Connecting Universities to Regional and National Growthsgroup.be/sites/default/files/john-goddard-ga2012.pdf · 2013-09-03 · 2013 • Unlocking growth potential by promoting research

Connecting Universities to Regional and National Growth

John Goddard

Emeritus Professor of Regional Development Studies

Formerly Deputy Vice Chancellor

Outline

• The European policy context – cohesion and innovation

• Drivers and barriers for regional engagement by universities

• What academics do

• Overcoming the barriers

• Building capacity for engagement

3

Growth and Development

• Europe 2020: A European Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth [COM (2010) 2020]

• Smart Growth: Improving the conditions for innovation,

research and development; Improving education levels

• Sustainable Growth: Meeting climate change and energy

objectives

• Inclusive Growth: promoting employment; Promoting social inclusion (in particular through the reduction of poverty)

│ 4

Regional

Innovation

Performance

taxonomy

Source:

Regional

Innovation

Scoreboard,

2009

Regional Policy Contributing to Smart Growth in

Europe (COM (2010) 553)

• ‘Regions have a central role to play as they are the primary institutional partner for universities, other research and education institutions and SMEs which are key to the process of innovation’

6

Table 1. Old and new paradigms of regional policy

Source: OECD (2009), Regions Matter: Economic Recovery, Innovation and Sustainable Growth.

7

Place-Based Rethinking (after McCann)

• Modern place-based thinking builds on institutional and social capital arguments

• Not geography versus institutions such as universities but interactions between geography and institutions

• We function in places – all aspects of the economy – including policy and governance

• People policies and place policies overlap, interact, complement each other

│ 8

Contribution to Research and Innovation in the current programming period from Cohesion policy 2007-

2013

• Unlocking growth potential by promoting research and innovation in all regions

• 2007-2013 - € 86 billion for research and innovation (€ 65 billion from the ERDF alone) – over 25% of total cohesion policy budget – For less developed regions, ERDF is the most important source of

funding for research and innovation

– Focus on capacity-building but also on infrastructure in less developed regions

• October 2011 – latest figures show that over € 50 billion have been committed to projects on Research, Innovation and the Knowledge Economy

│ 9

Future cohesion policy - Research and innovation Investment priorities for ERDF

Strengthening research, technological development and innovation:

• Enhancing research and innovation infrastructure (R&I) and capacities to develop R&I excellence and promoting centres of competence, in particular those of European interest (ESFRI)

• Promoting business R&I investment, product and service development, technology transfer, social innovation and public service application, demand simulation, networking, clusters and open innovation through smart specialisation

• Supporting technological and applied research, pilot lines, early product validation actions, advanced manufacturing capabilities and first production in Key Enabling Technologies and diffusion of general purpose technologies

The quadruple helix

• “Quadruple Helix (QH), with its emphasis on broad cooperation in innovation, represents a shift towards systemic, open and user-centric innovation policy. An era of linear, top-down, expert driven development, production and services is giving way to different forms and levels of coproduction with consumers, customers and citizens.” (Arnkil, et al,

2010) • “The shift towards social innovation also implies that the dynamics of ICT-

innovation has changed. Innovation has shifted downstream and is becoming increasingly distributed; new stakeholder groups are joining the party, and combinatorial innovation is becoming an important source for rapid growth and commercial success. Continuous learning, exploration, co-creation, experimentation, collaborative demand articulation, and user contexts are becoming critical sources of knowledge for all actors in R&D & Innovation” (ISTAG 2010)

The University and the Knowledge Society

• “The university is the institution in society most capable of linking the requirements of industry, technology and market forces with demands of citizenship. Given the enormous dependence of these forces on university based experts the university is in fact in a position of strength not weakness”

• “The great significance of the university is that it can be the most important site of connectivity in the Knowledge society… (and)… a key institution for formation of cultural and technological citizenship … (and)… for reviving the decline of the public sphere”.

Gerard Delanty (2002)

Living Labs

• Empower citizens, as end users, to influence the development of innovative services and products that could eventually benefit society

• Allow industry to develop, validate and integrate new ideas, to partner with other companies and to increase their chances of success during product and/or service launches

• Facilitate the integration of technological innovation in society and increase the return on investment in research

EU Information Society

Living Labs : the academic perspective

• “The notion of treating our city and its region as a seedbed for sustainability initiatives is a potent one… the vision is of academics academics out in the community, working with local groups and businesses on practical initiatives to solve problems and promote sustainable development and growth’

• “This necessitates that we proceed in a very open manner, seeking to overcome barriers to thought, action and engagement; barriers between researchers and citizens, between the urban and the rural, between the social and natural sciences, between teaching research and enterprise”

Co -Director of Newcastle Institute for Research on Environmental Sustainability

Regional Smart Specialisation

• National/regional research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3 strategies) are integrated, place-based economic transformation agendas that do five important things:

• 1) They focus policy support and investments on key national/regional priorities, challenges and needs for knowledge-based development.

• 2) They build on each country's/region’s strengths, competitive advantages and potential for excellence.

• 3) They support technological as well as practice-based innovation and aim to stimulate private sector investment.

• 4) They get stakeholders fully involved and encourage innovation and experimentation.

• 5) They are evidence-based and include sound monitoring and evaluation systems.

EU JRC/ITPS (2012)

│ 15

Horizon 2020 and Cohesion Policy: differences and complementary objectives

EU R&D and Innovation Policy –

futureHorizon 2020

EU Cohesion Policy

Differences

Based largely on individual R&D and innovation Projects

of a pre-competitive nature aiming at advancing

knowledge and fostering innovation for growth and

jobs, including but not exclusively frontier research

(also co-funding national and regional programmes)

Based on multiannual Programmes aiming at increased to

reduce regional disparities, including through close to

the market competitive R&D and innovation efforts

Awarded directly to final beneficiaries (firms, public and

private R&D centres and Universities, including

national and regional governments in certain cases –

Art. 185, ERA-NET etc.)

Awarded through shared management exclusively to

national and regional public intermediaries

Through transnational competitive calls addressed to

international groupings through peer review based on

excellence criteria

Non competitive attribution addressed to regional players

based on strategic planning negotiation (however calls

possible at national or regional level)

Synergies and Complementarities

Horizon 2020 will focus on tackling major societal

challenges, maximising the competitiveness impact of

research and innovation (Industrial leadership) and

raising and spreading levels of excellence in the

research base

Cohesion policy will focus on galvanising smart

specialisation that will act as a capacity building

instrument, based on learning mechanisms and the

creation of critical skills in regions and Member States.

Supporting growth and jobs – an agenda for modernisation of Europe’s higher education system (COM (2011) (567)

• ‘In assessing the role of HEIs in the region it is useful to identify the steps needed to create a ‘connected region 'in which the institutions are key players. Through this connection process institutions become key partners for regional authorities in formulating and implementing their smart specialisation strategies’

• ‘They can contribute to a region’s assessment of its knowledge assets, capabilities and competencies, including those embedded in the institution’s own departments as well as local businesses, with a view to identifying the most promising areas of specialisation for the region, but also the weaknesses that hamper innovation’

The Barriers

• National policy

• Regional structures and governance

• Finance

• University governance, leadership and management

18

HEI Governance, Leadership and Management

• Lack of institutional autonomy to respond to regional opportunities (e.g. in some countries limited control over estates, senior academic appointments etc.)

• Weak internal management in old research intensive HEIs

• Unrelated drivers for Teaching, Research and External Engagement

• Partnership working confined to senior management and / or isolated entrepreneurial academics

• Intermediate organisations (e.g. science parks, centres for continuing education) detached from academic heartland

How engaged is the academy? UK Innovation Research Centre Survey of 22,000 UK academics - External interaction and commercialisation activity (% of respondents)

http://www.cbr.cam.ac.uk/pdf/AcademicSurveyReport.pdf

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

In which of the following areas do you think your research is having either a primary or secondary impact?

primary secondary none

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Which of the following types of group or organisation do you think are either primary or secondary beneficiaries of your research?

primary secondary none

Is the intended impact of your research concentrated in any particular geographical place(s) or region(s)?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Yes %

Is the intended impact of your research concentrated in any particular geographical place(s) or region(s)?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Yes %

Tackling the challenges

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources

/

docgener/presenta/universities2011/

universities2011_en.pdf

(Or just Google ‘connecting

universities to regional growth’!)

Transactional Services vs. Transformational Activities

• When exploring mechanisms for intervention we need to make a distinction between the impact of ‘normal’ university activity (financed as part of the core business of teaching and research) and ‘purposive’ interventions (initially funded from a source outside higher education and then ideally ‘mainstreamed’.)

The mechanisms by which universities can and do contribute to regional development and growth

4 Key Areas;

• Enhancing innovation through their research activities

• Promoting enterprise, business development and growth

• Contributing to the development of human capital and skills

• Improving social equality through regeneration and cultural development

Research & innovation

Graduate enterprises Consultancy

services

Technology transfer

Teaching &learning

Talent attraction

Workforce development

& CPD

Talent retention

Human capital

development

Stimulating innovation

International links and

investment Complexit

y of the

activity

Intervention

type

transactional transformational

high

low

MECHANISMS FOR UNIVERSITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN

SMART, SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Helping businesses articulate demand

Teaching

Social mission &engagement

Student volunteering & community

work

Public lectures

Physical regeneration and capital

projects

Museums and galleries

Academic Research

BARRIERS, CHALLENGES AND ENABLERS TO EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF UNIVERSITIES IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

PROCESSES AND PRACTICAL MECHANISMS TO BUILD CAPACITY AND INCENTIVES FOR UNIVERSITIES AND PLACES TO WORK TOGETHER

• Understanding where the place is ‘at’

• Building the partnership

• Designing and implementing interventions

• Capacity building and leadership development

No boundary spanners

Focus on supply side, transactional interventions

Ineffective or non existent partnership

Lack of a shared understanding about the challenges

Entrepreneurs ‘locked out’ of regional planning

The disconnected region?

PUBLIC SECTOR

Lack of coherence between national

and regional/local policies

Lack of political leadership

Lack of a shared voice and vision at

the regional/local level

PRIVATE SECTOR

No coordination or representative

voice with which to engage

Motivated by narrow self interest

and short term goals

Dominated by firms with low

demand or absorptive capacity

for innovation

HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR

Seen as ‘in’ the region but

not ‘of’ the region

Policies and practices

discourage engagement

Focus on rewards for

academic research and

teaching

Generating intellectual and human

capital assets for the region

HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR

Developing coherent policies that

link territorial development to

innovation and higher education

PUBLIC SECTOR

Investing in people and ideas

that will create growth

PRIVATE SECTOR

Evidence based policies that

support ‘smart’ innovation and growth

The ‘connected’ region – strong partnerships based on shared understanding of the challenges and how to overcome them

Capacities needed for regions to move from ‘disconnected’ to ‘connected’

• Research labs

• Talent attraction

• Universities

Generative

Capacity

• Private sector investment

• Clusters

• Critical mass

Absorptive

Capacity • Networks and associations

• Joint projects and shared facilities

Collaborative capacity

• Boundary spanners

• Ability to create a shared vision for the future

Leadership

Capacity

See OECD report -

‘How Regions Grow’

Place Based Leadership

Development

Knowledge

Networks

Skills

Impact

Leadership development and capacity building across the boundaries

Place Context National Context International Context

Place Commitment Boundary spanners Partnership workers Qualities (influencing, networking, resilience, etc.) Relationship Builders

Secondments Exchanges Immersion events Research projects Joint Projects

Case Studies Good Practice Guides New Ways of Operating

Guide Recommendations (1/2)

• There should be an active attempt to a shift from ‘transactional’ to ‘transformational’ interventions with a greater emphasis on programmes rather than one-off discrete projects.

• Build partnerships in the region to specifically address the issues of engagement between universities and regions with particular attention given to ensuring the sustainability of partnerships in the longer term, independently of funding cycles.

• Managing Authorities should assign funds from their technical assistance budgets to support capacity building within the partnership.

• Universities, business communities and other public sector authorities should demonstrate their commitment to the process by investing in their own development.

Recommendations (2/2)

• Regional Partnerships should consider participating in the OECD programme of regional reviews in order to help identify their current strengths and areas that may require capacity building

• Some simplification and flexibility in implementing Cohesion Policy Regulations should be considered and Managing Authorities actively encouraged to adopt a more flexible approach.

• Managing Authorities and Universities adopt a broader definition of innovation to acknowledge the role that arts, humanities and social sciences can play, especially in responding to the ‘grand challenges’ and develop mechanisms that draw on the expertise and contribution from the arts, creative industries etc.

Building the Bridge between the university and the region

[email protected]