October 2020 highlights
Week 44: 26-30 October 2020
Reports and papers
"What do we want and need from our colleges from 2030 onwards, and how do we get there? These were the simple, yet fundamental questions the Commission set out to answer when it began work in Spring 2019.
As the Commission culminates, this report is a rallying cry for radical and decisive action - enabling colleges to be part of a more joined-up, all-age education and skills system, which enables individuals ultimately to have greater agency and opportunities across their lifetimes.
This report sets out the UK-wide recommendations and will be followed later this year by reports for each of the four nations, setting out nation-specific recommendations in further detail."
The Northern Housing Consortium, the University of Huddersfield and the Nationwide Foundation: Lockdown, Rundown, Breakdown
Far from being ‘safe at home’, too many Northerners spent the 2020 lockdown in homes that harmed their health. Lockdown, Rundown, Breakdown is a study which highlights the lived experience of people who were living in poor-quality, non-decent, accommodation in lockdown and sets out their coping strategies. It demonstrates the impact that disrepair, cold and hard to heat homes, and confined spaces have had on people. The Northern Housing Consortium worked with the University of Huddersfield and the Nationwide Foundation to mobilise this rapid research.
Centre for Progressive Policy: From precarious to prosperous: How we can build back a better labour market
To prevent extreme insecurity, in-work poverty and exploitation arising from this pandemic, a new report from the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) is calling for urgent legal reform to the labour market. This paper reviews the scale and nature of insecure work in the UK, identifying those most at risk of insecurity and recommending policy solutions based on legal guidance to help safeguard workers.
A new regional think tank for the Tees Valley area, PACE, has released a report on the prospects for regional growth during the post-Covid recovery. It argues that the pandemic should not allow government to lose focus on the need for long-term aspirations for economic growth.
Blogs and a commentary
"A couple of weeks ago, on 9 October 2020, I took part in a seminar for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, called “UK Industrial Strategy’s three horsemen: COVID, Brexit and trade wars”. This featured as speakers me, the economist Dame Kate Barker, and Anand Menon (Director of “UK in a changing Europe” at Kings College London), and was chaired by Ian Mulheirn. There is a YouTube video of the event here. Here is a slightly tidied up version of what I said."
"As we engage in discourse that acknowledges the past and looks to the future, Black History Month offers a timely reminder of the interventions needed across higher education to tackle the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) student attainment gap."
"UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has embraced mission-oriented governance in letter but not in spirit. Far from empowering the state to serve the public interest, his plan for a COVID-19 testing "moonshot" threatens to weaken further the capacity of the public-health sector."
Week 43: 19-23 October 2020
"Covid-19 has had - and continues to have – a unique and extraordinary impact on all of our lives. The years ahead are set to be a time of unparalleled change, challenge, and opportunity. Universities will be at the heart of not just a recovery, but new ways to invest in our people and local communities, our world-leading research and creating a more equal, healthier, and sustainable future for the next generation. "
Reports
This report is the latest in a series of HEPI reports on future demand for higher education, looking at demographics and participation rates to develop projections of demand for higher education to 2035. By looking across the UK, the report shows how patterns of demand could change over the next fifteen years in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The report also examines regional demographics and participation rates to better understand how demand will be distributed across England. The report concludes by reflecting on the external factors that might influence these projections and discusses why it is so important to consider the long-term picture of higher education.
Read the YU response to this report here.
This paper proposes a wide-ranging set of policy recommendations to enable UK universities to grow and diversify their international research and innovation collaborations.
Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment - Jobs for a strong and sustainable recovery from Covid-19
New report focuses on six key areas that should be at heart of a sustainable recovery plan. Green jobs should be at the heart of the Covid-19 recovery to ensure long-term growth, according to a new report from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Investing in jobs that will help the UK meet its net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050 will also help to deliver the government’s “levelling-up” agenda, creating work across the country in the near term and setting the groundwork for sustainable and resilient longer-term economic growth, the authors say. This report published by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, both at LSE – suggests that tens of thousands of jobs could be created this way.
Carey & Chambers - UK live music: At a cliff edge
"The live music industry – which was worth £4.5 billion to the UK economy in 2019 – is one of the business sectors worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, being among the first to close and very likely to be the last to fully reopen."
Centre for Progressive Policy - The business of belonging: Strengthening bonds between business and place
This report seeks to capitalise on the goodwill shown by businesses for communities during the crisis, redefining the role of business within place for the benefit of all stakeholders. The business of belonging considers how we can drive an inclusive recovery through connection to place. Drawing on polling data commissioned by CPP, it provides new insight into the perspectives of both large and small businesses and sets out recommendations for how business and government leaders can strengthen the bonds between companies and their communities.
Lexington Communications - Manufacturing in the Marginals: The Impact of a Trade Deal on the ‘Blue Wall’ Seats
The report finds that 35 electoral seats gained by the Conservatives in the last election have more manufacturing jobs than a political majority. It finds that 20 of these seats have at least twice as many jobs as they have a Conservative majority.
"The first phase of what amounts to a major Scottish Funding Council review of the shape and scope of the HE and FE sectors hints at a unified funding model by level of provision, and a range of potential collaborations. The report - “Coherence and sustainability: a review of Scotland’s colleges and universities: phase one” - focuses on the “emergency period” of 2020-22, but recommendations are made with an ear to existing trends and likely future societal needs."
York, North Yorkshire LEP - Covid-19 A Plan to Reshape our Economy
York & North Yorkshire LEP has worked with all LAs and partner organisations region-wide to develop a plan to reshape the region’s economy in order to address the challenges and opportunities arising from the pandemic. The plan follows on from the immediate COVID response and aims to address the economic challenges businesses are continuing to face as well as focusing on stimulating growth over the next 18 to 24 months, accelerating a transition towards a carbon negative economy.
Analysis & briefings
Headline student numbers have increased to new records following a short dip after to the 2012 reforms. There are however ongoing concerns about numbers outside this group where trends have not been so positive, including part-time undergraduates, some postgraduates students, overseas students from some countries, especially Nigeria and Malaysia, mature students and some disadvantaged groups. There is also considerable concern about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and student numbers, particularly those from overseas and uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on EU student numbers.
Small and medium-size enterprises(SMEs) have been the lifeblood of the European economy, accounting for more than two-thirds of the workforce and more than half of the economic value added. Yet the results of a recent McKinsey survey, conducted in August, 2020, of more than 2,200 SMEs in five European countries—France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom—indicate just how hard their prosperity has been hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
Blogs & webinar & podcast
"Recently, I ‘attended’ The graduate labour market post COVID-19: priorities for university careers services and the role of universities, employers and government in preparing students event, hosted by the Westminster Higher Education Forum. With the economic crisis presenting new challenges for many young people seeking employment, including graduates, here is what I found out:"
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose: 'Are local industrial strategies still relevant as we ‘build back better’?'
"Despite receiving lukewarm support from the current government, the UK’s Industrial Strategy remains an important reference-point for many as our economy suffers from the double-insecurity of approaching Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic."
"Looking closely at Nesta’s previous work reveals key themes that inform our future strategy. "
On the morning of Tuesday, 20 October HEPI and Elsevier hosted a free half-day webinar on ‘The Research Landscape’ in and after the pandemic, with an eye on forthcoming major events like the spending review, the end of the Brexit transition period and the next Research Excellence Framework.
PODCAST: Open University podcast - The Skills Economy Podcast with Simon Tindall and Simon Gibson
Simon Tindall of The Open University took part in this podcast episode of the Learning Uncut Emergent series, discussing the Skills Economy. They discuss the importance of adapting employees’ skills and roles to a post-COVID future and the ways of working that will be crucial to building a strength-based organisation.
Week 42: 12-16 October 2020
Reports
The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals have submitted a joint proposal to the government for an ambitious £316 million programme to ensure the post-Covid recovery and renewal of the Sheffield City Region. This formed their submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Documents relating to the employer skills survey 2019 conducted by the Department for Education in England, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive and related data tables.
Papers
The Commission, which was set up in July this year, and is chaired by John Allan CBE, the chair of Tesco and Barratt Homes, has published its initial analysis looking at how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted individuals, neighbourhoods and communities right across the UK.
This scoping study aims to bring further understanding to the area of changing graduate requirements, graduate skills gaps, and sustainability skills. The results generated will be used by the research partners to make recommendations on actions for current students, employers, university and government. It will also inform the approach to training graduates at Change Agents UK and the strategic approach taken by The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education (EAUC).
Prospects' head of higher education intelligence, Charlie Ball, provides his regular update on the impact of the COVID-19 recession on the graduate labour market.
More must be done by the Government to reverse the continued high rates of unemployment revealed today, says the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), as outlined in its new skills position statement. Key statistics released by the ONS today reveal:
June to August 2020 figures show the unemployment rate and the number of redundancies continue to increase, while the employment rate continues to fall;
The rate of unemployment rises to 4.5% in the three months to August;
Since March 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 673,000;
Redundancies increased in June to August 2020 by 113,000 compared to the same period in 2019, the largest annual increase since April to June 2009.
See more in more detail in data section below.
Data
ONS: Labour market overview, UK: October 2020 and regional breakdown;
Blogs
"Recently, Nesta launched a report exploring how cities and regions collaborate internationally on innovation. If done effectively, international collaborations offer the opportunity to hit multiple policy priorities: levelling up regions, boosting investment in R&D towards 2.4 percent of GDP, and strengthening overseas relationships post-Brexit. "
"The story of the Northern Rising of 1569, writes John Tomaney, points to enduring geographical fault lines in English life, albeit reworked in different historical contexts. But themes of an indifferent Court and a region let down by its leaders resonate today. "
Webinar
N8 Net Zero North will drive growth in the green economy in the North of England and beyond by co-producing research and innovation with businesses and other stakeholders to meet real-world challenges.
Week 41: 5-9 October 2020
The guidance seeks to maximise the impact of further devolution of powers and funding to city regions recommended by the Commission, by sharing experience and knowledge between local authorities on how locally developed strategies can be both ambitious and effective.
Reports
The Women’s Budget Group Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy published its “seminal” final report last week, calling for a radical overhaul of the UK economy akin to the creation of the welfare state in 1945. Read the report here and watch the launch event with Commissioners here.
As the new sector report commissioned by Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and partners outlines, the potential for digital health to power the local economy is already well understood.
Universities Wales: 'Strength in Diversity'
Welsh universities will pull together to benefit communities across Wales. This report highlights how Welsh universities can deliver upon public aims in Wales and attract extra investment to Wales
This new Lloyd’s report, commissioned before COVID-19 and published in collaboration with Urban Foresight and Newcastle University, provides a comprehensive analysis of the risks’ cities are facing and will face in the future. It looks at their impacts and how urban areas can protect themselves from these threats.
Blogs & articles
Abstract: "COVID-19 is the most challenging global public health crisis we have faced for many decades. However, it is more than a health crisis. The impacts go well beyond the medical sphere and are changing lives, livelihoods, communities and economies within and across nation-states. The British Academy launched its Shape the Future initiative in May 2020 to bring insights from the social sciences, humanities and the arts together to understand how we can shape a positive future for people, the economy and the environment post-pandemic. These disciplines have a critical role to play in the handling of and recovery from the pandemic. This paper summarises the discussions held during twenty policy and research workshops which considered topics under three broad themes relevant to the post-pandemic future: revitalising societal well-being, recreating an inclusive economy around purpose, and revisiting the histories and cultures of science, policy and politics."
COP26 University Network policy paper: 'Just transition: pathways to socially inclusive decarbonisation' following the first policy briefing paper on 'Net zero emissions recovery from COVID-19'
"The professional network for policy advisors is ten years young. Harriet Dunbar-Morris and Jonathan Woodhead reflect on the group's mission to "shine a light" in all areas of HE policy."
Webinars
Witnesses:
Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Chair in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London; and
Professor Richard Jones, Chair in Materials Physics and Innovation Policy, University of Manchester
Professor Sir Mark Walport, Former CEO, UK Research and Innovation (2017–2020); and
Jo Johnson, Former Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (2016–2018 and July–September 2019)