Institutions in the UK have been urged to embed a place-based economic agenda in their core if they want to truly be seen as civic universities.

A new national initiative, , has been launched to strengthen the role of universities in their towns, cities and regions – building on the legacy of UPP Foundation’s Civic University Commission and the Civic University Network.

Richard Brabner, former executive chair of the UPP Foundation, has been appointed to lead the policy advocacy work. Over the next three years, he will attempt to advance the role of universities in their local areas, connecting universities with business, the NHS, local government and schools and colleges.

Brabner, now a local policy innovation partnership fellow at the University of Birmingham, said there has been a “step change” in the approaches that universities have taken in the past few years despite the growing financial challenge.

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“One of the biggest things impacting the role that universities play in their places is obviously resources,” he told ̽����Ƶ.

“For the civic place role to be sustainable within institutions in this time of financial challenge it has got to be embedded in its core. It’s got to be about the curriculum, it’s got to be about translating local economic impact from the research that you’re doing.”

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Brabner said many of the best civic initiatives of recent years have involved collaboration between universities. He called for more institutions to “double down” on those agreements and implement them effectively.

He will work with founding partners Birmingham, Newcastle University, Queen Mary University of London, and the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) in the campaign.

With few systematic or structural changes planned for the sector in coming years, Brabner, who is also a visiting professor of civic engagement at Newcastle University, said universities needed to be more creative and innovative in understanding the levers they can pull in supporting the civic agenda.

“Most universities recognise that specific role [as civic institutions] is a licence to practise for institutions, particularly in this period where universities are under real public scrutiny for a variety of different matters.”

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Alongside policy advocacy, the national campaign will involve sector-wide capacity building to ensure universities deliver “maximum social and economic benefit for the places they serve”.

����previous UPP report called for the creation of a “community levy paid for by universities as a proportion of their international fee income” to help “mitigate the impact of studentification”.

But Brabner said the levy introduced by the Labour government, which will cost £925 per international student, will have a “centralising” effect, rather than a devolved one.

Overall, he said the government’s rhetoric around the civic agenda is strong as one of their top priorities for higher education.

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“But in terms of actual policymaking, there’s still more to do,” he added. “And I think it’s up to us to work with the government to understand what those levers and policy shifts could be to support the place agenda within higher education.”

In a statement, Philippa Lloyd, vice-principal for policy and partnerships at QMUL, said the civic responsibility of universities has never been more critical in addressing national and regional challenges.

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“We remain committed to sustaining the momentum built in recent years and to deepening our impact through place-based partnerships that deliver meaningful change and progress on the ground for the people of this country.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com