Higher Education Institutions and Knowledge Networks: Evaluating Local and Global Knowledge Pipelines Robert Huggins & Andrew Johnston
Introduction HEIs: Viewed as key institutions in the regional economic development process HEIs: Described as central nodes of the knowledge driven economy University knowledge increasingly viewed as a panacea for promoting knowledge based economic development How do HEIs contribute to regional competitiveness?
Theoretical Framework: HEI Knowledge and Innovation Systemic view of innovation; regions as laboratories which provide the crucial knowledge infrastructure for innovation Local knowledge sources are utilised in the innovation process Increasingly, local knowledge sources are becoming viewed as secondary. Global knowledge pipelines are important to innovation Do HEIs represent local knowledge sources or are they part of a global knowledge pipeline?
Questions Do HEIs interact with local or global actors? How does this differ across regions Are HEI links related to the productivity of the institution? Are HEI links related to research income?
Research Method Postal survey sent to all UK HEIs (159 institutions) covering all 12 UK NUTS 1 regions Respondents asked to list 3 most important contacts in terms of: Collaborative research Contract research Contract research with SMEs Consultancy Courses for businesses Patents Licences Spin-outs Other Geographic location of contacts was also noted – post town, county or region (varied due to level of confidentiality) 59 usable responses, average 5 per region, equalling a response rate of 37% Responses included pre-92 institutions, post 92 institutions and specialist HEIs (i.e. Schools of music/agriculture) 59 responses accounted for 71% of total research income for all HEIs Responses accounted for at least 50% of total HEI research income in all regions
Measuring HEI Links Measuring the global/local nature of HEI links Links were quantified according to distance: 1: Link within same region as HEI 2: Link located within adjacent UK region 3: Link located within other UK region 4: Link located within European region 5: Link located within the rest of the world Scores then averaged for regions and HEIs for analysis Global/local nature of the HEI links then compared with HEI productivity, research income, income from licensing and total number of patents held
Links Links to:SNINENWY&HEMWMWEELSESW Scotland Northern Ireland North East North West Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands West Midlands Wales East of England London South East South West Europe Rest of the World
Links By Region Location of HEIs Proportion of Links in the region Proportion of Links outside the region Scotland Northern Ireland North East North West Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands West Midlands Wales East of England London South East South West
HEI Links - Local or Global?
Regional HEI Links
Productivity and External Links
Research Income and External Links
Licence Income and External Links
Patents/Licenses Held and External Links
Conclusions Peripheral regions have more global linkages Total links are positively correlated with productivity, research income, patents and licence income BUT not all links are related to these factors HEIs are transceivers of knowledge
Next Steps Multivariate Analysis Closer examination of the linkages in terms of HEI characteristics