How are universities and local authorities working together – and is this benefiting rural areas? Jessica Sellick investigates.

Through their teaching and research, universities are now seen as critical in driving economic growth, prosperity and innovation. They combine global reach with local rootedness - offering well-paid employment to large numbers of people (with their staff and students adding substantially to consumer expenditure).

Local Authorities also play a pivotal role in creating the conditions for economic growth as well as meeting the needs of residents and making places attractive to live and work in. How are universities and local authorities working together – and is this benefiting rural areas? Jessica Sellick investigates.

Universities have a long history – as the oldest university in the English speaking world, teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167; with Cambridge University founded in 1209.

From the 19th century the University of London was created (1836) with institutions – in what became known as ‘red brick institutions’ – emerging in other cities including Durham (1832), Exeter (1855), Bristol (1876), Birmingham (1900) and Sheffield (in 1905).

The Robbins Report of 1963 reviewed the pattern of full-time higher education and recommended that more universities be built. These new universities – what became known as ‘plate glass universities’ were often located on campuses outside of towns and cities where they would have plenty of room for expansion (eg East Anglia in 1963, Kent in 1965, Lancaster in 1964 and Aston in 1966).

With the passing of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, polytechnics or colleges of higher education were given the name ‘university’ and ‘HE colleges’ became known as ‘university colleges’ (e.g. Leicester Polytechnic became De Montfort University; Newcastle Polytechnic became the University of Northumbria; and Polytechnic South West became the University of Plymouth). As of December 2015, there were 106 universities and university colleges in England recognised by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) out of a total of 130 in the UK.

These figures do not include overseas universities with campuses in the UK (e.g. American University in London, Fairleigh Dickinson University in Oxfordshire) or institutions with ‘University College’ in their title but which are not university colleges by statute.

In June 2015, Universities UK published a report setting out the economic role of UK universities. Between 2011 and 2012 the higher education sector generated over £73 billion of output (both direct and indirect effects); contributed 2.8% of UK GDP (up from 2.3% in 2007); made up 2.7% of all UK employment (up from 2.6% in 2007); and for every 100 full time jobs at universities another 117 full time jobs were established in other sectors of the economy. Alongside this, a review of the financial health of higher education institutions published by HEFCE in November 2015 concluded that future projected surplus levels were not sufficient to sustain the HE sector in England.

Indeed the £150 million funding reduction announced by HEFCE in July 2015 had not been reflected in institutional projections and a 5% per year reduction in public sector funding could see the sector in a deficit position by 2017-2018. The review also revealed significant variation in the financial performance and capital investment plans of individual institutions.

The current structure of local government has its origins in the municipal reform of the 19th century. During the 20th century, the structure of local government was reformed and rationalised, with local government areas becoming fewer and larger.

The structure, functions, funding and powers of Local Government have been subject to reform ever since. Today, Councils are funded by a combination of central government grants, council tax, business rates and charges for some services (e.g. parking).

And they continue to face cuts with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) settlement from Spending Review 2015 reducing Local Authority spending by some 6.7% in real terms between 2016 and 2020, with the bulk of these (the latest in ongoing rounds of cuts) frontloaded in the first two-years.

As the money Local Authorities receive from Government shrinks, it is the intention they become reliant on funds raised locally though council tax and business rates.

While Government has sought to protect grants aimed at helping Local Authorities with the additional costs of delivering services in sparsely populated areas, some RSN members have said more/continuing cuts will undoubtedly increase the pressure on the already stretched services they commission or deliver.

With Local Authorities facing ongoing austerity (and pressures such as demographic change, social care) and universities having to cut costs (while investing in infrastructure, teaching and career support so as to recruit students); are Local Authorities and universities working together to harness their resources or do they lack the means to engage with each other on a scale that benefits them both?

In a review of business university collaboration back in 2012, Professor Sir Tim Wilson described how “the diversity of universities in this country provides a rich supply chain of high level skills and innovation capability to companies; yet it is not apparent that UK universities are the magnet for inward investment in a manner that meets their potential.

Some places, notably Cambridge, can claim such a status, but this phenomenon does not appear to have been created through strategic policy, rather through the initiative and activities of entrepreneurial individuals, supported by the civic authorities at that time.”

In his report ‘no stone unturned in the pursuit of growth’, Lord Heseltine called for Government to develop stronger links with researchers, universities and businesses to develop and maintain the UK’s knowledge base. The policy framework to achieve this is being developed through Innovate UK and the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB).

The policy framework for Local Authorities to engage with education that many RSN members are familiar with is set at the level of schools: from sorting out places and providing home to school transport through to allocating finance and implementing legislation from Government.

At present, there is much discussion around the shifting responsibilities of local authorities in education (e.g. places, standards, supporting vulnerable children, academies) – with Councils now enabling schools to lead their own improvement.

But how are – or how can – Local Authorities engage with Higher Education (HE)?

I offer five points: -

First, universities undertake research that could be shaped and used by Local Authorities. The UK Research Councils Rural Economy and Land Use programme (Relu) ran between 2004 and 2013 to advance understanding of the social, economic, environmental and technological challenges being faced by rural communities.

The programme worked with local government and produced a range of policy and practice notes (e.g. economic growth, flooding, farm diversification, energy production, food, Nature Improvement Areas). The “Care Life Cycle” research programme ran from 2010 to 2015.

]Based at the University of Southampton, the programme looked at measuring unmet need for social care amongst older people. Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) was established in 2007 by a partnership of 22 universities, government departments and agencies. It aims to enable funders to coordinate their resources to avoid duplication, bring together different disciplines and take a UK wide perspective.

In Scotland, the University of Edinburgh worked with six local authority social work departments as part of ‘Engaging with Scottish Local Authorities (ESLA)’ project. This involved academics, social workers and involuntary users (i.e., offenders, those with mental health problems or disabilities and families involved in child protection cases) to produce a good practice guide to help build positive working relationships.

At a local level, Camden Council is working with Central St Martin’s to create a Public Collaboration Lab. The lab brings residents, higher education and local government together to add value to a number of projects including libraries, local planning and youth centres.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has pushed for better focused research impact in and for local government. The Local Government Knowledge Navigator (LGKN), funded by the ESRC, was launched in January 2013 to help local government to make better use of existing national investment in research and to influence future research agendas. A LGKN Evidence Review identified some of the factors that make for successful collaboration between local government and the research community.

These include: a focus on issues relevant to local government action; joint applications from academics and local government; university departments working on programmes directly relevant to local authority decision making; universities working on relevant ‘burning issues’; building long term relationships through postgraduate placements; and leadership from the university – support from the Vice Chancellor to ensure the importance of the projects is recognised and academics time made available.

The final report, published in May 2015, recommended local government and the research community challenge existing cultures and mind-sets; stimulate demonstration projects; establish a web-enabled platform to better connect government and research; and support strategic and scalable research interventions which are likely to have reach and impact in areas such as public health and social care.

How can Local Authorities influence research agendas? And how can higher education research help Councils do more with less?

Second, universities have teaching programmes that benefit rural communities (e.g. medicine, business, agriculture). The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) is funded by HEFCE, Research Councils UK and the Wellcome Trust. The Centre aims to build effective partnerships to encourage partners to embed public engagement in their work. Research in Ireland looked at the role of local access programmes in increasing higher education participation rates.

The study found residents in relatively disadvantaged areas of Dublin were more likely to go onto further or higher education if they lived close by a college. Some HE institutions market their rural location with quality of life and community feel to attract students (e.g. Falmouth University, Hadlow College, Highlands & Islands).

The University of Cambridge has a ‘Community Knowledge Exchange’ which brokers partnerships between community organisations with research questions and students carrying out research in fulfilment of their degree programmes. The National Graduate Development Programme (ngdp) is a two-year graduate management development programme run by the Local Government Association.

Graduates are provided with a series of placements to engage them in the core work of Councils. Participating authorities for 2016 placements include Cheshire West and Chester, Cornwall Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cotswold District Council, Gloucestershire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and Nottinghamshire County Council

How can Local Authorities work with students while they are still at university?

Third, universities have building assets and land. The HE sector has significant funds for leverage – from developing disused land, to jointly investing with the public and private sector to provide office and living space. For example, the Lincoln campus of the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside opened in 1996, bringing large scale HE activity to Lincolnshire for the first time.

With just 4,000 students the campus was located on a formerly derelict area near the city centre - £60 million was spent to create at the time to create what was Britain’s largest free standing new campus area. Today the University of Lincoln has 1,000 acres of farmland, a business incubation centre which has supported 300 new and growing companies, a centre for food manufacturing, delivers work based learning for the Ministry of Defence and recently completed a Science and Innovation Park (in collaboration with Lincolnshire Co-operative).

The University of Plymouth worked with SERCO and Plymouth City Council on a shared services project (HELASS). This explored opportunities for co-working, joint procurement and rationalisation of ICT in the delivery of back office and front end facilities.

How can Local Authorities and universities work within their localities to develop joint plans to share/develop land and buildings for other uses - especially at a time when Local Authorities have been tasked with releasing ‘excess’ land and property.

Fourth, universities are seen as a key partner in driving growth through their education exports, commercialisation of research and innovation developed through business-university collaboration. Universities are seen as a key sector in the Government’s Industrial Strategy; and as having a role to play as ‘place shapers’ in informing local economic strategies (e.g. LEPs, City Deals). The RSA City Growth Commission, for example, made a series of policy recommendations to universities and urban authorities.

The Commission highlighted the role of universities in ‘metro growth’ in calling for authorities to produce graduates on their doorsteps rather than attracting them once they’ve graduated – including having a ‘ReFreshers week’ where local authorities run a concentrated campaign with universities to help focus graduates on extending their roots in their place of study in the key weeks and months before and after graduation – and establishing Metro Investment Funds for Higher Education (MIFHE) to fund research and teaching which will deliver local growth. The Commission further suggested universities co-invest with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to provide start-up incubation and acceleration space.

The Commission described how “in a brave new world, areas shape their competitive advantage…[universities] therefore need to be ‘for’ something different in different places”. From the Midlands Engine to the Northern Powerhouse universities are beginning to respond to the devolution agenda: the Institute for Local Governance (ILG) is a partnership of the North East’s universities, Local Authorities, police forces and fire & rescue services to source research for the public sector.

The University of Manchester has established a new research centre for advanced manufacturing and the University of Sheffield for advanced nuclear materials.

Is devolution fostering closer links between universities and Local Authorities in places?

Fifth, it may be useful for Local Authority representatives to sit on management boards and advisory committees. This enables academics, officers and Members to discuss issues of common interest and exchange ideas. The majority of LEPs already have HE representation on their boards – as part of a move to encourage universities to focus on localities as part of their mission.

At the recent RSN economic development meeting Local Authority officers indicated the benefits have a universities in their localities brings. Yet in many instances opportunities for authorities to work with academics was based on existing links with entrepreneurial individuals and departments rather than something taking place at institutional and systematic levels.

Local Authorities need to tap into HE – influencing research agendas, becoming a greater beneficiary of HE activities, and using this to aid service design and delivery. But this also means universities (in all their guises of size, location, priorities, mission and commitment to the wider public) identifying local government’s needs and what they can do to help meet these needs.

While there are many examples of Local Authorities working with HE to harness expertise and resources, all too often this remains on an ad-hoc or informal basis. And this picture is further complicated for many rural Local Authorities who may have three or four universities within or surrounding their locality.

Jessica is a researcher/project manager at Rose Regeneration; an economic development business working with communities, Government and business to help them achieve their full potential. She is currently preparing Community Led Local Development application; supporting the Big Lottery Fund to deliver Village SOS; involved in projects to help older people remain independent and in their homes for as long as possible; and completing a European project on ‘social value’. Jessica’s public services work includes research for Defra on alternative service delivery and local level rural proofing. She can be contacted by email jessica.sellick@roseregeneration.co.uk or telephone 01522 521211. Website: http://www.roseregeneration.co.uk/ Twitter: @RoseRegen

To receive a copy of the RSN economic development meeting notes (which took place on 21 April in Newark) please contact Ivan Annibal by email ivan.annibal@roseregeneration.co.uk