Making local growth happen in the North East of England

It was in the run up to the 1997 general election that Tony Blair outlined the Labour Party’s priorities as education, education, education. With the new Labour government recently releasing an Industrial Strategy Green Paper and budget, its priorities are clearly growth, growth, growth, with over 600 mentions.

We know that universities have a significant economic impact: through the money their staff and students spend locally, the jobs and opportunities they provide, and the education, research and innovation they undertake. Our recent economic impact report calculated this impact to be worth £9.7 billion in the North East, with every pound invested into UK universities nationally generating a further £14 of economic benefit.

The launch of Universities for North East England provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the key role universities in the North East play, both individually and collectively, in supporting economic growth.

What do these big figures like this mean in reality, for the people of North East England?

Local partners and people often welcome working with a university on their doorstep. Yet the launch of Universities for North East England (UNEE) is important because many of the challenges faced locally are similar across the region. 

Working together can help find better solutions, more quickly. By pooling their resources, talent and partnerships, universities can combine their strength to multiply their impact and value. 

Universities in the North East are already doing this through initiatives like the Northern Accelerator, which has transformed spin-out activity in the region, and the Arrowinnovation initiative, which links businesses to regional university expertise. They collaborate closely on a range of place-based innovation activities such as an EPSRC Impact Accelerator Award focused on Net Zero. 

But this is the tip of the iceberg of what collaboration between universities in the North East can achieve for the people and economy of the region. The launch of UNEE demonstrates a commitment to making this happen. Other partnerships are already happening, with London Higher and Yorkshire Universities. Our recent blueprint for higher education encourages similar collaboration across the rest of England.

Universities in the North East are working together with a wide range of partners, including local leaders, businesses and communities. It shows that when the government wants growth, growth, growth, a good starting point would be universities, universities, universities.