January 2019 highlights
Week of 28th of January
New article by Jessica Bradley, Claire Newhouse and Nadira Mirza, Leeds Trinity University can be accessed via Emerald Insight
Strong Economies, Better Places.PDFStrong Economies, Better Places
Report by the Centre of Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University
Universities Minister sets vision for higher education
Chris Skidmore spoke at the Royal Academy of Dramatics Arts, outlining his priorities for the role and his view for the future of the higher education sector. Read full speech here.
Key Cities Conference 29 January 2019: Resources from the Future of City and Town Centres conference
Download the conference resources from here. Including the City and Town Centre International Case Studies by Ben Mitchell The Retail Institute, Leeds Beckett University.
Brexit: the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has been active in the UK since 1973, during which time it has lent more than €118 billion to key infrastructure projects. This has included funding for major energy projects, transport, water and sewerage, higher education and housing. In 2015 alone, the EIB provided £5.6 billion for 40 different projects, amounting to approximately one-third of total investment in UK infrastructure. The European Investment Fund (EIF), of which the EIB is the majority shareholder, has also played an important role in providing and supporting access to finance for UK SMEs through a variety of intermediaries. Brexit means that the UK will no longer be a member of the EIB. Read the full report here.
This is the second of the UK2070 Commission’s weekly series of Think Pieces. Read the full report here.
HE Commission Degree Apprenticeships: Up to Standard?
Look out for great quotes from SHU and LTU. Read the full report here.
Link between education 'cold spots' and 'dearth of degree apprenticeships' revealed by the Higher Education Commission.
As a decade of austerity comes to end, this year’s edition of Cities Outlook looks at how city spending power has changed. Report published on 28 January 2019 by Centre for Cities
Week of 21st of January
What do businesses think about the KEF?
Part One by Professor Graeme Reid, Professor of Science and Research Policy at UCL, a member of the Council of Research England, member of the KEF technical advisory group, and Strategic Adviser to NCUB.
Part Two by By Dr Hamish McAlpine, Head of Data and Evidence for Knowledge Exchange, Research England. This article is a response to Professor Graeme Reid’s blog on the ongoing development of the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF): What do businesses think about the KEF? I.
Professor Philip McCann publishes Think Piece on Perceptions of Regional Inequality
This is the first of a weekly series of posts from the the UK2070 Commission. The paper examines whether the United Kingdom displays high or average levels of interregional inequality, by comparing the UK to 30 other OECD countries across 28 different indicators. Read the full report here.
Enterprise Research Centre publication: Fast-growth firms and their wider economic impact: UK evidence.
Small groups of fast-growth firms make a significant contribution to job creation and economic growth. Yet we know little about their broader impact on the economy. This research investigates how the number of fast-growth firms in a region and industry impacts on growth of other firms. By linking the ONS Business Structure Database (BSD) with additional data at the industrial and regional level over the period 1997-2013, we test different channels of wider effects of fast-growth firms in the manufacturing and professional service sectors.
Read policy briefing or the full paper.
WYCA Tendering opportunities launched
West and North Yorkshire Productivity Audit and Sector Analysis [West Yorkshire Combined Authority]
Value: £50-60k Close date: 31/01/2019
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, working with the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNYER) LEP, wishes to procure expert support to help to develop a deeper understanding of potential opportunities for growth in productivity and good jobs in both emerging and established sectors such as manufacturing and logistics. The work is required to inform the development of our Local Inclusive Industrial Strategy (LIIS).
Value: £50-60k Close date: 25/01/2019
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, working with Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership, wishes to procure expert support to help further our understanding of innovation across the new West and North Yorks LEP geography which includes the districts of Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Wakefield, Kirklees, York, Selby, Harrogate, Craven, Hambleton, Scarborough, Richmondshire and Ryedale.
The Department for Education has launched its new ‘Fire it Up’ campaign to help raise awareness of the huge variety of apprenticeship options available for people of all ages and backgrounds.
The new campaign includes national TV and social media adverts, and a new website that provides helpful advice and information as well as access to thousands of apprenticeship opportunities across the country.
WonkHE Weekly: Augar, PQA, student debt
On the podcast this week Greg Walker, CEO at MillionPlus; Sally Patterson, Equality, Liberation & Access Officer at Bristol SU; and Wonkhe associate editor David Kernohan discuss the latest Augar leaks, the debate on post-qualification admissions, and whether wealthy students are avoiding student debt.
Note: at 5:00 mins you can hear more about the 26th of March conference plenary speech Augar has agreed to give, which implies he would have expected to be able to report by then. At 6:30 mins it transpires that the panel is still taking evidence.
Week of 14th of January
Wakefield among the five areas who will receive millions of pounds of funding to invest in culture. Wakefield will receive more than £4.4 million. Bringing together major and respected cultural organisations including Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield, this project will turn Wakefield into an internationally renowned location promoting our world-class creative industries.
Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2017/18
The Higher Education Statistics Agency's first release of student enrolment and qualifications data for 2017/18 is out, and it shows that student numbers remained broadly stable in 2017/18, despite a continuing fall in part-time and mature numbers. Another rise in ethnic minority was particularly noticeable among Asian students, with numbers up 4.6% on 2016/17.
The UK Government has set out an ambitious target to increase overall investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, up from present level of 1.67% There has been much discussion about what the target means for the UK overall, for business, as a whole and how increased government funding could boost overall expenditure on R&D more effectively. Although the target is national, it has a variety of local implications. Significantly, the success or otherwise of meeting the target will depend on different places contributing towards achieving the Government’s objective. Therefore, it is worth understanding what the target means for LEPs. For this report, the Smart Specialisation Hub has looked at the available data to put together a picture of how LEPs compare in their contribution to the national target. Read full report here.
An overview of universities’ research activity, student employability, and information on international students and staff in 2016–17.
Part one of this blog set out a number of reasons why universities could be forgiven for taking a sceptical approach to supporting the development of Local Industrial Strategies (LISs). However, the blog also argued that adopting a longer-term perspective may prove to be the best option. Read further.
Week of 7th of January
Guest blog by Nicky Denison and Les Newby for YU
Today (9 January 2019) Research England has published a document detailing proposals for how the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) could work, for consultation, and would like to hear the HE sector’s views on these proposals. The consultation will be open until midday, Thursday 14 March 2019. English Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can respond to it by completing a survey.
Research England plans to run a pilot KEF with a representative cross-section of HEIs between February and April 2019. RE are now calling for English HEIs eligible for Research England funding to register their interest in being involved in this pilot exercise for the remainder of the 2018-19 academic year. Interested applicants should read the guidance before completing the form in the consultation document, and submit it to the Knowledge Exchange Policy Team by midday, Friday 25 January 2019.
The UK’s universities are amongst its strongest institutions, with international reputations for teaching and research. In many areas of the country, they are also amongst the biggest economic actors. Read article in full here.
Universities can be forgiven for taking a glass half-empty stance when supporting the development of Local Industrial Strategies (LISs). However, embracing a wider and longer-term perspective may prove the better option. In his guest blog, Kevin Richardson, from the Local Academy, makes the case why universities should take an active role in developing and implementing local industrial strategies. Look out for part two next week!
The relationship between health and economic prosperity is long established. The 'Preston Curve' shows that individuals born in richer countries, on average, can expect to live longer than those born in poorer countries. Critically the relationship is two-way – health gains boost prosperity while increased prosperity can result in health improvements. There are many reasons why health is important for prosperity. Healthier workers will stay in the labour force for longer, while increased life-spans increase the incentives to invest in education, raising productivity. Health improvements may also impact productivity via increased investment since people respond to longer lives by saving a greater proportion of their income. Read the full report here.