New development: Institutions, ‘new civic leadership’ and being ‘truly civic’—some tensions in co-production debates

ABSTRACT

Developments in civic leadership’s advocacy are examined in the context of the case for UK universities becoming ‘truly civic’ leaders in their localities. New Civic Leadership (NCL) thinking encapsulates innovation and improvisation in public services co-production, demonstrated notably by local government-based initiatives. Meanwhile, an independent commission has proposed formalized enhancement of universities’ civic leadership roles. This article considers the extent to which civic leadership and opportunities for advancing the ‘NCL’ model arise in this commission’s report; concluding that the report illustrates tensions as well as opportunities in universities’ place-leadership and for co-production’s advancement.

IMPACT

Examination of the Civic Universities Commission’s proposals highlights their implications for universities’ strategic decision-making, set within the highly topical and complex arena of place-based policy. This article reinforces the point for policy-makers to act with care and consideration when seeking to develop place-based initiatives. From wider public policy perspectives, the authors emphasise the proposals’ potential for exacerbating higher education (HE) sectoral division, where some universities’ achievement of ‘truly civic’ status may be prevented by their size, purposes and resources; and draws attention to independent nongovernmental commissions’ and philanthropic foundations’ roles in public policy advocacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Civic universities
• co-production
• independent commissions
• new civic leadership
• place-based leadership

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).