Partnership working has been a key aim of the project since its inception. In addition to the institutional collaboration the universisites involved in the project have also been working with public sector organisations, voluntary organisations, community groups and individuals to contribute to the economic and social regeneration of urban areas in the North of England. This project has worked with more than 600 organisations and an additional 1000 individuals.  Additionally the University of Bradford has also collaborated on some of the projects.

We continue to develop closer strategic links and partnerships with the following organisations as a result of our programme:



NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts - a unique body with a mission to make the UK more innovative. We invest in early-stage companies, inform and shape policy, and deliver practical programmes that inspire others to solve the big challenges of the future.

NESTA recently published "The Connected University" Report which examines the multifaceted contribution that universities make to the economy, highlighting their importance as sources of knowledge, and also their role as sources of skilled employees and as the centres for regional economic clusters.  It contains eight case studies show how thriving clusters of economic activity have grown up around leading UK universities, and the effect of recent policy and university strategy in helping this to happen.  Click here to download the report from NESTA wesbite (pdf format).