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Sustainable Place-Based Development for London
We were joined by UCL Masters students who explored the role of universities in fostering innovation and economic growth in a place-based context. This project was a collaboration with the Economic Strategy and Innovation team at the Greater London Authority. Read the policy brief below.
Context
We were delighted to have a student placement team join us from University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) to work with the Economic Strategy and Innovation team on a project exploring the role of universities in fostering local and regional innovation and economic growth in a place-based context. This project will inform the London Growth Plan, and the wider Economic Development Strategy (EDS) for London.
The student team completed an eight week placement and comprised of four Masters of Policy Administration (MPA) students with international experience from across Australia, Argentina, and Japan.
Project Overview
The project addresses the key research questions:
- How can the GLA and local authorities collaborate effectively with universities to unlock innovation and enhance London's inclusive growth and economy?
- How do global, research-intensive universities, and more locally focused universities interact?
- How might the GLA and London government support universities to better collaborate in local areas and strategic economic development locations, such as the Royal Docks, Old Oak and Park Royal, to deliver public value and collective impact?
The research team synthesised key takeaways from each data source to draw five major findings (below) and corresponding policy recommendations.
- A more cohesive narrative is needed to drive sustainable development
- The GLA has a portfolio of levers to promote sustainable economic development
- Community engagement is needed in a place-based industrial strategy
- Organisational silos within the GLA are a significant barrier to policymaking
- Trust and confidence are critical to the GLA’s relationships with universities and businesses
You can find the policy recommendations in the policy brief document linked below.
Read the policy brief here which outlines the policy recommendations for relevant stakeholders, as dictated by the project findings.
If you are interested in engaging with the GLA on this topic, please email us at londonrapp@london.ac.uk.
We were keen to capture qualitative feedback from our student team, in their own words, to help us improve on similar placements in the future. Their experiences have been published in a Q&A style blog which you can read here.
