February 2020 highlights
Week 9: 24-28 February
The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Further and Higher Education - Prize winners include:
- UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD: Innovative research in rail engineering, to improve safety and efficiency through technological developments in the interface of rolling stock and track;
- THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD: Ground-breaking research which is improving treatment and care for people with neurodegenerative diseases including MS, Alzheimer’s and MND;
- UNIVERSITY OF YORK: Ground-breaking research in protein science leading to new drugs and therapies for diabetes and other conditions, and improved industrial processes.
Congratulations!
The Chairs for the 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the North of England, known collectively as the Northern Powerhouse 11 (the NP11), met with Government Ministers and Northern MPs in Parliament today to outline proposals for levelling-up the UK's economy ahead of next month's Budget.
Read more here, also see the NP11 Manifesto here.
Policy Briefing: Million Plus - SPF2020: How the Shared Prosperity Fund can protect the UK economy
'Everything changes on 1 January 2021. The UK will have reached the end of the post-Brexit transition period, under which it continues currently to benefit from membership of the European Union and moves to new arrangements as a third country (in the EU parlance). The end of that transition period also marks the end of the country’s participation in a series of programmes that collectively invested nearly €16.5bn into the UK since 2014. These programmes – the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development – have been of huge value to the UK, in particular to the areas of the country outside the growth engines of London and the south east. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions have benefited enormously from this investment, seeing major projects implemented.'
See the full report and executive summary below or on the UK2070 website:
UK2070-FINAL-REPORT.pdfUK2070-EXEC-SUMMARY-FINAL-REPORT.pdfby Natalie Day, Chris Husbands and Bob Kerslake
A new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute, Making Universities Matter: How higher education can help to heal a divided Britain (HEPI Report 125), is calling for fundamental change to ensure universities meet the priorities of their communities and help the Government bridge social, economic and regional divides.
Making-Universities-Matter-Report-125-FINAL.pdfUK life expectancy has been stalling at the same time as a decade of austerity. The 10 Years On Review, #Marmot 2020, will confirm a widening of health inequalities, a widening of health inequalities and set out the current cost to society of avoidable health inequalities (health inequities).
Health Equity in England_The Marmot Review 10 Years On_full report.pdfReport: NESTA - Digital Culture 2019
Digital Culture 2019 is a study on the impact and use of technology in the arts and culture sector, from Arts Council England and Nesta.
Digital-Culture-2019.pdfey-uk-regional-economic-forecast-february-2020.pdf"For decades, Westminster government has enabled deep divisions to grow in this country: divisions between whole regions of England; divisions between cities, towns and villages; and divisions within places, between people."
the-devolution-parliament-feb20.pdfReport: Policy Exchange - Universities at the Crossroads
"Universities in the UK are not yet in crisis – but they could be if they continue down their current path. In this report, based on over 50 interviews with vice-chancellors, chairs of council and other senior leaders, we set out the steps that university leaders must take if they are to put their institutions on a robust footing and regain the trust of the nation."
Universities-at-the-Crossroads.pdfDiscussion paper: UK2070 Commission: Should we have an 'MIT for the North?'
06-MITN-Issues-Feb2020.pdfPapers in Innovation Studies, Paper no. 2020/03: Innovation without regional development? The complex interplay of innovation, institutions and development
Authors: Pedro Marques, Kevin Morgan
Abstract: This paper argues that the development of regional innovation concepts drawing primarily on the experiences of advanced regions, has meant that the dominant narratives about regional development are not adequate to explain the experiences of less developed regions (LDRs). Drawing on the extensive experience of the authors doing research in LDRs, the paper develops three main arguments: first, the emphasis put on networks and systems means that not enough attention is paid to the internal capabilities of organisations, including those of firms, Universities and the public sector.
These capabilities shape the strategies of these organisations regarding innovation and collaboration, and therefore influence the nature and content of innovation systems. Second, the paper argues that too much attention has been paid to the importance of informal institutions, rather than analysing the dynamic interaction between formal and informal institutions. The latter approach allows us to avoid culturally deterministic interpretations of under-development and to think about ways in which formal policies could help to improve innovation environments. Third, the paper argues that innovation at the firm level does not always lead to improvement in productivity and economic growth at the aggregate scale.
This is partly due to the effects of the dynamics discussed in the two previous points, but is also because advanced regions benefit from a socio-economic ecosystem which supports the translation of new ideas into economic activity. This means that though innovation is fundamental for long-term economic growth, it is not sufficient without mechanisms that ensure its dissemination through the entirety of the economic system.
Journal: AGCAS - Phoenix
This issue focuses on enterprise and entrepreneurship. As graduates are increasingly required to demonstrate great career agility to navigate an ever complex and transient labour market, a deeper understanding and interpretation of what it is to be entrepreneurial has never been more important. Enterprise education has therefore become a prominent feature of the employability narrative.
"In this issue of our journal, we share examples of how AGCAS members across the UK are committed to developing the entrepreneurial skills of all students, redefining the concept of ‘entrepreneurialism’ and its application across all disciplines and career pathways, to demonstrate a far broader relevance than just to those students who wish to start their own business."
Blog: CITY-REDI - 'Universities and Regional Economies: A Peek Into the Wild Side' by Author Diana Gutierrez Posada
"There is a great divide among academics and the public as to the awareness of the potential impact of universities in their local areas. Naturally, academics have examined the role of universities through a variety of impact channels. However, it is only recently that a concentrated effort is being made to share this evidence with the rest of society."
Blog: NCUB - 'Reshuffle: splitting the deck'
"As we now know – or think we know (an important distinction in policy and in life), we have two new leaders of the higher education and science portfolios, departmental areas previously bridged by one Minister. "
Blog: NCUB - 'Research funding, universities and the place agenda'
"While regionalism and place have been climbing the agenda for several years, a new Conservative majority built on a swathe of northern, de-industrialised towns, has given the Government a stronger impetus than ever to boost regional economic growth and tackle the entrenched structural problems within the UK economy."
Blog: WonkHE - 'Preparing graduates for jobs that don’t yet exist'
"Industry 4.0” is staring us in the face. Robots are coming to take over the world. And the question of how universities – either in their formal teaching or learning, or though extra- or co-curricular activity and support, can prepare graduates for jobs that “don’t yet exist”, is one I’m hearing more and more – both inside and around the edges of the sector."
Blog: WonkHE - 'How university estates can serve the communities that house them'
"The university sector is currently undergoing many changes. Much of this change is in the form of new investment, creating new buildings to meet the demands of new and emerging study areas, as well as a desire to improve and upgrade ageing stock."
Blog: 'Universities and Geography: Learning from the OECD?' by Kevin Richardson
"UKRI committed in its original Strategic Prospectus to publish a Place Strategy and work is progressing towards its publication. Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has opened an investigation into ‘universities and geography’. Kevin Richardson, Research England, identifies many common issues."
Talk: UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose - Unbound: Heather Boushey on how inequality constricts our economy
Rather than extracting value, we need to direct innovation towards sustainable development in order to address grand societal challenges. Chaired by IPP Director Marian Mazzucato.
Julie's Bicycle - WE MAKE TOMORROW
Watch the livestream for a major summit on creativity and leadership in a climate emergency.
Week 8: 17-21 February
Press release: UPP Foundation - A Tale of a Divided Britain
New polling for the UPP Foundation, the registered charity founded by University Partnerships Programme (UPP), carried out by Public First, shows a stark divide between the various communities in Britain as to how they feel their local areas have fared over their time living there.
At a time when much political attention is being given to how to ‘level up’ areas of the country that have fared less well in recent years, the polling shows a great divide between how different parts of their country see their everyday lives.
These findings will inform a new report from the Civic University Commission due in the spring.
Press Release - Divided Britain - Final .pdfWith its more than 100 indicators, this OECD tool measures the distance towards the SDGs in more than 600 regions and 600 cities of OECD and partner countries.
"Following an election that seems to have settled the question of Brexit and has returned the first significant majority any government has enjoyed in a decade, public and political attention is likely to turn towards the pressing domestic issues that have felt neglected in recent years."
Is_the_UK_Getting_Innovation_Right.pdf"What would it mean to reorient industrial strategy away from the frontier, and towards the parts of the economy in which most people are employed – and which give our lives meaning?
The UK’s recently updated industrial strategy seeks to ‘level up’ the UK economy, through an ambitious programme of ‘one nation’ research and development (R&D) investment. However, its overwhelming focus is on frontier sectors, to the neglect of vast swathes of the economy."
Loves_Labours_Found.pdfReport: Industrial Strategy Council - Annual Report 2020
The Industrial Strategy Council has published its first Annual Report, setting out its evaluation of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.
The Council believes that a successful Industrial Strategy requires
- Longevity, since Industrial Strategy policies typically take a lengthy period to have a significant and durable impact on the economy.
- Scale, since Industrial Strategy policies need to be large enough to have that large and lasting impact on macro-economic outcomes.
- Co-ordinated, since an Industrial Strategy is likely to span different aspects of policy and different departments of government and other bodies.
ISC Annual Report 2020.pdfReport: APPG on Global Health Research - The UK as a global centre for health and social science
The APPG on Global Health's latest report, titled 'The UK as a global centre for health and health science - a go-to place for all aspects of health globally' is now available to download. The new report from parliamentarians argues that the UK can play an even greater role in health and health science globally.
The UK's contribution to health globally – 2020 update FINAL.pdfReport: Parkwalk & Beauhurst: Equity Investment into UK Spinouts
Parkwalk_Beauhurst_Spinouts-WEB.pdfThis research focuses on how the professional and business services sector can contribute to Local Industrial Strategies and create growth both within and outside the sector.
professional-business-services-sector-growth-outside-london.pdfBlast from the past report: ScaleUp Institute - Explore the ScaleUp Annual Review 2019
The ScaleUp Institute continues to make a real impact on scale ups across the country through their research and education programmes.
This Review highlights the strong progress made, and some of the crucial opportunities and challenges to address moving forward to help businesses unlock their potential and scale-up.
Explore the review here.
Data release: HESA - Performance Indicators
On Thursday 13 February, HESA released new statistics showing the proportion of students from participation neighbourhoods and state schools at each HE provider. Key findings from the data include:
- In 2018−19, 11.4% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses were from low participation neighbourhoods. This is the same as 2017−18 and 0.3 percentage points higher than 2015−16
- In 2018−19, the proportion of mature entrants (aged 21 or over) from low participation neighbourhoods starting part-time undergraduate courses was 9.3%, up from 8.4% in 2017−18
- In 2018−19, the proportion of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from state schools was 90.0% – the same proportion as in 2015−16 and 2016−17, and 0.1 percentage points higher than in 2017−18
- Wide variation by providers e.g. providers with low indicators are more likely to be specialist music and art colleges, or research-intensive universities with high entry requirements.
You can find more information on the data here.
Blog: WONKHE - 'Where’s the value debate about to go next?' by Debbie McVitty
The question of “value for money” has been floating around English higher education since the advent of £9k fees. The calculation at the time was that students would naturally expect “more” from the student experience, which universities would duly deliver.
Blog: 'Creative Industries in Yorkshire and the Humber' by Dr Peter O’Brien, YU Executive Director
"According to an independent review of the creative industries, the creative industries are vital to the UK’s long-term productivity and global success. This is even more significant in a post-Brexit era, where universities will have an important role. A 2018 study by Nesta found that research collaborations between universities and creative industries supported by UK Research Councils and Innovate UK had more than doubled between 2006 and 2017."
Blog: 'Unpacking the role of universities as civic anchor institutions' by Professor Roger Lewis, YU Associate
"The phrase ‘anchor institution’ is currently in vogue but what does it mean in reality? What defines an ‘anchor’? What kinds of organisation are in a good place to take on the role? How might their different contributions complement each other as part of a wider system? More specifically for YU, what role should universities play?"
Week 7: 11-14 February
Projects: UKRI citizen science & public engagement
Last week UKRI announced the launch of 53 new projects to involve people in research that's relevant to their lives and local areas: 25 of these are public engagement projects and 28 are citizen science projects.
This week we got the project summaries including:
- University of Bradford - Bradford community connectors: shaping research into healthcare improvement A collaboration with Millside Community Centre and an arts company - ‘Ministry of Others’, using creative processes to understand what matters most to communities about health. Putting local community experiences, needs, interests and challenges to set priorities in applied health research and co-create health research for better and safer care
- University of York - Stories in the Sky: digital placemaking University of York archaeologists and the Residents’ Association of Park Hill Flats in Sheffield are coproducing a digital application to enhance resident-led tours of the estate. This will engage visitors with the complex history of this 1950s council housing initiative, currently undergoing regeneration, and becoming home to a diversified community.
- University of Hull - Citizen Inquiry: Barriers, Challenges and Enablers for Public Engagement Citizen Science is being used to focus on issues around plastics waste. A series of workshops with researchers and young people from youth organisations in the city of Hull will explore how the use of Citizen Inquiry might incentivise both groups to get more involved in this kind of activity.
The THYME project, a North of England project designed to improve productivity of the local circular bioeconomy and biobased companies. This project is a collaboration between the universities of York, Hull and Teesside. THYME focuses on three areas: transforming bio-based waste into new products, converting industrial sites by re-purposing them for bio-based manufacturing and, growing the region’s bioeconomy by bringing together research and commercialisation capacities.
The Bioeconomy Game can be used to educate students about sustainability as well as training aid in the workplace. It gives players a better understanding of how products are made from renewable resources. During the game players must minimise the amount of waste that goes to landfill by creating added value from it. The game encourages players to work together to support each other and manage challenges. To find out more visit the Bioeconomy Game's website.
Project: UUK - on the enhancement and growth of higher and further education partnerships
UUK is working with the Association of Colleges and the CBI to develop proposals for the enhancement and growth of higher and further education partnerships. The aim is to agree a set of policy proposals for action by universities, further education colleges and government to enhance partnerships that support increasing opportunities for learners, meet employer skills needs and support local economic growth.
The project is planning to publish an agreed set of policy proposals in June 2020 drawing upon detailed discussions with universities and colleges and possibly some student research. For further information, please contact Greg Wade.
Report: APPG on Longevity - The Health of the Nation - A Strategy for Healthier Longer Lives
"What helps us live longer and healthier? This is a question that more and more organisations are asking, including ourselves. This month sees the publication of The Health of the Nation - A Strategy for Healthier Longer Lives, a new strategy by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Longevity. We were pleased to be asked to contribute our views as the national strategy was being developed, sharing what we’re learning about health inequalities and the social determinants of health through our work on urban health and specifically our programme on multiple-long term conditions. A publication like this is always a welcome step, particularly where it recognises the importance of the social determinants of health in addressing inequalities."
Read more here and see related article in the Guardian here.
Report: UK2070 Commission - A response to the UK2070 Commission's Second Report by CURDS
Professor Andy Pike, Professor Mike Coombes, Louise Kempton, Professor Danny MacKinnon and Dr. Peter O’Brien from The Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University (CURDS) have published a response to UK2070’s Second Report.
Their submission focuses upon the UK2070 Commission’s proposals for decentralisation in England and specifically the establishment of trans-regional provinces; and considers the proposed provinces by comparing them to their national and European context to assess their appropriateness as governance arrangements.
PIKE-Final-Submission-UK2070-Commission (1).pdfThe World Observatory of Subnational Government Finance and Investment is a joint endeavour led by the OECD and United Cities and Local Government (UCLG), with the support the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), the Development Partners Network on Decentralisation and Local Governance (DeLoG), and the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD).
The 2019 Report of the World Observatory was launched on 17 June 2019 during an International Conference. It gathers comparable data and information on subnational government structure and finance from 120+ countries, accounts for 86% of the world population and 89% of world GDP. It comprises two volumes: one with the key findings and the other with country profiles.
2019_SNG-WOFI_REPORT_Key_Findings.pdfReport: OECD - Enhancing Innovation Capacity in City Government
Demographic changes, climate change, and the advent of new technologies will dramatically change our cities and the way we live, demanding that civic leaders adapt and operate in radically new ways.
This site identifies and shares how cities around the world are investing in innovation, to ensure they’re constantly assessing and improving how they’re tackling problems and improving the lives of residents. This map is based on an initial survey of cities in OECD and non-OECD countries. The city information reflects data gathered from the city administration at the time of the survey.
Report: The Scaleup Institute - The Scaleup Index 2019
The Scaleup Index shines a spotlight on a particular segment of the UK’s scaleup landscape. It shows the diversity and spread of “visible” scaleups, which are those private commercial concerns large enough to be declaring their turnover and employee numbers in filed annual accounts at Companies House.
In 2019 the Index shows how the cohort of private scaleups has swelled to more than five thousand, growing from 4,420 to 5,456 in a year – an increase of 23%. Additionally, 249 scaleups are listed on AIM who continue to show strong higher turnover growth rates than their non-listed peers.
ScaleUp-Index-2019-SUI-WEB.pdfReport: New Local Government Network - Cultivating Local Inclusive Growth In Practice
Between 2010 and 2020, the UK experienced something unprecedented in recent history – a decade without a recession. Yet, somehow, this period also saw the lowest levels of wage growth for British workers for any ten-year period since the Napoleonic Wars. The juxtaposition of these two facts paints a stark picture – and shows why so many feel the time has come for us to think differently about what constitutes economic success.
Cultivating-Local-Inclusive-Growth_Final.pdfReport: Resolution Foundation - Working hard(ship) An exploration of poverty, work and tenure
This report explores the nexus between poverty, work and housing, and adds to our knowledge of the topic in two distinctive ways. First, we look at in-work poverty not just as a static but also a dynamic condition. Second, we explore the intersection between housing tenure and in-work poverty. In particular, we focus on the fortunes of social renters, drawing on a collaboration with Clarion Housing Group.
Working-hardship-report.pdfThe workforce crisis in UK manufacturing is well known. There is an acute skills gap that prevents manufacturers from successfully exploiting new technologies. This report provides a blueprint for the way forward.
MTFWFull.pdfReport: Centre for Cities - Measuring 'Levelling up'
How do business and employment opportunities vary across the country?
‘Levelling up’ has been top of the Government’s agenda since the election. But while there is widespread consensus around its importance, there are still outstanding questions around measuring the gap and what policymakers can do about it.
Measuring-levelling-up.pdfReport: DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2018 (provisional) GVA
DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_GVA_2018.pdfCore Cities UK - Budget 2020 Submission
Core Cities UK submission budget 2020 v3.0 FINAL.pdfPaper: LSE - Superstar cities and left-behind places: disruptive innovation, labor demand, and interregional inequality
Kemeny, Thomas and Storper, Michael (2020) Superstar cities and left-behind places: disruptive innovation, labor demand, and interregional Inequality. Working Paper (41). International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
Kemeny_superstar_cities_left_behind_place_wp41.pdfPress release: BEIS - Simplified processes provide welcome boost for UK researchers
The government has announced a trial of new simplified processes for applying for project funding, removing the unnecessary requirement to precisely forecast the long-term benefits of projects that often have unpredictable results. This builds on a previously announced review of bureaucracy in research.
Two new programmes will play a part in the trial - an EPSRC pilot call for six page proposals for transformative research projects across mathematics and the physical sciences, and an NERC call for projects where proposals extend to seven pages. The total value of the two calls is £20m
"Building on our infrastructure opportunities report, together with the landscape report and to encourage and help everyone access research and innovation infrastructure, UKRI has launched a new interactive portal. The InfraPortal showcases the many exciting opportunities for research and innovation that the UK offers. Since we unveiled the portal in November, around 50 additional infrastructures have been added. The InfraPortal will be continually expanded to include additional infrastructures that are externally accessible and receive some public funding.
We are witnessing a new industrial revolution and the UK is extraordinarily well-placed to benefit from it. The ability to do so is rooted in research and innovation infrastructure that brings together global talent from across disciplines and economic sectors to tackle society’s most complex challenges and drive economic growth."
Knowledge Exchange Concordat in England
UUK has published, in collaboration with GuildHE and Research England, the analysis of responses to the consultation on the Knowledge Exchange Concordat. The consultation showed positive endorsement of the principles of the KE concordat but uncertainty over the practical implementation.
The UK Board endorsed the KE Concordat at its meeting on 31 January 2020 and agreed to support a joint development year in partnership with Research England, GuildHE and NCUB to work with institutions and stakeholders to develop and demonstrate the value of the KE Concordat. The UUK Board expressed thanks to Professor Trevor McMillan, Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, for leading the work that underpinned the development of the Concordat.
For more information, please contact Greg Wade.
"This month brought yet more insight into dismally unequal economic performance across the UK regions. According to new Office for National Statistics data, output per hour grew in six regions in 2018, including London and the south east (which were already streets ahead of the rest). But it shrank in six regions: down by 2.5 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber, 2 per cent in Northern Ireland, 1 per cent in Wales, 0.8 per cent in the north east."
"Measures used to assess the value of a degree course could be completely overhauled under proposals to government put forward by Universities UK (UUK). In future, government and universities would be able to use a new tool which measures the value of individual subjects beyond just graduate earnings. This could be to the benefit of students themselves as well as to wider society and the economy."
Read it in full on UUK. Read more about this in the THE here.
"Under growing pressure from students, many UK universities have declared a climate emergency, with several writing strategies for how their institution should tackle climate change. This is critical work. But it risks falling apart when universities’ climate ambitions come into conflict with their other strategic goals."
Read related White Paper from the University of Exeter here.
Blog: HEPI - #RESHUFFLE – The 10 crucial things any new Minister for Universities needs to know by Dr Diana Beech
This guest blog has been written in a personal capacity by Dr Diana Beech (Head of Government Affairs at the University of Warwick). Diana was Policy Adviser for higher education to various Ministers for Universities and Science (Sam Gyimah, Jo Johnson and Chris Skidmore – twice!), a role she fulfilled after a stint as HEPI’s first ever Director of Policy and Advocacy.
Blog: YHAHSN - Health inequalities – always someone else’s problem? by Michael Wood
"A common challenge for our leaders is understanding the difference between what you can control and what you can influence. This is particularly the case in times of austerity where the resources and reach of our local statutory sectors often diminishes, resulting in a lack of strategic focus on those stubborn, yet critical, wider ‘place’ problems."
Here Michael Wood reflects on our YHealth for Growth conference, held in Leeds in partnership with the NHS Confederation and Yorkshire Universities and highlights some of the necessary next steps needed to address health inequalities.
News article: Sheffield Hallam University offers a range of degree apprenticeships by Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University and Chair of the YU Board
"Sam Dales is a trailblazer. She works at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust in the cardiology department. But there is something else about the way Sam is working. Sam is a degree apprentice. That takes a moment to unpack – we think of university education and apprenticeships as different tracks."
Lecture: HEPI - The Future of Higher Education and the Implications for Students by Nick Hillman
"Last night, I was honoured to be able to deliver the annual Drapers’ Lecture at Queen Mary, University of London. Among the issues covered by the lecture are: fees and funding; access; Augar; student numbers; international students; Brexit; edtech; part-time students; and research funding."
Week 6: 3-7 February
Report: JRF - UK Poverty 2019/20
jrf_-_uk_poverty_2019-20_report.pdfReport: Centre on Constitutional Change - Brexit and the Union
Brexit and the Union_.pdfReport: Industrial Strategy Council - UK Regional Productivity Differences: An Evidence Review
Related article 'UK regional productivity gap widest in a century' in the Financial Times
"Regional differences in UK productivity are at their highest level for over a century and will be difficult to solve, the government’s industrial strategy council said on Tuesday, as it urged ministers to apply policy “consistently” in future. The report comes as Boris Johnson has made “levelling up” economic performance across the UK a central aim of his Conservative government after winning December’s general election largely thanks to a surge of support in England’s north and Midlands in areas that have badly lagged the more prosperous south east. The Industrial Strategy Council, headed by Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England, concluded there was no single reason for places becoming successful or left-behind, but differences were entrenched and regional rankings of success rarely changed."
UK Regional Productivity Differences - An Evidence Review_0.pdfReport: OECD - The spatial dimension of productivity: Connecting the dots across industries, firms and places
This working paper offers a synthesis of the current knowledge on the determinants of productivity. It carefully reviews both “spatial” (e.g. agglomerations, infrastructure, geography) and “aspatial” (e.g. human capital, labour regulations, industry-level innovation and dynamism) productivity drivers and demonstrates how the underlying spatial dynamics behind the latter group makes all productivity determinants “spatial” in nature. The paper demonstrates that productivity is inherently a spatial phenomenon and its understanding without a local/regional dimension is incomplete.
ba5edb47-en.pdfReport: BEIS - Human Resource Management Diffusion and Productivity Imbalances
human-resource-management-diffusion-productivity-imbalances.pdf"A lot more work is needed to understand and build an evidence base behind emerging innovation-friendly approaches to regulation. Our report, covering the research we completed last summer, is an in-depth analysis of emerging approaches and their impacts on innovation. In this blog, we'll cover some of the key findings in that report."
regulator-approaches-facilitate-support-enable-innovation.pdfThis report examines how ‘digital innovation brokerage’ aims to connect ideas, people, organisations, and communities through digital technologies.
Innovation_Brokerage_1.pdfkec-concordat-consultation.pdfThe Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) allows for more consistent SME analyses for the UK than ever before by tracking the same firms over time. Our research looks at the regional context, as well as firm specific variables, that are associated with labour productivity outcomes for SMEs. The paper considers the role of City-Region characteristics, as defined in terms of labour market, business dynamics, R&D spend and City-Region agglomeration on labour productivity, alongside firm-level associations.
The paper addresses a research gap in our understanding of how City-Region characteristics support the SME community in Britain by seeking to tease out the channels through which the benefits might accrue. Improving our knowledge of these channels could potentially enable more effective support provision from a policy perspective.
Here you can download the executive summary, full report as well as the policy briefing.
Report: State of the Local Government Finance Survey 2020
LGIU 2020 State of Local Government Finance report.pdfDfE Research and Analysis: Labour market and skills projections: 2017 to 2027
Working Futures provides a comprehensive and detailed model of the UK labour market and skills needs. It projects the future size and shape of the labour market by considering employment prospects by industry, occupation, qualification level, gender and employment status.
This edition of the report projects labour market information for the period 2017 to 2027.
BEIS Research and Analysis: BEIS areas of research interest: interim update 2020 - A summary statement of BEIS research need
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) needs robust research to help us to:
- understand the challenges we face
- choose between different routes to delivering on our objectives
- be well prepared for the future
The areas of research interest informs those who fund and provide research on questions and challenges around some of the most important priority areas for the department.
Regional output per hour and output per job, and an experimental analysis of the performance of output per hour levels and growth by industry and region.
Blog: WonkeHE - UCAS end of cycle 2019 – provider data
"So how did everyone get on? The traditional end of January release isn’t the first time providers have seen their own UCAS admissions numbers, of course – but it is the first time we get to see everyone’s numbers together outside of UCAS’ offices on New Barn Lane in Cheltenham."
This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Scott Kelly. Scott lectures in British Politics at NYU and was an adviser to the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning 2010-12.
"Although the apprenticeship levy has been in effect for less than three years, it has, in that short time, had a dramatic impact on the system. While headlines focus on the overall fall in learner numbers, there has also been a significant increase in those studying at higher levels. The numbers studying at levels 4 to 7, the equivalent of the first year of a bachelor degree up to masters level, has grown by 9 percentage points. By contrast, those studying at the GCSE equivalent level 2 has shrunk by 15 per cent. These figures represent a huge change, not just in the level of provision, but also in who is studying and where. On average, apprentices are older, already in work and more likely to doing their off-the-job training at a higher education institution."
Blog & paper: HEPI - 'Why we must listen to the voices of part-time students'
"A new paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute, Unheard: the voices of part-time adult learners (HEPI Report 124) by Dr John Butcher of the Open University, considers the sharp decline in part-time learning through the voices of students. "
Blog: 'Future in the making' - by John Parkin
John Parkin, Industrial Strategy Manager at the University of Leeds, explores some of the innovations underway at the University that are helping shape the future.
"Technologies that will transform the world are being developed today in leading universities all across the world – and the University of Leeds is no exception. At a university with our breadth and depth, high quality research is undertaken across a wide spectrum of subjects, as well as at various points in the journey from fundamental discovery science through to devices, products and services that change the way we live."
Jennifer Coupland is chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. She was speaking at Universities UK’s Degree Apprenticeships 2020 Conference on 5 February in London.
"Let there be no doubt, the UK’s departure from the European Union will generate far more demand for highly trained homegrown talent than we have seen for generations. Degree apprenticeships, backed by a growing army of universities and training providers, can deliver on the resulting need for skills."
News item: Yorkshire Post - 'Degree apprenticeships now offer priceless value and are an answer to skills shortfall' by Conor Moss
"Degree apprenticeships have taken a fair amount of stick in some parts of the media recently – they’ve been labelled everything from fake to overly complex – with a series of critical reports published over the last few months. And the apprenticeship levy has been at the heart of that criticism."