Civic Universities and Economic Impact: A Scoping Review

“Understanding the economic impact of universities requires clear frameworks and methodologies that enable stakeholders to assess and interpret their contributions.”

This report reviews the different approaches for understanding a university's economic impact in place. This is covered in eight main chapters. The first introduces the role of universities in the economy. The second, covers the role of universities as anchor institutions. The third shows the ways of assessing and measuring the economic impact of universities. The fourth chapter outlines approaches to show economic impact of civic activities. The fifth covers international perspectives on universities’ economic and civic impacts. Chapter six identifies frameworks for evaluating civic universities’ contributions. Chapter seven shows the place-based approaches and local impacts of universities. We finish in chapter eight with key insights and recommendations.

This report shows the different analytical frameworks for universities to improve their economic impact and role. This includes policymakers, university leaders, and researchers, as well as anyone interested in learning how universities influence economic outcomes.

The frameworks can be used for strategic planning, community engagement, or academic studies, and equip users with the tools to map out the economic impact of universities in a structured way.

These resources can be invaluable for aligning institutional goals with regional development strategies.

Please reference this paper as:

Hassan, S., Read, H., Riley, B., Pugh, A., & Green, A. (2024). Civic Universities and Economic Impact: A Scoping Review. City-REDI, University of Birmingham.

Meet the Authors

Hannes Read

Hannes is a Policy and Data Analyst with experience working on economic development research projects in local government and with business improvement districts. Hannes has recently worked at Lancaster City Council actively engaging with the economic recovery and resilience in the response to Covid-19. He has also worked closely on the council’s Community Wealth Building Strategy for sustainable and inclusive economic prosperity.

Alice Pugh

Alice is a Policy and Data Analyst with an undergraduate degree in BA Economics from Manchester Metropolitan University, and a postgraduate degree in MA Criminology from the University of Manchester. As part of her undergraduate degree, Alice completed a sandwich year with the Department for Work and Pensions as an Economic Data Analyst, working with big data, creating dashboards and conducting evaluations.

Bec Riley

Rebecca (Bec) Riley is an experienced researcher, intelligence provider and information professional. She has been helping practitioners and policy makers make decisions and develop solutions for over 20 years. Rebecca has delivered over 200 research and information projects to the public and private sector across economic, social and environmental policy areas. She is a champion of using evidence for decision making, making research accessible and ensuring it has impact.

Anne Green

Anne is Professor of Regional Economic Development and Co-Director at City REDI. With a background in geography, her research interests span employment, non employment, regional and local labour market issues, skills strategies, migration and commuting, urban and regional development, evaluation and public policy issues. She has longstanding experience of working in interdisciplinary research institutes in higher education.

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