Morning, Monday, 13th October 2025
Online
This conference will look at next steps for universities and their local economies in the UK.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to explore how universities can maximise their contributions to local economic growth. This includes examining the impact of the new devolution agenda on collaboration with strategic authorities and businesses around investment zones, clusters and related infrastructure, innovation hubs, and university-business regional partnerships that drive innovation whist realising tangible local benefits.
There will be a focus on the role of universities in developing regionally-led innovation clusters and translating R&D into economic impact, with the Government announcing a £86bn science and innovation funding package, ahead of the 2025 Spending Review. Delegates will assess implications of the new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund and strategies to increase high-skilled job creation and productivity gains.
In the context of the recent Procurement Act 2023 and the social value agenda, attendees will also discuss the role of university procurement in driving local economics. Delegates will discuss university partnerships with local stakeholders on civic projects, with new legislation expected to further strengthen university-community partnerships. Sessions will also explore implications of the 2025 Spending Review and the Government’s wider growth strategy, including funding for innovation clusters, infrastructure, and place-based R&D.
Planned sessions will focus on the role of universities in driving innovation in line with evolving government priorities in the Industrial Strategy and the AI Opportunities Action Plan. Discussions will also consider research funding challenges, and how policy can help institutions to manage financial strains. Attendees will examine the Shared Prosperity Fund, Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) and the UKRI Innovation Accelerator, as well as potential new funding routes stemming from devolved powers, and regional availability of private finance. Local economic implications of recent fee reforms will also be discussed.
Implications of the £22.5bn per year R&D investment plan for university research, commercialisation, and public-private partnerships will also be discussed, with stakeholders and delegates considering strategies to enhance funding models that blend public and private investment to maximise place-based innovation.
Further sessions will explore the local economic impact of students and graduates, including latest thinking on the value of international students, the role of graduate retention in boosting local economies, and the role of local graduate outcome collaborations between universities and businesses. We also expect discussion on issues regarding wider policy, including reform to the Office for Students, updated planning frameworks for delivering infrastructure projects, and the impact of immigration policy on student retention.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- defining and measuring the role of universities in local growth:
- growth mission and driving regional economic growth - strategies for attracting inward investment
- how universities contribute to wider policy goals - role of universities in responding to skills needs of local employers
- assess the economic benefits of start-ups and spinouts and identify key strengths and sharing best practice
- aligning with devolution strategies - opportunities for universities to access funding through combined authorities
- commercialising research and driving innovation in local areas:
- identifying and supporting innovation-led clusters - priorities for inter-university collaborations - priorities for university and business partnerships to commercialise research
- the role of internal university innovation centres and corporate innovation and technology centres in local growth
- local infrastructure provision and needs for growth
- leveraging support through innovation clusters funding and regional infrastructure investment expected in the 2025 Spending Review
- role of the recently established Cambridge-Manchester Innovation Partnership in shaping future models of university-led regional growth
- funding issues:
- UKRI Innovation Accelerator pilot and next steps for HEIF - impact of proposals in the forthcoming Spending Review on research funding
- assessing local authority equity stakes in research infrastructure - next steps for UK Shared Prosperity Fund and assessing delivery by local authorities
- regional variation in private equity and the role of blended finance, as well as the new Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship and expansion of investor knowledge
- clarifying university roles in delivering elements of the National Wealth Fund and accessing devolved innovation finance
- impact of students and graduates on local economies:
- collecting data on economic benefits and assessing the role of student workers in local economies - addressing student housing needs including affordability and social cohesion
- assessing the contribution of international students to local economies - retaining graduates for local economic growth through partnerships with employers
- developing new approaches to graduate retention through local employer partnerships, housing incentives, and integrated skills strategies
- wider local collaboration:
- priorities for collaboration on infrastructure upgrades, with local businesses and local authorities - impact of the Procurement Act Social Value
- the civic agenda and community engagement - impacts of tuition reform and potential new university legislation on local projects
- policy and regulation:
- local growth strategies and building on established devolution arrangements - priorities for the AI Opportunities Action Plan and university involvement in the OxCam arc
- next steps for the National Wealth Fund, Pension Fund reform and the investment agenda - assessing the role of the Get Britain Working White Paper and Skills England
- impact of immigration and visas on talent retention
- assessing the forthcoming Office for Students strategy for 2025-2030 - next steps for reform after the review
