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Regional Universities Network: Engaging with regions, building a stronger nation
Professor Mike HefferanPro Vice-Chancellor Engagement
15 November 2013
Premise
• The Regional Universities Network (RUN) has in 2 years established itself as providing representation for its 6 members and an increased profile for regional tertiary education
• It has a number of committees, dealing with various aspects of university activity and also undertakes specific projects of common interests and information sharing (e.g. alumni, fundraising etc.)
• From that base, is there another major opportunity where RUN collaboration could provide the best vehicle to advance the initiative?
Premise (con’t)
• Any such initiative would have to be a matter:
– of genuine, common and national interest
– that is inherently ‘regional’ or where a collaboration of regional universities has particular advantage
– where there an ability to ramp up significant funds
– where RUN universities already have some expertise, research interest / capability.
… such an opportunity would lie in making regional development (and its related areas) a
flagship of ‘engagement’ strategies.
Definition of ‘Engagement’
‘The cultivation of relationships that lead to
productive partnerships which yield mutually
beneficial outcomes to universities and their
partners through the application and utilisation of
university resources including staff, students,
infrastructure and knowledge and across the
breadth of university activities including
Research, Education and Service.’
Australian Higher Education Engagement Executives
2013
Engagement (done well!) has three key components:
1. Position of the university -accepted/valued as independent, ethical, trusted, knowledgeable – ‘truth well told’ not populist.
2. Outreach – (selling) applying the actual product
– relevant T&L
– problem solving
– path finding
– (and financially successful)
3. Internal – understanding / commitment– all involved (including apt staff)
– integrated
– recognised, rewarded
A discipline
A methodology
Best practice
… to do relevant
things, that are
respected and
supported by
respective
stakeholders
Teaching
Problem-
solving/
Partnerships
Research
Skills
Resources
Culture &
learning
University Region
Source: Based on Goddard and Chatterton 2003
The normative notion of university-region strategic management interface
SUSTAINABILITY
INNOVATION
Human capital formation
Regional and business
innovation
Social, cultural & environmental development
A core mission of university … particularly in a regional context
An important characteristic of knowledge is in its TACIT forms:
Know-how
Know-who
Specialist knowledge builds up in host regions.
Regional development?
Bases on some preliminary investigations/discussions between some RUN members:
• The area needs to be properly defined for our purposes (could be everything!)
• This is a genuine and pre-existing discreet area involving a number of disciplines and with an association (ANZRSAI)
• It is of national significance/profile that is currently undergoing major change (= opportunity)
• Major stakeholders are available in Commonwealth Government and in regional councils – the efforts of both would be enhanced by research, professional development and education offers
• It is currently underrepresented in research and in grants etc.
• Too economic focussed (?)
Context
• Prosperity of Australia is based on the sum of 55 regions (RDA) – and they all have major differences/nuances
• Economies are driven by cities however (physical) growth is driven by the peri-urban areas which influence cities wealth
• RUN universities (and their research agendas) are more important to their regions than city universities are to their host cities
• There is a rapidly growing regional acceptance of the importance of education and higher end employment and skills in regional development
• ‘The new regional great divide’ - education
The two parts of a contemporary economy/region
Trading Non-trading
Global trading
Professional Services
HealthEducation
Property/Finance
Most Trades
PersonalServices
Retail
Trading with nearby regions
Trading nationally
Tourism
Construction
A scan …
• Under-represented
• Academic association (ANZRSAI); industry association (SEGRA)
• Federal government change – RDA?
• Large councils – scaling up and interested but low skill, research and evidence base capacity
• Regional Australia Institute
• Engagement Australia (formerly AUCEA)
• RUN appears a good vehicle to bring this together
Opportunity now
• All RUN universities have a genuine interest in this area but their current responses are varied from whole centres (USQ) through to scattered single academic-based interest
• Can be the major vehicle for university engagement
• Coordination through RUN would have obvious benefits to all.
If RUN is to advance this …• Regional development needs to be identified as a
priority (but would involved limited expenditure in proving/establishment phase)
• Would need to be lead at executive level
• Has to link with research agenda (but T&L would probably be in professional development areas)
• Focus on a relatively small number of areas (probably different for each university but with common threads, and likely to involve regional ‘trading sectors’)
• Political target and lobbying (now urgent, given political environment)
• Be willing to ‘give a bit’ – establish profile/credibility
Sunshine Coast Futures Conference Series
2010 2011 2012 2013
If RUN is to advance this … (con’t.)
• Establish the key things that each RUN university would feature (not just ‘an audit of what we are doing’)
• First half 2014, executive committee to:
– Identify the specifics of what we can jointly do in this area
– Targeting of key stakeholders and future sources of funds
– Establishing a (simple) organisational structure to hold the initiative together
Regional Universities Network: Engaging with regions, building a stronger nation
Professor Mike HefferanPro Vice-Chancellor Engagement
15 November 2013