David is a Principal Research Associate in CURDS, and Co-ordinator of the research group on Innovation, Learning and Knowledge. He has undertaken research in the areas of organisational change, technology policy and urban and regional development. Recent and current projects include work on regional economic performance, and support for innovation and human resource development in North East England, graduate labour markets, university institutional relations with their local regions, participation in an OECD network examining cluster strategies, and a project under the UK ESRC Intellectual Property Programme on the management of intellectual property by university spin offs. He participated in a European Commission funded evaluation of the STRIDE, TELEMATIQUE and PRISMA programmes, in which he led the STRIDE evaluation, and a SPRINT funded study of technology parks across Europe. He has worked on various projects on universities and communities for the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals, Government Office South East and Newcastle City. David has an on-going interest in the development and implementation of technology policies at an urban and regional level, and has undertaken work for various Directorates General of the European Commission, local authorities and other UK public bodies.
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John is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University. He founded the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies in 1977. CURDS now has 30 research staff engaged in a range of basic and applied research funded by the UK research councils, government departments, the European Commission and private industry. He led the CURDS study for the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals on Universities and Communities and has recently completed a project for the DfEE on Universities and Economic Development.
Within the wider University, John has served as a member of Senate, Council, Policy and Resources Committee and Research Committee. In January 1998 he was appointed Pro Vice Chancellor, with special responsibilities for a major IT implementation project within the University. He has been actively involved in the development of the University's research policies and in its relations with the local community, for example serving as a member of the Port of Tyne Authority, a Governor of the University of Northumbria, a director of the local business leadership team, the Newcastle Initiative and of the Northern Informatics Application Agency.
Nationally, John has served on various committees of the Economic and Social Research Council and as Director of its Programme on Information and Communications Technology (PICT). He has acted as an adviser on regional policy to the House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee. He is the Chairman of the Association of Research Centres in the Social Sciences (ARCISS), and a member of the Higher Education Funding Council's Committee on Electronic Information. He is also a member of a CVCP subgroup chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of York, on Universities and Communities.
Internationally he has acted as a consultant to OECD and the European Commission on the links between regional policy and technology/telecommunications policy. He is currently leading a project for OECD's Institutional Management and Higher Education programme on the response of higher education institutions to regional needs. John is a member of an international review team appointed by the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council to assess the effectiveness of three universities in Eastern Finland, particularly with regard to their regional role and leading a senior management development programme for the Committee of Rectors of European Universities on the management of the regional interface.
John's academic background is in economic geography, having obtained his first degree from University College London, and his PhD from LSE. He was a lecturer at LSE from 1975 prior to moving to Newcastle. He was awarded an OBE in 1986 and the Victoria Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1992.
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Cheryl is a Research Associate at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies and is a member of the research group on Innovation, Learning and Knowledge. She holds a B.A. (Hons) degree in Economics from Kingston University and an M.A. in Macroeconomics from Liverpool University. Before joining CURDS she worked full-time on two major ESRC funded studies undertaken at The Queens University of Belfast and Durham University. Her research interests lie in applied policy research with particular reference to labour markets, higher education and small and medium sized enterprises. She has undertaken work for a number of international, national and regional organisations including European Commission, Department of Education and Employment (DfEE), Government Office North East (GONE) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Recent and current projects include the role of universities in regional development, graduate labour markets and the labour market demands of employers in the region.
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Paul is a Research Associate in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies. His doctorate thesis was undertaken at the University of Bristol and examined the role of higher education institutions in regional development, and in particular the role of universities and their students in urban cultural innovation and vitality. Paul has been involved in a number of research projects in CURDS related to regional development and urban policy evaluation. He has undertaken work for a number of national and international organisations which include the Organisation for Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Government Office North-East (GONE) and Gateshead and Newcastle City Councils. His current interests relate to creating a framework within which regional stakeholders (universities, chambers of commerce, the public and private sectors) can respond to regional needs.
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