Higher Education and Regional Transformation (HEART): Social and Cultural Perspectives

A research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of its programme on 'The impact of higher education institutions on regional economies'

Research into the local and regional impact of universities has tended to focus on economic factors.  This project explored the relatively under-researched impacts of universities on the social and cultural lives of the communities of which they are a part, including the impact on social cohesion and inclusion, on citizenship and on the alleviation of various forms of social disadvantage.

This project was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council under its initiative on the Impact of HEIs on Regional Economies between May 2007 and December 2009.  Its aim was to develop a comparative framework to research the direct and indirect impacts of higher education institutions on disadvantaged groups and localities in their sub-regional environment.  The central question of the research was:

To what extent and in what ways do universities in practice operate to benefit or further disadvantage members of socially disadvantaged groups within their regional contexts?

In particular, the project aimed to advance understanding of the role played by universities in:

• helping to build new or strengthen existing institutions of civil society
• encouraging and facilitating new cultural values and social cohesion
• selecting and socialising new leaders
• generating new possibilities for relationships between local, national and global trends and opportunities.

The case study approach that was adopted combined a regional focus and a grounded institution-centred approach.  Four universities/regions were selected.  Stage one of the research focused on one institution/region, which provided the basis for a comprehensive exploratory case, supplemented by an opinion poll survey, questionnaire surveys and secondary analysis of national and regional data-sets.  These data collection methods were modified and applied to three stage two case study institutions/regions, which provided a wider range of institutional/regional contexts as well as a comparative perspective on the research questions that have been identified.

Five themes have emerged from the project, which reflect the findings from the four case studies:

• Universities and economic development/regeneration
• Regional and university images, cultures and the drivers and resistances to change
• Universities and active citizenship, regional leadership and the ‘public good’
• Universities and social disadvantage: winners and losers from the regional impact of universities
• Communications and dialogue between universities and their regional stakeholders

These themes and the findings from the individual case study universities/regions will form the basis of book to be published in 2011.