John Goddard & Louise Kempton, Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, Newcastle University

Year of publication: 2016

The report reviews contemporary university civic engagement and the role of universities in the leadership and management of 'place'.

Evidence suggests universities benefit from a well-articulated and proactively managed relationship with the places in which they are located. The idea of universities as ‘anchor’ institutions may be useful.

The report highlights some key challenges for universities taking a more leading role in leadership and management of place:

• Tensions may exist between external civic roles and universities’ internal processes, which are influenced by a turbulent higher education policy environment.
• Engaging with societal challenges may require a cross-disciplinary response and active leadership. This can raise questions around institutional business models – the ‘civic’ university model is a possible response.

This report and its case studies raise a number of important questions for institutions considering a civic university approach.

Content type: Anchor institutions

Tags: Report

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