Mark Baker

Leslie Budd

Paul Benneworth

Irene Hardill

A critical look at regional development and governance, examining the causes of the South-East domination and comparing each region in terms of its characteristics and its experience of devolution.

The Rise of the English Regions?

In a knowledge-based economy, universities are vital institutions. This volume explores the roles that universities can play in peripheral regions, contributing to processes of regional economic development and innovative growth. Including a series of case studies drawn from Portugal, Norway, Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and the Dutch-German border region, this will be the first book to offer a comprehensive comparative overview of universities in European economically peripheral regions. These studies seek to explore the tensions that arise in peripheral regions where there may not be obvious matches between university activities and regional strengths. Aimed at academics, policy-makers and practitioners working on regional innovation strategies, this volume brings a much-needed sense of realism and ambition for all those concerned with building successful regional societies at the periphery of the knowledge economy.

Engaging with the Periphery

Universities and Regional Economic Development

David R. Charles

Higher Education Funding Council for England

A Benchmarking Approach

Evaluating the Regional Contribution of an HEI

This volume provides insightful analysis of the way higher education engages with socially excluded communities. Leading researchers and commentators examine the validity of the claim that universities can be active facilitators of social mobility, opening access to the knowledge economy for formerly excluded groups. The authors assess the extent to which the ‘Academy’ can deliver on its promise to build bridges with communities whose young people often assume that higher education lies beyond their ambitions. The chapters map the core dynamics of the relationship between higher education and communities which have bucked the more general trend of rapidly rising student numbers. Contributors also take the opportunity to reflect on the potential impact of these dynamics on the evolution of the university’s role as a social institution. The volume was inspired by a symposium attended by a wide spectrum of participants, including government, senior university managers, academic researchers and community groups based in areas suffering from social exclusion. It makes a substantive contribution to an under-researched field, with authors seeking to both shape solutions as well as better diagnose the problem. Some chapters include valuable contextual analysis, using empirical data from North America, Europe and Australia to add substance to the debates on policy and theory. The volume seeks to offer a defining intellectual statement on the interaction between the concept of a ‘university’ and those communities historically missing from higher education participation, the volume deepens our understanding of what might characterise an ‘engaged’ university and strengthens the theoretical foundations of the topic.

University Engagement With Socially Excluded Communities

Paul Benneworth

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