, and more generally in communities. The scale of place-based funding required is an order of magnitude higher than previous initiatives such as, for example, the Towns Fund. Doing this now will avoid the much higher future costs of a scarred and significantly diminished workforce, and will enable future cohesive, place-led, collaborative responses to the economic, social and environmental challenges we face.

Professor Vania Sena (Chair of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise at University of Sheffield) and Dr Richard Whittle (Policy fellow at University of Leeds and Y-PERN Chief Policy Fellow) both want to see digital inclusion high on the list of priorities. Richard writes:

I would like to see in tomorrow’s budget a significant push toward creating that holistic digitally savvy, technologically adept economy. This is in line with current thinking as regards significant strategic investments in Artificial Intelligence, advanced manufacturing, robotics. However, my focus is on (for want of a better phrase) ‘digitally levelling up’ the whole of society. This means targeting the millions who do not have digital access or digital literacy, in a programme of digital inclusion that may not be as glamourous as high-tech investment but will have higher and surer returns. The benefits, if such a programme is done properly will be innumerable. Countless small productivity gains in the traditionally low productivity microbusinesses which dominate our economy. Time saving labour enhancing tools not making these businesses world leading (or any other political buzzword), but simply helping them run a little better, a little more efficiently and generating a little more reward for their usually sole employee. Booking an appointment online goes from being a difficult thing to do to an effortless time saving process, accessing services online becomes second nature and all of society benefits from the provision of labour saving online tools. Perhaps we join more technological societies in judging appropriate telehealth services as conveniences rather than with suspicion and cries of ‘return to work’. Likewise a technologically comfortable populace is better able to navigate the pitfalls of our ‘digital by default’ economy. Misinformation and Dark Patterns may cause less misery, our susceptibility to online scams can decrease.

For the full blog post please see https://yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk/2023/03/14/spring-budget-2023-needs-a-digital-focus/

Prof Sena adds:

Digital inclusion is such an important area for Yorkshire and the Humber. There are rural areas not connected to broadband or where the connection is so poor it is of no use. Additionally there are inner city areas which are simply not connected in any meaningful way as there is little incentive to invest. The role of government should be in ensuring that these areas receive this much needed investment from companies such as Openreach. There are obvious benefits from such investment including: better educational outcomes, lower loneliness amongst isolated peoples and even business rate generation.

Professor David Spencer from University of Leeds Business School would like to see a bold industrial strategy emerging from tomorrow’s budget:

Compared with recent budgets, the forthcoming budget is likely to be a calm affair. The focus will be on bringing back ‘fiscal discipline’ and ‘balancing the books’. Old tropes will be rolled out. They will mask the seriousness of the challenges facing the UK economy. The cost-of-living crisis and higher inflation loom large but there are deeper problems linked to persistently low investment and productivity together with stagnant real wage growth. These problems should be the priority of the Chancellor.

The scope for the government to increase public spending has risen with larger tax receipts. It will be wise in the circumstances if the government looked to develop a bold industrial strategy – one that focused on stimulating business and public investment, levelling-up in a serious not just rhetorical way and facing the challenges of climate change. COVID-19 taught us that governments can work to protect people and society – this learning should help inspire policy thinking and action beyond the pandemic. That way we will avoid the mistakes of austerity that have so damaged the UK economy.

Dr Andy Mycock from the Y-PERN Academic Steering Group and Reader in Politics at the University of Huddersfield wonders where levelling up has gone:

The Spring Budget will be of particular interest to those who have charted efforts by the UK Government to rebalance or ‘level up’ the country over the past decade or so. It is uncertain as to whether ‘levelling up’ will endure as salient political term or will it be discarded to join the Northern Way and the Northern Powerhouse. ‘Levelling up’ has somewhat diminished in its policy profile since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister when compared to Boris Johnson’s tenure in office. But while Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has proven reluctant to frame developing plans for fiscal devolution and local economic growth in terms of ‘levelling up’, it is a term which will continue to resonate in political and policy circles until a new phrase is introduced.  

Criticism has proven widespread concerning the application process, scale, allocation, and purpose of the two rounds of ‘Levelling Up’ funding held thus far. The contradictory approach of the UK Government to devolution in England has seen ministers strident in their rhetorical support for radical devolution of power and autonomy for regional and local authorities while they also tightly audit investments across the country. Regional and local government leaders complain the competitive application process as creating a ‘begging-bowl culture’ controlled by central government, which some argue has been skewed towards select constituencies in the hope of partisan political returns at the ballot box. Questions have also been raised about the limited scale of funding, both in terms of its potential to address significant and embedded inequalities across the country and when compared with investments made by Germany and others. The impact of inflation has also seen beneficiaries of ‘levelling up’ funding scale back projects or put them on hold.  

Andy’s full thoughts can be found at https://yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk/2023/03/14/2023-spring-budget/

Neill Barnett, Y-PERN Policy Fellow based at Leeds Beckett University looks at the regional picture:

It seems the Chancellor will have some leeway, but the demands and hopes for funding are, following years of Austerity, and the impact of inflation on budgets, limitless. With respect to broader policy issues, changes to child care have been trailed in the press, and an increase in the cap on what can be claimed back for childcare for those on Universal Credit would be a start. With respect to the cost of living/ energy crisis, continuation of the price cap subsidy is essential, but more targeted support would be better- via the introduction of a Social Tariff.

With respect to Combined Authorities- Tracey Brabin’s letter of 31st January to the Chancellor sets out a series of measured ‘asks’ and it is not necessary to add to these- they would largely apply to South Yorkshire as well. Leaving aside specifics, key issues to address, are the lack of long-term funding and certainty, especially for transport and ‘net zero’ investment, the need to move to direct, ‘single pot’ funding directly from the Treasury, and the need to move form short-term, single-pot funding and competitive bidding.

Neil’s full blog is available at https://yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk/2023/03/14/budget-2023-quick-thoughts/

Patsy Gilbert, Vice Principal of Leeds Conservatoire and Y-PERN Academic Steering Group Member stresses that the budget must not forget the creative and cultural sectors:

Yorkshire boasts creative and cultural sectors with enviable international reputations, I would urge the Chancellor to provide support to allow us to continue to produce world leading creative content. Two of our graduates – Will Dawson and Tristen Taylor – recently launched OpenBack a podcast which discusses the highs and lows of the music industry. They detail the struggle faced by new entrants to the creative industries, especially in the initial stages when trying to build a network and portfolio. If the Chancellor needs ideas of where to start supporting my sector, I’d really recommend this podcast! We need to see targeted investment in the latest technologies and training across the UK so that we can compete internationally and to inspire the next generation of artists. Inequality is pushing back the opportunities for everyone to explore the arts and cultural sectors if they want to.

Inequality and hardship is growing in our university communities, we would dearly like to see support for students in the cost of living crisis. We know that many students in UK universities are struggling to complete their studies. Not surprising when their financial support has only risen by about 3% with inflation at 10% It’s not only our students who are impacted though, recent graduates having studied through Covid and its restrictions, which particularly impacted the cultural sector, are also facing restrictions in their ability to work across Europe. The business model for our graduates is primarily freelance, it would be great to see targeted support in this area to allow our sectors to maintain and grow their international standing.

Professor Kiran Trehan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Partnerships and Engagement at the University of York and a Y-PERN Academic Steering group member seeks targeted strategic investment to support businesses across the region:

We are facing multiple crises and our businesses need urgent help. In this budget the Chancellor has a real chance to support businesses in the current economic climate. It would be great to see a review of business rates, particularly in the light of pressure on energy bills. Rapid and agile reform could be a real boost to our business community. Whilst we rightly focus on support now, we should not forget the longer term perspective. Our businesses merely surviving is not enough, they need to grow and have the help and resource to do so. It is this growth that helps level us up and provides the context for increased living standards. We need tailored investment and business support particularly in digital, research and innovation to support the scale up of SME’s. Business support is needed for our SME backbone as well as our larger firms. I would like to see investment for new start up’s particularly in relation to enhancing digital skills and capability.

The landscape of business support requires a more holistic approach and policies that are more responsive in providing access to funds and sustained support needed to grow. We can point to chronic skills shortages hampering business growth and investment. I would like to see diverse and accessible opportunities for new skills development so that SME’s can invest strategically in growth opportunities, particularly in areas of green and sustainable growth. Our talent base may be considerable but the structural issues holding back large sections of our workforce need addressing. Whether it is issues around public transport preventing people from seeking opportunities outside their immediate locality, or around childcare cost and accessibility making work not pay, we need to see target investment allowing potential to be fulfilled. I would urge more tailored focus on female enterprises on the back of the Rose review.

  • Share this post:

Yorkshire Universities responds to the Budget Statement

Responding to today’s Budget Statement, Dr Peter O’Brien, Executive Director of Yorkshire Universities, said:

“The forecast that inflation will fall by the end of the year is positive. However, it is important that any direct and indirect effects of reduced rates of rising prices are passed quickly on to consumers and businesses.

We welcome the announcement about the proposed new Investment Zones in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, based on high-value innovation clusters, with universities at the heart of these plans. The Zones should reflect the distinct advantages and assets we have in Yorkshire, and they should be designed and led by local leaders and partners. Crucially, the Zones should find it easier to access other measures announced today by the Chancellor. They must also help place our region onto an accelerated and sustainable path of higher public and private investment in local and regional research and development and innovation, given the direct contributions this makes to increased productivity and improved prosperity.

On local economic growth, the Government is right to devolve greater responsibility to, and signal enhanced fiscal autonomy for, the regions, but it could do more and move faster. We support the Chancellor’s intention to roll out multi-year and single settlements to Mayoral Combined Authorities, and look forward to South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, and other areas in our region, enjoying the benefits and certainties of longer-term budgetary planning.”

  • Share this post:

Spring Budget 2023 needs a digital focus

Dr Richard Whittle, Y-PERN Chief Policy Fellow and Academic Policy Fellow at the University of Leeds

We are in turbulent times, the pandemic and transformation of our economy is a very recent memory and continues to be a pressing threat. Inflation is tearing through the UK economy hitting savings, the purchasing power of our incomes and derailing future investment. Our fraught exit from the EU has increased barriers to trade and increased political tensions. Our resilience is at rock bottom and people can be forgiven for not focussing on the long term when they are choosing between heating and eating today. It is our politicians’ job to focus on both. When a future crisis hits it should be mitigated by action from the past. Energy price rises should be less impactful because of precious investment in renewable technology, wages should allow a person to thrive day to day and secure their future, unexpected bills should be cushioned by savings, house deposits should be affordable and obtainable.

The list of problems is now huge because of a culmination of short-term approaches, myopic budgets and debates about balancing the books. These led to a fragility in our economy which current issues have exposed, and we must not continue making that mistake. This budget should of course help today – and this help should be significant – but it and subsequent policy must ensure that the UK economy is robust and resilient enough to dynamically respond to future events. I would urge an exceptional budget for exceptional times, with at its heart a focus on digital skills, growth and inclusion.

In terms of immediate issues then, then childcare costs should be lowered to be comparable to our European counterparts, and this should be coupled with rapid investment in early years provision with results seen in our communities within the year. Businesses and households need increased support with their energy prices coupled with long term strategic investment in renewables. Businesses and households need support now above the level already granted which is seeing the small businesses which serve our communities disappear. Housebuilding and renter support both with cost and terms should be a priority.

As regards the longer term, I would like to focus in this blog on digital and AI. I would like to see in tomorrow’s budget a significant push toward creating that holistic digitally savvy, technologically adept economy. This is in line with current thinking as regards significant strategic investments in Artificial Intelligence, advanced manufacturing, robotics. However, my focus is on (for want of a better phrase) ‘digitally levelling up’ the whole of society. This means targeting the millions who do not have digital access or digital literacy, in a programme of digital inclusion that may not be as glamourous as high tech investment but will have higher and surer returns. The benefits, if such a programme is done properly will be innumerable. Countless small productivity gains in the traditionally low productivity microbusinesses which dominate our economy. Time saving labour enhancing tools not making these businesses world leading (or any other political buzzword), but simply helping them run a little better, a little more efficiently and generating a little more reward for their usually sole employee. Booking an appointment online goes from being a difficult thing to do to an effortless time saving process, accessing services online becomes second nature and all of society benefits from the provision of labour saving online tools. Perhaps we join more technological societies in judging appropriate telehealth services as conveniences rather than with suspicion and cries of ‘return to work’. Likewise a technologically comfortable populace is better able to navigate the pitfalls of our ‘digital by default’ economy. Misinformation and Dark Patterns may cause less misery, our susceptibility to online scams can decrease.

Given their recent experiences people rightly worry about technological change as in their experience it frequently represents the replacement of an existing service with a less good digital one, rather than supplementing an already great offering. This needs to change. AI should not be met with fear for our jobs, but with an exploration of the possibilities as we have a digitally aware, technologically comfortable population. I would urge the Chancellor to pay attention to the now without forgetting the long term and offer a budget with hope. Not the vague hope of sunlit uplands but tangible hope of a slightly better tomorrow and again the day after.

  • Share this post:

Budget 2023: Regional perspective

Neil Barnett, Y-PERN Senior Policy Fellow based at Leeds Beckett University

Some quick thoughts on the Budget. It seems the Chancellor will have some leeway, but the demands and hopes for funding are, following years of Austerity, and the impact of inflation on budgets, limitless. With respect to broader policy issues, changes to child care have been trailed in the press, and an increase in the cap on what can be claimed back for childcare for those on Universal Credit would be a start. With respect to the cost of living/ energy crisis, continuation of the price cap subsidy is essential, but more targeted support would be better- via the introduction of a Social Tariff. Leaving aside the ‘macro’ issues- eg- taxation, borrowing- and focussing more specifically on issues affecting Regional and local governance…..

With respect to Combined Authorities, Tracey Brabin in a letter of 31st January to the Chancellor set out a series of measured ‘asks’ on behalf of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which largely apply to South Yorkshire as well. Leaving aside specifics, key issues to address, are the lack of long-term funding and certainty, especially for transport and ‘net zero’ investment, the need to move to direct, ‘single pot’ funding directly from the Treasury, and the need to move form short-term, single-pot funding and competitive bidding.

For local government:

The Autumn Statement offered some respite and an overall 9% uplift, and the financial settlement some certainty over two years….but assumed the maximum rise in council taxes, and left councils still to meet the challenges of double digit inflation and wage demands. Looking at the overall picture, ideally the Budget would deal with long-term structural issues in local government finance (although, given the number of times these have been kicked into the long grass, this is of course not going to happen….). A two year settlement remains inadequate and more certainty is needed via longer multi-year settlements, especially given the levels of investment and planning needed for rising demands in social care, and seriously investing in ‘net zero’, decarbonisation etc. Moreover, the ‘Fair Funding’ review, promised in 2016, has been abandoned, along with Business Rates reform. The distribution of council funding remains unfair and threatens the ‘levelling up’  agenda  and the Chancellor would ideally announce a review of the formulae and allocation mechanisms which take adequate account of needs and resource base.

The Local Government Association have set out a series of ‘asks’  which underline the financial pressures particularly on both adult and children’s social care the need to re-address long -term funding. In the short term, it is essential to account for the impact of inflation. Again any ‘respite’ additional funding has been short -term and inadequate to meet demand. In other areas, one change could relatively easily bee implemented to boost council/ social house building- allowing councils to retain 100% of council house receipts for building, and to set discount rates locally.. Again with respect to certainty and ending fragmentation of funding, there should be single, place-based funding for local net zero actions and skills.

  • Share this post:

Action Needed in Budget to Deal with Workforce Shortages

Professor Alexander Nunn, Y-PERN Academic Steering Group member and Dean of Research, Leeds Trinity University

Wide-ranging and long-term support needed across a range of policy domains including employment services, skills, housing, transport, childcare, workforce wellbeing and immigration.

It is widely noted that employers are facing labour shortages. The latest data from the ONS suggests that around 12% of employers are facing a shortage of workers and that this rises to nearly a quarter in the ‘accommodation and food service’ sector and more than a fifth in ‘human health and social work’ organisations. These figures are more pronounced than they look though because of the effect of the large number of smaller employers who are less likely to report shortages. More than a quarter of employers with 10 employees or more report labour shortages. That said, the Federation of Small Businesses report that nearly 80% of small firms have struggled to fill a vacancy in the last 12 months.

In sum, workforce shortages are a major challenge now and unless urgent action is taken this will remain the case into the medium term.

There are a range of causes for the current shortage of workers:

  • Childcare costs and constraints – one feature of our current cost of living crisis is the price of childcare (which is also in part driven by a shortage of labour).  Costs and problems in access (e.g. childcare provision not matching work times) are preventing many families from working or working as much as they would like to.  This is a particular problem for women, especially lone parents, but it is a major problem for most families with children, even when in relatively well paid work.
  • Low pay and low quality work – while wages may be growing as a result of current labour shortages, relatively low pay (and low quality work) following decades of pay suppression is also likely to be part of the problem and adds to the cost of working crisis.  It would be a surprise to many that even workers in what might be thought of as relatively secure and high-status jobs might now be so low paid relative to costs of living that going to work is not financially rewarding.  Many now require significant help from Universal Credit to stay in work (2.3m people are working and rely on Universal Credit to make ends meet, almost 40% of those on UC).
  • Lower migration-  in the aftermath of Brexit and the various incarnations of a ‘hostile environment’ also drive labour shortages.
  • Ineffective matching of supply and demand – One notable aspect of our current labour market is that the number of vacancies reported over the last year or so roughly equals the number of people who are unemployed and available for work.  This hints at three issues: (1) poorly matched skills (those who are unemployed do not have the skills and experience to meet the requirements of vacancies), (2) poor levels of support for people bridging the gap between their current skills and those that employers are looking for and (3) problems with workers moving to areas where there are vacancies via commuting (because of transport problems; as anyone regularly trying to commute across the Pennines will readily attest) or relocation (because of the price of housing).

This is both a short-term problem and creates longer-term constraints on growth; as people withdraw from the labour market their skills lose currency and the likelihood of them returning to work at an equivalent skill level decreases. 

With all this in mind, Government action in the Budget to address each of these issues would be welcome:

  • Help with childcare costs through an uplift in Universal Credit payments has been promised already.  This is welcome but challenges remain and the prospect of this being matched by greater expectations for recipients may prove ineffective.
  • Measures to improve the skills offer and support for the unemployed rather than merely relying on benefit conditionalities are badly needed. This is not a matter of being nice or nasty to people that any one particular section of the electorate may see as deserving or otherwise.  Rather, it is absolute economic necessity that will benefit all of us through increased growth, increased tax revenues and a more socially just society.  The support needed is wide-ranging.  Part of this is about well-designed and accessible training matched to areas of skills growth in the economy.  However, it is also about other forms of support, notably mental health services and services supporting people with other needs such as addiction.
  • Special measures to incentivise older workers back into the labour market may be needed but there are some signs that this is already happening. However, the issues in our labour market that led to the Great Resignation were a long-time in the making.  Measures on the supply-side of the labour market will increase skills in the workforce, but reforms are also needed to improve pay, work quality and employee wellbeing.  Long-term structural change is required across a range of policy areas.  These include workplace cultures, improving employer skills utilisation and training provision.  They also include housing issues; housing costs have played an increasing role in overall inequality over a period of thirty years or more.
  • A new approach to migration – Successive governments have whipped-up an unhelpful political climate on migration and then responded to that climate by both rhetorically and materially constraining migration, especially, but not only, by ending EU free movement.  There are many reasons why this is problematic. Restoring the prospects for growth is just one of them. 
  • Share this post:

2023 Spring Budget and levelling up

Dr Andy Mycock, Y-PERN Academic Steering Group Member and Reader in Politics, University of Huddersfield

The Spring Budget will be of particular interest to those who have charted efforts by the UK Government to rebalance or ‘level up’ the country over the past decade or so. It is uncertain as to whether ‘levelling up’ will endure as salient political term or will it be discarded to join the Northern Way and the Northern Powerhouse. ‘Levelling up’ has somewhat diminished in its policy profile since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister when compared to Boris Johnson’s tenure in office. But while Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has proven reluctant to frame developing plans for fiscal devolution and local economic growth in terms of ‘levelling up’, it is a term which will continue to resonate in political and policy circles until a new phrase is introduced.  

 Criticism has proven widespread concerning the application process, scale, allocation, and purpose of the two rounds of ‘Levelling Up’ funding held thus far. The contradictory approach of the UK Government to devolution in England has seen ministers strident in their rhetorical support for radical devolution of power and autonomy for regional and local authorities while they also tightly audit investments across the country. Regional and local government leaders complain the competitive application process as creating a ‘begging-bowl culture’ controlled by central government, which some argue has been skewed towards select constituencies in the hope of partisan political returns at the ballot box. Questions have also been raised about the limited scale of funding, both in terms of its potential to address significant and embedded inequalities across the country and when compared with investments made by Germany and others. The impact of inflation has also seen beneficiaries of ‘levelling up’ funding scale back projects or put them on hold.  

 The bespoke approach to ‘Levelling Up’ funding has constrained the ability of regional and local governments to develop strategic policy plans. For example, just 22% of bids from England to the second round of the levelling up fund were successful. This is lower than the first round of the fund when 33% of applications secured funding. Yorkshire and the Humber had the lowest success rate in the second round, with a positive outcome for just 13% of its bids. This noted, it was one of the more successful regions in round one funding, with a 42% success rate. The lack of certainty with regards to the scale of funding from year to year has had significant implications in terms of policy planning and delivery, particularly for large scale pan-regional projects. This uncertainty is further exacerbated by a continued lack of surety as to the extent of investments in transport infrastructure across the north.  

 If and how the Chancellor might seek to fund ‘levelling up’ initiatives in his Spring Budget will provide a good indication of the profile of ‘Levelling Up’ as a policy agenda and a campaign issue as we move towards a General Election. The scale of funding announcements will be important, as will any modifications to the application and allocation processes. It is likely that there will be an attempt to avoid the headlines from round two of ‘Levelling Up’ funding which some argued disproportionately benefitted the London and the South-East when compared to the rest of the country.  

 But many in the town halls across Yorkshire and the Humber will be keen to hear about whether the Chancellor’s plans for fiscal devolution shift from rhetoric to reality. For many, ‘Levelling Up’ has been compromised by a lack of connectivity regarding debates about funding and power. The current UK Government approach to devolution of power has followed the well-meaning but piecemeal gradualism of successive governments over the past 30 years or so. The constitutional reordering of England now means that local and regional government is a mishmash of different formations, sizes, and remits. There remains an absence of a clear purpose and destination for devolution in England, or how it might connect and cohere with devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is unlikely that the Chancellor will seek to move from a ‘whack a mole’ approach to constitutional and fiscal devolution by seeking to initiate a more comprehensive review of the over-centralised governance of the country. As such, the Spring Budget will likely to see more of the same in terms of approaches to ‘Levelling Up’. 

  • Share this post:

Place-based interventions and co-production

Neil Barnett, Y-PERN Senior Policy Fellow based at Leeds Beckett University

The Inaugural Y-PERN conference on 18th and 19th January brought together a range of actors from local government, health, universities and the community sector, and for me, as a newly appointed Policy Fellow with Y-PERN, served to highlight the extent of cross-sector collaboration which is taking place in the Region, and the shared desire for greater and enhanced collaboration. Y-PERN  has an excellent base on which to build. Without listing individual contributions, a clear theme was the commitment to build on the excellent examples of universities and others contributing to the economic, social and civic well-being of the places of which they are in integral part. Indeed, the importance of the contribution of their research capacity to ‘practice’ was one of the most commonly expressed themes, grounded in a context which was stressed by speaker after speaker- the cost of living and energy crises,  inequalities and productivity disparities, and the issues concerning health and well-being, the climate emergency- with which the Regions policy-makers and communities are contending. Here I want to quickly reflect on what I noted as two of the key themes which appeared over the two days.

Firstly, Co-Production. Y-PERN’s objective of integrating research into policy-making and community arenas was reflected in several contributions stressing the need for research and evaluation to be co-produced with a range of stakeholders, that it should be ‘bottom up’, co-designed, and practice-based in the sense of being context-specific. It appeared to me that Y-PERN can contribute not just by encouraging such research, but also to learning more broadly how, or how best, to conduct such research. ‘Co-production’ covers a multitude of methodologies and approaches (Cheetham et al, 2023). There is ample evidence which refutes the idea that the research-practice relationship is straightforwardly a linear one; there is no necessarily straightforward relationship which leads to evidence shaping policy or actions, and there are differing interpretations as to what counts as ‘evidence’ (Boswell and Smith, 2017). Indeed, co-produced research can produce a series of practical and ethical risks, including the fact that co-producing stakeholders often talk differing languages, assigning differing meanings, and, perhaps most importantly, operate in differing political arenas and attach a range of values to ‘evidence’ (Phillips and Green, 2015), all of which produce issues for the design and conduct of research, but also for its ‘take up’ by the  intended audience. Evaluation, of course, is fraught with the same difficulties. This of course requires sensitivity to context and the ‘grounded realism’ which Peter O’Brien refers to in his post of 1st February (above?/ link?), and a range of quantitative, qualitative and interpretative research methods (Mackillop et al, 2020). It points also to the need to develop a relational model, which draws upon ‘recognition that we are situated in ways that give rise to certain values and world views, but there is a need to create mediated spheres that provide the grounds for understanding ‘ (May, 2018, p.9). My take-away from the conference was that the Region already has exemplars of such developments, onto which Y-PERN can build and add further lessons as to ‘what works, how, and where?’.

Secondly, the conference saw a collective commitment to place-based interventions and impacts, reflecting the wider commitment to contextual awareness and in particular to the embeddedness of Y-PERN stakeholders in their places. Leaving aside for now the diverse meanings of’ place’ and other associated terms (‘locality’; ‘community’…) there was rejection of the simple dichotomy of ‘people based’ or ‘place based’ approaches and of outdated assumptions focussing solely on established, ‘engines of growth’.  Y-PERN covers a covers a wide range of diverse and often overlapping places, stressing the need for tailored, context-sensitive interventions. As McCann (2019, p. 11) has put it ‘well-designed and locally-tailored regional policies which fostered the local engagement of many different types of (private, public and civil society) stakeholders [can] help to unblock local development traps and to thereby help unlock local development potential’. This is crucial if we are to take a commitment to ‘levelling up’ seriously, as, within a Region already suffering from inequality vis-à-vis others, there are within -Region, and indeed within-place inequalities. Context sensitivity gives rise to an appreciation and foregrounding of these nuances. Moreover, addressing these issues requires support to develop capabilities which are, again following McCann, (p.11)  ‘built or constructed by experience, practice and learning-by-doing. A core logic of modern place-based policies is therefore to provide the framework within which local actors can develop the experience and expertise of good bottom-up policy design and delivery’.

Local institutional capacity and governance are important here, and Y-PERN is being launched at a time when the Region is seeing the introduction or further embedding of new institutional arrangements- Combined Authorities, Unitary Councils, and, in health, Integrated Care Trusts. It is clear that a practice, context based approach is essential to understanding of the inter-relationships at play, the process of interactions, and to an appreciation of the impact of institutional governance and scale on outcomes- well-being and quality of life. What are the effects of decentralisation and devolution on health, well-being, and inequality, and what scales seem to work best? These impacts are difficult to untangle (see Britteon et al, 2022 for some early evidence of health impacts of devolution in Manchester). There is already a large international literature looking at these effects (eg-Tselios et. al, 2012), the key lesson being, it seems to me, that these effects are, again, highly context-specific. There is also a need to not over concentrate on the formal institutional, organisational governance structures, but to ‘drill down’ beyond them, to consider a range of alternative ‘bottom up’ forms of organisation and ownership. Included here has to be consideration not only of economic and health impacts, but the democratic quality of suggested solutions and their impact on the civic culture of the regions places.

The challenges are huge, but the conference gave me hope that these issues are at the forefront of our collective thinking, and that we are well positioned to continue the journey.

  • Share this post:

Reasons to be Optimistic?

Dr Peter O’Brien, YU Executive Director

January was a tough month. The festive season felt like an age ago, and more eye-watering energy bills landed on household doormats. Personally, it was particularly heart-breaking to watch a recent ITN report about elderly residents in Newcastle who were living in freezing conditions, and not switching on their heating, because they feared rocketing gas and electricity prices. The direct impacts of a cold, damp British winter climate, at a time of high costs, upon the most vulnerable in society (coupled with the added pressures faced by an over-stretched health and care system), are unconscionable. As food inflation also hits 16%, the decision of when or whether to heat or to eat has become an invidious choice for too many people. The trend of declining health was illustrated in the starkest of terms when, figures published by the Office for National Statistics, at the end of January, revealed a 15% increase in deaths in England and Wales, compared to the five-year average.

Responding to claims that the UK faces an existential crisis, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, called for a more optimistic approach to drive growth and prosperity, and the rejection of so-called ‘declinism’. The Chancellor did, however, agree that uneven and lower growth in the British economy was being driven by poor productivity, skills gaps, low business investment and the over-concentration of wealth in the South-East. New forecasts, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), amplify these structural weaknesses, and highlight some other immediate problems, including: the UK’s high sensitivity to energy prices: a shrinking workforce: rising taxes and interest rates; and Brexit. The IMF suggests that the UK economy will be the only major country to see its economy contract this year.

Drilling down from a macro-level, and delving further into local and regional economic performance, the new Cities Outlook 2023, published by the Centre for Cities, finds that official unemployment figures mask large numbers of hidden workers in cities and large towns in the North of England. These findings echo research by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University, which has demonstrated, over a period of time, that hidden unemployment is a persistent problem, with a persistent geography. The causes of these profound inequalities are complex, and they have contributed towards the UK being the most regionally unbalanced large, advanced economy. Continued and widening regional divides are said to necessitate more longer-term place-based investment in regional economies, in tandem with greater devolution and empowerment to local institutions and communities.

This context provided the focus for policymakers and researchers at the inaugural Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) Conference, on 19-20 January, in Leeds. As a novel network approach to academic policy engagement, Y-PERN will connect policymakers with the region’s academic expertise to help inform and shape policy and investment decisions around jobs, skills, infrastructure, climate and environment, and innovation. The Conference illustrated how world-leading research in Yorkshire’s universities is being applied directly to identify the measures needed to help tackle the cost of living crisis faced by increasing numbers of people, communities and businesses in the region.

The Y-PERN Conference also outlined the practical steps to de-carbonise the Yorkshire and Humber economy, and how the region can move quickly and equitably to net-zero, as part of a just transition. This is crucial given that the net zero economy is stronger – and significantly more productive – in Scotland, the Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humber, compared to London and the South East. The Y-PERN event also heard how, in York and North Yorkshire, BioYorkshire is using world class science and innovation to deliver the profitable bio-based production of chemicals, materials, and fuels, helping to support net-zero food production, farming and wider land use practices.

All these challenges and opportunities demand forensic examination, interpretation and stakeholder and community involvement to find solutions, attract investment and implement successful interventions that make a real difference. Here, Yorkshire’s universities, with Y-PERN as a key mechanism, and acting in partnership with other sectors, are able to offer both grounded realism and genuine optimism about the state and trajectory of the economy in Yorkshire now and into the future.

  • Share this post:

Yorkshire Universities obtains £20k funding for a regional sustainability service-learning pilot

Yorkshire Universities (YU) has been awarded £20,000 funding by the UPP Foundation to pilot a regional sustainability service-learning project. Ours is one of the eight pilot initiatives the UPP Foundation invested over £160,000 in. Funding was awarded to schemes which support student and graduate success for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, and for initiatives which support universities’ efforts to embed environmental sustainability within their local communities.

The YU project will establish multi-university collaborative task & finish group to audit existing work within the twelve member institutions, scope out a brokerage network between communities and university students to help solve local environmental sustainability challenges, and share the case studies and learning with a wider audience.

This pilot project builds on two unique regional networks for collaboration:

  • The Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission (YHCC) brings together actors from the public, private and third sectors to support and guide ambitious climate actions across the region. The Yorkshire and Humber Climate Action Plan, which was co-created by Commissioners, panellists and members of the public, sets out actions for organisations across the region to collectively deliver.

The project activity will not only contribute to implementing our report priorities but will help connect students and their work to the bigger picture. The task & finish group will design and issue a ‘Certificate of Achievement and Contribution to the Delivery of the Regional Climate Action Plan’ to student participating in the pilot recognising the achievements and how their actions support broader impact across the region.

Monika Antal, Assistant Director of Yorkshire Universities said:

“We are excited to learn and showcase modes of engagement from across the region and to bring together multi-disciplinary teams of students to enhance their sense of belonging with their communities, as part of this place-based scheme. We see this pilot as a unique opportunity and example of the higher education sector directly supporting regional climate action. It is offering a trailblazing model.”

Rosa Foster, Co-Director of Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission, said:

“Delivering Yorkshire and Humber’s Climate Action Plan requires dedicated team effort, so we are excited to see this project helping link university students with the regional climate agenda.

This project will engage students from diverse backgrounds, studying a wide range of subject matters – exactly what is needed to ensure our climate and nature goals are delivered in a fair and inclusive way.”

The five key stages of our 15-month project (running between the end of January 2023 and end of March 2024):

1. Audit the ways in which students can or are engaging with the sustainability agenda through service learning across the twelve YU member institutions.

2. Scope the brokerage network and explore ways in which the following relationships could be joined up in a systemic way:

  • Within institutions and their employer contacts – between departments and faculties to be better informed of each other’s work and to reveal further collaboration opportunities with external partners and enhance relationships with local authorities and the third sector.
  • Across institutions and their employer contacts – among external engagement officers across the region’s universities to share experience and to reveal further opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange and to share enquiries.

3. Pilot challenges

  • Within institutions – by funding £1k challenges for service learning across each of the twelve institutions around a feasible task meeting a community sustainability need. Where possible we encourage teams to form across departments, to allow students to work in multi-disciplinary teams and pool different skills.
  • Across institutions – to trial a £3k multi-university community consultancy team and/or project with students from 3+ institutions: enabling them to meet new people and work together, build new networks and relationships on the sustainability aspect of a local or regional challenge which will be set with the help of the YHCC.

Those completing either of these pilot challenges will be issued a ‘Certificate of Achievement and Contribution to the Delivery of the Regional Climate Action Plan’ detailing the green skills used and developed to increase awareness of employability skills students can articulate to employers. This certificate will be endorsed by YU and the YHCC.

4. Collate an online repository

To be hosted by YU aiming to serve two main purposes:

  • Showcasing modes of engagement in sustainability service learning (from step 1) and case studies (from step 3) for an awareness raising campaign, to demonstrate what’s possible by working with a diverse range of students and universities.
  • Gathering multi-media reflections or testimonials of individual experience that could help improve an internal service at a university and provide learning for capacity building, thereby helping to co-design future initiatives.

For more information contact: Monika Antal, Assistant Director at Yorkshire Universities

Follow: #UPPFGrants2023

NOTE TO EDITORS

Related: UPP Press release ‘UPP Foundation awards over £160k in funding to outstanding pilot initiatives’ (23 January 2023).

Yorkshire Universities (YU) has a shared commitment to strengthen the contribution of universities and higher education institutions to the economic, social and civic well-being of people and places in Yorkshire. The twelve member institutions of YU are: Leeds Arts University; Leeds Conservatoire; Leeds Beckett University; Leeds Trinity University; Sheffield Hallam University; University of Bradford; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Leeds; University of Sheffield; University of York; and York St John University.

Website www.yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk Twitter: @YorkshireUnis

Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission (YHCC) launched in March 2021, as part of the Place-based Climate Action Network and supported by the Yorkshire Leaders Board. The Commission is an independent advisory group that brings together public, private and third sector actors to support, guide and track the delivery of ambitious climate actions across the region. 

Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission’s aims are to advance the region’s climate leadership and to accelerate climate resilient, net-zero development through an inclusive and just transition. Read an overview here 

Website: yorksandhumberclimate.org.uk Twitter: @YHClimateCom 

  • Share this post:

Yorkshire Universities one of the eight initiatives awarded funding by the UPP Foundation

UPP Foundation awards over £160k in funding to outstanding pilot initiatives

UPP Press release as published on 23 January 2023.

The UPP Foundation, the registered charity founded by student accommodation and infrastructure business UPP, has invested over £160,000 in grant funding for eight innovative pilot projects with charities and universities.

The projects were selected by the Foundation’s Trustees following the submission of over 50 applications during the latest funding round – the most the Foundation has received to date.

Funding was awarded to schemes which support student and graduate success for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, and for initiatives which support universities’ efforts to embed environmental sustainability within their local communities.

The UPP Foundation has awarded grants to:

  • Establish a tutoring scheme for undergraduates to tutor local year 8 pupils in literacy (University of Exeter)
  • Create an Energy Advice Centre where students will support the local community to save on their energy bills (London South Bank University)
  • Research the relationship between climate change and student mental health (Student Minds)
  • Support the transition from school to university for low-income students (projects from the Brilliant Club and Villiers Park Educational Trust)
  • Develop an application which will map and protect local biodiversity (University of Lincoln)
  • Incubate student engagement in local sustainability projects which support employability skills for participating students (Yorkshire Universities)
  • Capture the experiences of international students in the UK jobs market (AGCAS)

The eight pilot projects were chosen on the basis of their overall quality, synergy with the UPP Foundation’s goals, commitment to partnership, innovative approach and potential for impact.

The outcomes of the pilots will be shared across higher education so that best practice can be embedded across the sector.

Commenting on the successful applications, Richard Brabner, Director of the UPP Foundation said:

“We received an unprecedented number of outstanding applications for our most recent funding round. We chose these brilliant projects as they help universities address fundamental issues we are facing in society, and provide an innovative approach to supporting disadvantaged students succeed during their studies

“We expect that these projects will ignite great practice across the higher education sector and look forward to sharing their outcomes in the months and years ahead.”

ENDS:

1. 2023 Grants

Tutoring Pilot – University of Exeter (£24,885):

Social mobility researchers led by Lee Elliot Major, will work with the University’s access team to look at different models of tutoring and develop a discrete tutoring course in foundational literacy for year 8 pupils. They will then train 100 undergraduates to deliver small-group tutoring to 300 local pupils. At the conclusion of the project Exeter will publish a set of recommendations and guidance for universities and policy makers indicating potential models through which universities across the country can deliver student tutoring.

Energy Advice Centre – South Bank University (£23,548):

Legal Advice Centres, where students provide free guidance to local residents on their legal rights, are common across the sector. South Bank have taken this idea and will be piloting a similar approach for energy. South Bank will establish an advice centre for their local community, focussed on ways that households can reduce their energy consumption, improve energy efficiency, and save money as the cost-of-living crisis starts to bite. This will be run by undergraduates and overseen by PhD students, with weekly clinics hosted over the course of the year.

Climate Change and Student Mental Health Report – Student Minds (£10,544):

Leading student mental health charity Student Minds have been awarded a grant to run a research project looking at the links between mental health and climate change amongst the student body. Research will be based on qualitative and quantitative approaches, with a report published with conclusions and recommendations towards the end of the year.

Join the Dots – Brilliant Club (£25,000) & Transition to Success – Villiers Park Educational Trust (£25,000)

Better supporting the transition to higher education from school or college emerged as one of the key themes from the UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission as a way to enable student success, continuation and graduate outcomes. As part of this funding-round the UPP Foundation is supporting two pilot projects on this theme with two leading access charities. At the end of the pilots, the Foundation will then produce a report sharing learnings from these distinct approaches to enable best practice to flourish in the sector.

Brilliant Club

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be matched with a PhD Coach from the university they are attending. Each PhD Coach will support a group of eight students through a six-month transition programme (pre-entry to end of the first term). The programme also includes a community element, as they will be connecting students from similar backgrounds through facilitated peer groups where they will be encouraged to reflect on their experiences and support each other through the transition. Join the Dots will be supporting 50-100 students in the pilot phase.

Villiers Park Educational Trust

This project will support 500 students at participating universities. Using ‘solution-focussed’ coaching, the course aims to equip incoming students with the self-reflection, thinking skills and confidence to prepare for and manage the practical, emotional, and logistical aspects of negotiating social, academic, and domestic change. It will run over 6 months from June (before entry) to the end of the calendar year. 

App for biodiversity – University of Lincoln (£24,997):

There is a need to understand and enhance ecosystem provision (biodiversity and carbon storage) in urban areas. Urban centres are also the areas which are most at risk of decline. This project aims to support the local community to better understand the key biodiversity provided locally, and how to take action to enhance it. To achieve this, Lincoln will engage with local communities and, using a citizen science approach, map three key ecosystem areas in Lincoln using an AI-enabled mobile application that measures i) biodiversity and habitat connectivity; ii) above-ground vegetation carbon storage and iii) Water infiltration for flood regulation. The aim is to support the local community understand biodiversity in the city and then support its protection and enhancement.

Sustainability Service-Learning Pilots – Yorkshire Universities (£20,000):

Service-learning is where students use the knowledge and skills they have acquired within their degree to support a project or organisation delivering positive social change locally – students often receive credits towards their degree from the service-learning modules. This project funds Yorkshire Universities to audit existing work within their twelve members, scope out a brokerage network between communities and universities, as well as fund mini challenges, collate and share an online repository of pilot projects to showcase to a wider audience. The focus for the service-learning initiatives will be on local environmental and sustainability projects.

International graduates and UK employment: capturing experiences of post-study work visas – AGCAS (£12,400):

AGCAS is the membership organisation for higher education student career development and graduate employment professionals. Its project aims to enhance support for international students by raising awareness of the facilitators and barriers to success in the UK job market. Drawing on international graduates’ experiences of seeking and gaining employment in the UK – through surveys, focus groups and case studies – they will assess the effectiveness of the Graduate Route and other post-study visas and outline how the sector can better support international students considering UK graduate employment.

2. Quotes from grant recipients

Professor Lisa Roberts, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter, said:

“We are delighted to be working with the UPP Foundation on this exciting project – this will provide our undergraduates with opportunities to make a positive impact on our communities, and help deliver on the university’s aims to contribute to social justice.”

Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter, said: 

“We believe a university-led tutoring service could be an education game-changer: enabling undergraduates to develop life skills as tutors and boosting the school achievement of poorer pupils across the country. This has real promise to develop into a nation-wide programme helping to level-up educational opportunities.”

Professor David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University (LSBU) said:

“Rising energy bills are hitting people hard and our new LSBU Energy Advice Centre will provide a vital service to thousands of Londoners by offering advice and information online and in face-to-face to help people cut their fuel bills. We are incredibly grateful to the UPP Foundation for their kind donation which has enabled us to launch and run the LSBU Energy Advice Centre. Our student-led advice service will help people to save money on their energy costs and is one of many examples of LSBU students gaining applying their learning to gain experience whilst providing support to people living in the communities where we are based.”

Professor Benjamin Lishman, Associate Dean and project lead for London South Bank’s Energy Advice Centre said:

“We’re excited to work with UPP Foundation to develop the LSBU Energy Advice Centre. It gives our students the chance to do practical work in the community, and to interact with members of the public to solve real problems. Many people are facing challenges this winter and I’ve been delighted with the way our students have stepped up. We’ve got a fantastic team and I think the enthusiasm of our students is one of our real strengths. We’re already looking at ways we can expand our remit, for example by supporting local businesses as well as individuals. We hope this centre can become a useful model for engineering students across the country.”

Rosie Tressler OBE, Chief Executive Officer of Student Minds said:

“The climate emergency demands an urgent response, so we are delighted to be conducting this timely research, which centres student experiences. Our goal is to provide a strong foundation for future exploration into the relationship between climate change and student mental health. We are delighted to partner once again with the UPP Foundation to deliver this work. We hope the report will serve as a vital resource for all future researchers, policymakers, activists and professionals interested in tackling two of the biggest challenges facing our society today.”

Susie Whigham, Interim CEO of The Brilliant Club said:

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the UPP Foundation on piloting and evaluating our Join the Dots programme. Join the Dots supports less advantaged students as they transition from school and settle into university life. UPP Foundation shares our vision to foster a positive student experience so that we can see more students from disadvantaged backgrounds continue into the second year of their studies and ultimately achieve strong degree outcomes.”

Gaby Sumner, Chief Executive of Villiers Park Educational Trust said:

“I’m delighted that the UPP Foundation has agreed generous funding to develop a new project that prepares students from underrepresented backgrounds for the challenges and new experiences as they enter their first year of university.

“Through our work with our Future Leaders Programme, we know that having the right support in place for that first year of university life can be make or break for some young people.

“We are looking forward to working with the UPP Foundation and our university partners to achieve the best possible transition for students going into higher education and preparing them for successful engagement throughout their time at university.”

Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Libby John, Head of College of Science and Engineering and Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee of the University of Lincoln said:

“We welcome this opportunity to work with UPP Foundation to develop and share an innovative web-based application that will help to map biodiversity across Lincolnshire, while engaging local communities to be part of the solution to the ecological crisis and supporting them to take steps to improve biodiversity in their local area. This project will be delivered by University of Lincoln students from disciplines including Computer Science, Geography, Life Sciences and Business, providing valuable work experience”

Monika Antal, Assistant Director of Yorkshire Universities said:

“I am delighted that Yorkshire Universities will be working with the UPP Foundation on our sustainability service-learning project. This funding will enable us to pilot a unique regional collaboration between higher education institutions and local employers, across Yorkshire & Humber, and showcase the innovative ways in which students can work with local employers to support businesses in becoming more environmentally sustainable.”

Florence Reedy, Policy and Research Manager AGCAS, Helen Atkinson and Jim Campbell, AGCAS Internationalisation Task Group

“We are delighted to be receiving this generous funding from UPP Foundation to allow us to share the experiences of international graduates seeking UK employment. In spring 2022, AGCAS and its Internationalisation Task Group surveyed international graduates to learn more about their experiences of seeking employment in the UK following the introduction of the Graduate Route visa. The aim of this research project was to better understand the facilitators and barriers to success.

This backing from the UPP Foundation will provide the resource necessary to undertake further extensive analysis of survey responses, capture further qualitative data from a series of focus groups and develop a bank of case studies of international graduates. All these extended research outputs will be widely shared across the sector to help build a clearer picture of the effectiveness of the Graduate Route visa and support positive change for international graduates.” 

  • Share this post:

Collaboration is the key message at the first Y-PERN Conference

Experts, regional leaders and representatives from Councils, Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Government Departments and Agencies, will meet today to consider the growing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, and how best increase prosperity in Yorkshire and the Humber.

The inaugural Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) conference takes place at the University of Leeds on the 19th and 20th January 2023. Research England has awarded £3.9m, to a consortium led by Yorkshire Universities, to establish Y-PERN in partnership with Yorkshire and Humber Councils, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Hull and East Yorkshire LEP, and York and North Yorkshire LEP.

Y-PERN will add value to existing collaborations. Academic researchers will work with policymakers to generate and interpret economic, social and environmental data and evidence.

Dr Peter O’Brien, Executive Director of Yorkshire Universities, said: “This is the first opportunity, under the banner of Y-PERN, that we have been able to come together to discuss the key issues facing our region, and to define the interventions that will grow and sustain the economy.

“This conference will illustrate how world-leading research taking place in Yorkshire’s universities is being applied directly in the search for practical solutions to the problems faced by growing numbers of people, businesses and communities in the region.”

Notes to Editors

Yorkshire Universities has a shared commitment to strengthen the contribution of universities and higher education institutions to the economic, social and civic well-being of people and places in Yorkshire. There are an estimated 15,900 academics based in the twelve member institutions of Yorkshire Universities, which are: Leeds Arts University; Leeds Conservatoire; Leeds Beckett University; Leeds Trinity University; Sheffield Hallam University; University of Bradford; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Leeds; University of Sheffield; University of York; and York St John University.

www.yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk
@YorkshireUnis

Y-PERN is a novel network-based approach to inclusive and place-based academic policy engagement and research. Led a team of expert Policy Fellows, located across all parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, Y-PERN will play a critical role in fulfilling the commitment made in the Memorandum of Understanding between Yorkshire Universities (YU) and Yorkshire and Humber Councils (YHC) to work closer together to identify and implement actions and solutions to some of the pressing economic opportunities and challenges facing the region.

www.yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk/y-pern
@Y_PERN_

Research England shapes healthy, dynamic research and knowledge exchange in England’s universities. It distributes over £2 billion to universities in England every year; works to understand their strategies, capabilities and capacity; and supports and challenges universities to create new knowledge, strengthen the economy, and enrich society. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation.

www.ukri.org/councils/research-england/
@ResEngland

Contact: Dr Peter O’Brien, Executive Director, Yorkshire Universities

  • Share this post:

Our universities: generating growth and opportunity – a regional perspective

The UK higher education sector is one of our country’s greatest assets. It is as diverse
as it is prestigious and, in each region of the UK, universities and HEIs of all sizes and
specialisms are working hard to provide their local economies with the skills and
innovations to promote growth and productivity.

The recent Universities UK report looking at Our Universities: Generating Growth and
Opportunity rightly highlights the positive impact that HEIs are making in the UK’s
nations and regions. As the two largest and long-standing regional representative
bodies for higher education in England, London Higher and Yorkshire Universities have
come together to further demonstrate the power of regional university ecosystems
and, ultimately, help to support, through our own regional-specific activities and case
studies, the case for universities to influence and inform policymaking within and
across the UK.

Download pdf.

  • Share this post:

Y-PERN is recruiting a Senior Programme Manager

See the original job advert as posted on the jobs.leeds.ac.uk website.

Do you thrive on working in a complex environment, using your ability to navigate organisational issues, as well as your skills in project delivery? Can you provide leadership and project management skills to facilitate and drive a multi-stakeholder project team? 

Background

Funded by the Research England Development (RED) Fund, the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) is a new novel network-based approach to inclusive and place-based academic policy engagement and research, with academic coordination led by Leeds University Business School, working closely with the University’s Research and Innovation Service and with Yorkshire Universities (a regional partnership of 12 Higher Education Institutions.) By enhancing the effectiveness of inclusive regional development policy and strategy, Y-PERN will play a critical role in fulfilling the commitment made in a Regional Memorandum of Understanding between Yorkshire Universities and Yorkshire & Humber Councils (22 Local Authorities and 2 Mayoral Combined Authorities) to work together on supporting the region’s growth and long-term development. 

As Senior Programme Manager, you will be a key member of the core Y-PERN project team working closely with the Directors, Chief Policy Fellow, sub-regional package leads, Yorkshire Universities and other project stakeholders (such as Local Authority, Mayoral Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership representatives). You will be responsible for developing and implementing the Operational Strategy & Plan for Y-PERN, applying leadership and programme management skills to ensure the timely delivery of project deliverables and outcomes, as agreed within the Plan. As Senior Programme Manager, you will also in charge of organising and managing the monthly Y-PERN Operational Group meetings and oversee the day-to-day activities of Y-PERN (including marketing, communications and recruitment) and monitor / report progress against funding and output targets and project risks.  

You will have the ability to balance priorities, work with different institutions and stakeholders, deal with complex academic and financial information, and succeed through cooperation and collaboration with others. You will be happy to articulate and embed project management methodologies, collaborate with other specialists across the University of Leeds and other universities in the region, and will be comfortable working with limited supervision.   

As a Senior Programme Manager, you must be able to demonstrate significant experience in working at a senior level to deliver successful projects. 

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Professor Andy Brown, email: A.Brown@lubs.leeds.ac.uk 

or

Rosie Hudson, HR Officer, LUBS Human Resources, email: r.hudson@adm.leeds.ac.uk 

Location: Leeds – Main Campus
Faculty/Service: Faculty of Business
School/Institute: Leeds University Business School
Category: Professional & Managerial
Grade: Grade 8
Salary: £43,414 to £51,805 p.a.
Post Type: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed Term (Fixed term until 31 August 2025)
Release Date: Monday 28 November 2022
Closing Date: Friday 06 January 2023
Reference: LUBSC1644
Downloads: Candidate Brief  
  • Share this post:

YU is recruiting: Are you interested in collaborations and partnership work?

Yorkshire Universities is recruiting a new Communications and Projects Officer to join its Executive Team. The successful applicant will help to provide a strong voice for higher education in Yorkshire and the Humber, and support universities and higher education institutions to contribute towards the long-term and sustainable growth and development of the region.

Find out more about the role and how to apply here.

Application deadline: noon, 6 January 2023.

  • Share this post: