Why do civic universities matter?

I lead a committed civic university, alongside many other vice-chancellors. We are inseparable from the communities that are our neighbours, supporters and partners, as well as our staff and students. Naturally, we work across regions, nations and the world in the research we undertake, the collaborations we have, and where our staff and students come from. However, we never forget the vital role and responsibility we have to the City of Newcastle and the North East, the place we call home. 

The idea of the ‘civic’ university has very clear roots in the 19th century, when several cities in the UK rallied round to each establish a university. They wanted to benefit from skills training, build the local economy and foster pride in place. Newcastle University was founded by the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution to train the doctors needed to improve public health and the engineers who would drive our burgeoning local industries in shipbuilding, steel, mining and agriculture. It is a history of which we are very proud and which informs our present and future as a university which works with our partners to benefit society.

While the term civic has specific roots, thanks to the work of the Civic Universities Network, the National Civic Impact Accelerator and the UPP Civic Universities Commission, we have a clear framework to support and describe civic universities. Within this framework, every university makes a civic contribution in some way, as they engage with local partners and communities for significant local economic and social impact. 

Given the national and international challenges countries and communities face and the increasing uncertainties we experience, the civic role of universities has never been more important. We are expecting a post-16 White Paper soon that builds upon the programme of higher education reform set out by the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, in 2024. This presents clear expectations about universities playing a greater role in their communities and making a stronger contribution to economic growth. Universities are already doing this in many different ways, our message to government is simple: work with us to develop and improve this, help us to embed and mobilise our contribution across government, at all levels, and recognise us as a key sector. There will be a devastating impact on local communities if any university were to close.  

One area where universities already play an important role, and working with government could do more, is in the programme of devolution in England. As well as having a significant economic and social impact – and quite often being one of the biggest employers in a locality, making them critical to local growth plans – universities are an enabler of effective devolution. They can help provide some of the detailed evidence gathering, analysis and evaluation that can make devolution more effective. They are also playing a collaborative leadership role where ideas can be explored and partnerships developed that can accelerate devolution. We are doing this in the North East through the Universities for North East England and it is happening across the country, for example through the work of Falmouth University in Cornwall. Government needs to recognise and support this. 

It is worth remembering that devolution is not simply a process, an administrative arrangement redrawing lines on a map. Devolution is about giving communities greater say over policies that directly affect their lives and quality of life. Universities can help lay the foundation of community engagement and partnership that will empower local people to play an active role in devolution, creating solutions to everyday challenges. 

As the higher education sector, we often wrap up what we do in complex descriptions. So, we need to explain what we mean by civic and actively ensure that what we do is relevant to the challenges people are facing. We are making a start on this by publishing a civic ‘explainer’ which we hope will be widely used and reach a wide audience. We aim to highlight examples of what universities are doing over the next few months to bring the explainer to life. 

As civic universities, we don’t simply want recognition and support, we are constantly seeking to improve, develop and enhance what we do. We need to make sure that the civic work we do remains relevant, impactful and effective, developing better local partnerships and better measures of what we do so we can learn from each other. This will benefit local communities and enhance our education and research. UUK has already established a Civic and Local Growth Network, which I chair, to help the sector work with government to take this work forward.