Universities can be research arms of local authorities – report

Universities should make themselves the research arms of regional public services, according to a new report.

The paper, by academics from the Child of the North group, warns that higher education institutions – and the world-class research and academics they produce – are “disconnected from the societies they live in and alongside”.

In response, it calls for higher education institutions in the north of England to restyle themselves as the research and development departments of public services, such as local authorities, which is an initiative championed by Charlie Jeffery, vice-chancellor of the University of York.

“There is an urgent need to build relationships and systems that can hardwire universities into education, health, housing, social care, policing and other public service systems,” the authors say.

“Universities will then be able to more effectively inform the development of these public services, as well as responding to what these services need.”

The Child of the North group – a partnership between Health Equity North and the N8 Research Partnership – dubs this the “Chris Whitty model”.

The idea is based on the Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) initiative – a brainchild of Sir Chris, the chief medical adviser to the UK government – which seeks to increase research capacity and capability within local government on health and health inequalities by enabling collaborations between researchers and local authorities.

It hopes to allow local partners and communities to design, build and oversee more effective public services by harnessing the capacity of universities.

The report outlines two research initiatives that demonstrate how to connect universities to public service organisations.

These are the Born in Bradford Centre for Applied Education Research (CAER), which works in partnership with a number of northern universities and American colleges, and the Child Health Outcomes Research at Leeds (Choral) programme – a research partnership between the University of Leeds and Leeds Children’s Hospital.

The report says the methodology used by CAER and Choral should be rolled out across the north of England to bring public organisations together to improve outcomes for children and young people.

The authors also say that current systems for delivering public services are fragmented and can be challenging to navigate.

As such, they call for the creation of formal partnerships at local authority level between regional universities, schools, health services, police, local authorities, voluntary services, faith leaders and businesses.

This would “propel data-driven, whole-system, place-based approaches to improving social mobility, health and education through schools and nurseries”, they add.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com