At a time in history when global challenges are becoming more intractable and threatening, it makes sense to draw on the specialist expertise of our universities. Much of government interest in doing so has typically focused on the major research institutions with their records of new discovery and invention. However, there is extensive evidence that the greatest opportunities are at regional level. Despite globalisation, regions are becoming more and more important as sites of identity and policy intervention. Regions can take their futures into their own hands, and their local universities are a crucial resource of expertise to support these initiatives. However, there have been significant barriers to effective cooperation between universities and their regional authorities. This book provides an analysis of these circumstances and draws on an international research project to point academics, policy makers and practitioners in the right direction. It provides extensive evidence from this project to support its argument.
A new imperative captures the sense that the current global challenges prompt universities to explore new ways of working with regional partners. Regional authorities and other stakeholders matter because it is increasingly apparent increasingly that regional differences matter, and that each region will need to forge a future which builds on its own economic, social and environmental assets. The book outlines the context of contemporary challenges, and reports on a project with 18 regions across four different continents where the primary focus has been the development of productive relationships between higher education institutions and regional partners. It links neatly a critique of the incapacity of contemporary politics with higher education analysis and practical examples of effective engagement. Four chapters report directly on findings from the project on how universities have contributed to regional activities in relation to economy, social inclusion, environment and culture. It contributes also to the emerging literature on leadership in the emphasis placed on institutional management and regional leaders sharing responsibility for recognizing their mutual importance to each other.Readers will find it invaluable where their interest lies in higher education management and/or regional development. Academics will find the volume useful in relation to the development of the argument for the imperative for regional engagement, together with the grounded examples of different kinds of engagement. Policy makers will find it invaluable because of the analysis of the interconnection between national and regional policy making, and the importance of cross-sectoral perspectives. Practitioners will find the range of examples in different settings to be a vital stimulus to their own thinking about possible initiatives.
