ISSUE FOUR • June 2018
/ Research & Impact
Regional and Local Impact in the North East of England An Overview of the Institute for Local Governance
BACKGROUND Durham University Business School recognises in pursuing its educational philosophy and strategy that engagement, impact and sustainable development are key activities in the pursuit of academic excellence. Professor John Mawson
The Institute for Local Governance (ILG) has sought to make its contribution to these key themes since it was hosted within the Business School some eight years ago as a University initiative with support from the ESRC’s Ventures Scheme. The ILG operates as a research and knowledge exchange partnership, involving many of the region’s key public sector organisations (local authorities, police, fire and rescue, and public health bodies) as well as drawing on the North East’s five universities. Its focus is on providing management and public policy expertise in a world of rapid change in which the boundaries between private, public and voluntary sectors are becoming increasingly blurred. The ILG functions as an ‘intermediary’ or ‘bridging agency’, whose role is to identify and secure the delivery of the research requirements of its public sector partners through the facilitation of collaboration between practitioners and the relevant academics concerned. The ILG team of three staff, with senior experience in university research and public sector management, are located within the School. The activities are funded by annual subscription added to by grant income and overseen by a quarterly Management Board, chaired on a rotating basis by local authority Chief Executives, with senior representatives from the partners and the University, including Professor Susan Hart, Dean of Durham University Business School.
