|
Atlas of Higher Education: A community focus
[ next ] [ return to contents ] [ back ]
3 The Ways Universities Contribute to Societal Outcomes in the Local and Regional Community
3.1 Economic competitiveness
There is significant expertise and knowledge in higher education institutions that can be of considerable benefit to the success of local businesses. The spread of government and business driven research and development is something that generally tends to be concentrated in larger urban centres and does not often find its way to less populous regions. Universities therefore can have a key role in stimulating innovation in regional areas.
The university can work with its local and regional community to stimulate economic development through a variety of innovation and technology transfer partnerships and research and development activities with local industry. This can be achieved by enabling local access to technical and professional services available within the university; through research and development collaboration projects; through the provision of technology transfer infrastructure such as business incubators; through business centres and science parks; through university spin-off research and development-based businesses; and through staff and student secondments and practicums to local business.
In smaller regional centres where there may not be the industry critical mass, higher education institutions can partner local business in specific areas relevant to the objectives of agencies such as government departments and institutional service providers.
A starting point for joint action in this area may be an audit of university knowledge and expertise and matching this with a similar audit of regional business prospects and commercial requirements. Public access points for the local community within the university; knowledge transfer management mechanisms such as brokerage and advisory services; infrastructure (e.g. science parks and incubators) tailored to local strengths; and secondments and studentships may then provide a bridge between the university and businesses.
3.2 Urban and rural regeneration
In many areas, the university is the largest employer and business entity. Its student population can, therefore, have a significant impact on local services, transport systems, rental housing and can inject significant funds into the local economy.
Through building, property management and environmental management programs, as well as through research and teaching programs, higher education institutions can boost urban and regional commerce. They can be a demonstration of 'good practice' in urban built environment and the natural environment and encourage clustered commercial and industrial development in areas that require regeneration.
In declining urban areas, the university can have a positive impact through its campus and other property location; through its provision of student accommodation; through installing transport management schemes to cope with student movement; and through the provision of local services such as medical, dental, counselling and legal based on academic programs. When tied in with local planning initiatives and collaboration with local authorities, such initiatives can add substantially to the town planning amenity, services and infrastructure of the urban centre and its suburbs. University spin-off companies, research and development and technology transfer infrastructure, and the contracting out of daily university services such as catering, cleaning, gardening, accountancy and auditing can add to the employment base of depressed urban and rural areas.
In rural areas, university research and outreach programs can contribute to boosting farming productivity and enhancing the viability of rural communities.
3.3 Regional Labour Markets
As a source of knowledge workers, universities and other higher education institutions have a significant role to play in creating a stock of human capital that has important implications for the future development of regions.
Graduates provide a bridge between the university and business in regions. This enables the community to retain, through their graduates, innovative, entrepreneurial and management skills that can foster new business. Retaining graduates will also attract investment and enhance productivity, efficiency and market competitiveness of existing business and institutions. Many regions however are not making the most of graduates with many regions outside the major metropolitan centres being net exporters of graduates to other more populous centres (see Appendix A).
While some universities and communities are focusing on initiatives and incentives to strengthen local undergraduate intake and participation in higher education, there have been fewer that have focused on trying to minimise the regional loss of graduates.
A few universities, regional development organisations and regional businesses and institutions have sought to retain greater numbers of local university graduates in their areas. They have offered job-designed degree programs with local employers, graduate entrepreneurship programs designed to foster new business start ups, work experience programs and mentoring initiatives and other course-oriented practices in the local region and by facilitating the local commercialisation of university - based research. On the whole however most initiatives in this area have been piecemeal.
Other initiatives that universities may undertake with their regional communities to strengthen the absorption of graduates into the local economy might include:
- the provision of careers advice to students about opportunities that exist within the region;
- promoting graduate employment with local employers and provision of a 'one stop' point of contact for graduates seeking employment and employers seeking graduates;
- the establishment of entrepreneurial business incubators so that new graduates can learn business management, IT and other skills and develop their ideas so as to set up their own local business;
- building partnership links between industry and relevant university teaching and research programs;
- tailoring of teaching and training programs to meet specific local business and institutional needs.
3.4 Access to Learning
Universities can put in place various education and training programs, awareness raising and program delivery initiatives to strengthen local and regional student participation as it relates to lifelong learning objectives. In response to the expanding range of community learning requirements, the local university can design and target its own range of training and education programs, 'buy-in' programs from other university providers, contract out programs to a third organisation and it can organise on-line and virtual classroom learning sessions.
3.5 Culture
Universities can make a significant contribution to the region's cultural base and the local community's quality of life. It can do this through its culturally based learning programs; its engagement with regional cultural bodies; and by making available a range of cultural infrastructure (e.g. museums, galleries, orchestras, auditorium, library borrowing, workshops and studios, sports facilities, radio and television stations) for public access. The university might also sponsor local events and performances; take part in specific community cultural initiatives; and offer specialist expertise and performances on a pro bono or other low cost basis.
3.6 Health and Social Wellbeing
Through their learning programs, research and infrastructure, universities can improve the health (geriatric care, hospital, nursing, medical, dental), safety, physical fitness and general social wellbeing (legal, counselling, sociology, and welfare services) of the regional community. This may involve partnerships with existing public health and welfare institutions or with the private sector; community access to on-campus health and welfare facilities and services; the development and access provision of state of the art technology; and the provision of information for regional health and welfare planning.
Joint action by the university and community in this area will benefit from detailed demographic information about the health and social wellbeing status of the local population so that university initiatives can be designed and targeted around particular problem areas.
3.7 Sustainability
Universities can contribute to the sustainable development of the regions in which they are located through a variety of academic, management, infrastructure and student mechanisms. In particular, through their teaching programs universities can raise awareness and skills and the student body can be a significant contributor to volunteering and community activity in the region. Staff and students with sustainable development expertise can also be seconded into the region to assist meet specific objectives.
The university can contribute to the sustainable regional development of the community by including it in strategic plans, reward and recognition schemes for staff, performance agreements and encouragement it gives its staff to be involved in leadership groups within the regional community to achieve sustainable regional development.
Universities can use their infrastructure and specialist equipment, such as science parks, incubators, laboratories and information society hardware to contribute to the sustainable development objectives of the regional community in a number of ways.
Many universities have research centres and institutes that are involved in aspects of the sustainable development agenda. Few of these however have an explicit focus on engaging with the region that they are located in to achieve sustainable regional development objectives.
Another way universities can contribute to the sustainable regional development objectives of their communities is through 'best practice' demonstration and 'good citizen' type initiatives, such as 'green campus', sustainable regional development - responsible purchasing programs and pro bono services related to sustainable regional development and other initiatives.
Finally, universities can contribute to the sustainable regional development objectives of the local region through their own marketing and promotion programs that espouse the community's sustainable regional development objectives.
3.8 Regional Governance
As independent 'honest brokers' with access to information, skills and networks, universities can play a key role in the general governance and strategic focus of the regional economy. This may be through the regional development organisation, the local council or through representation on key institutional fora.
The university may take a leadership role on behalf of the region in policy and planning negotiations with external agencies as well as help to enrol local stakeholder interests in the strategy and marketing and promotion activities of the region. It may also provide office accommodation on campus for the region's leadership team.
Through their research activities, many staff in universities have extensive international networks that are potentially beneficial for embedding the region into the global market place.
Universities can provide much of the information and IT expertise to help regional leaders effectively respond to these requirements.
[ next ] [ return to contents ] [ back ]
Any comments or queries should be sent to: wwweditor@detya.gov.au
This page was last updated on 06 March 2001
Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Copyright © Commonwealth of
Australia
Disclaimer
DETYA Web
Site Privacy Statement