Keele launches plan to aid local post-pandemic recovery
Keele launches plan to aid local post-pandemic recovery
Keele University has partnered with key local and regional organisations to launch ambitious plans to strengthen the area’s recovery following the pandemic.
Keele Deal | Recovery aims to create a powerful and wide-ranging programme of contributions aimed at achieving a major impact on the region’s recovery and building long-term resilience.
The fourth in a series of Keele Deals agreed with local partners over the last four years, Keele Deal | Recovery will bring together the University’s assets and expertise with those of its partners, including local authorities, NHS organisations, business bodies and community organisations.
Building on some of the major areas of the University’s existing engagements, Keele Deal | Recovery will encompass six interrelated themes:
- Innovation and Enterprise
- Cultural Regeneration
- Digital Futures
- Inclusive Working Futures
- Health and Wellbeing
- Sustainability and Food Security
The Deal incorporate a number of ambitious projects led by Keele, including a further expansion of the University’s Science and Innovation Park to attract high value digital, life science and food security organisations into the local area. Innovation Centre 7, set for completion in Spring 2022 and specialising in digital enhancement, will enable more than 300 SMEs to benefit from a data analytics transformation programme, adding to the 600 local businesses that Keele has supported through the New Keele Deal, launched in 2017.
This latest Deal will also see the University working with local partners to develop responses to the increasing job losses and the changing labour market caused by the pandemic, ensuring that the current and future generations of workforce are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed.
A further example of the Deal’s impact will see Keele build on its existing partnerships with healthcare organisations to undertake collaborative research into the long-term implications of Covid-19, informing local care planning and supporting clinical education needs.
Speaking at the launch of Keele Deal | Recovery, Professor Trevor McMillan, Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, said: “This Deal will create another step change in our contributions to the local area, broadening our ambitions to create a comprehensive institutional endeavour covering all aspects of life affected by the pandemic.
“The New Keele Deal, which was launched just over four years ago, led to one of the largest university-led regeneration programmes in England. Our goal with this latest Deal is to further demonstrate the difference a university can make to the fortunes of an area when it shows collective leadership, listens to and works with others, and delivers on shared priorities.”
Speaking of Staffordshire County Council’s support of the Deal, Leader Cllr Alan White said: “Since Keele University launched its Keele Deal Economy in 2017, the University has delivered a range of projects and initiatives that have supported economic and skills growth in Staffordshire, including helping with challenges of recovery faced by our town centres.
“Whilst there is no doubt that Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on our economy, with the support of the University and our other partners, we are still ambitious for Staffordshire’s growth, recovery and renewal.”
Alun Rogers, Chair of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Partnership working is what the SSLEP is all about, and that’s more important now for business recovery and a better life for everyone than it’s ever been. The Keele Deal Recovery plan will add considerable strength and resilience to the local economy, as well as supporting continued growth in any future economic shocks.”
Sara Williams, Chief Executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, added: “Keele Deal | Recovery is a fantastic innovation, and what we would expect from one of the leading universities in the country. The Deal will support and help the whole of our economy and all of our communities to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
“I am sure that Staffordshire businesses, and our people, are resilient and will bounce back. But we have a lot to learn and much to recover from – and Keele’s recovery deal is just what is needed for this. All of the key drivers for business, and changes that are coming our way, are all written large within the Deal.”
The event featured a keynote speech from Sir John Peace, Chair of the Midlands Engine Partnership and Midlands Connect. He said: “Keele’s impact on the regional economy will support hundreds of local businesses and jobs, and save 1,000s of tonnes of CO2 emissions. Their focus on recovery – and that of other universities across the Midlands – is an essential cornerstone for the tremendous recovery efforts that are being made, and we all must endeavour if we are to rebuild our economy.”
More information about Keele Deal | Recovery is available online at keele.ac.uk/keeledealrecovery.
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Keele Deal | Recovery partners
- Local authorities – Staffordshire County Council; Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council; Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- NHS organisations – University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust; Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Business bodies – Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce; Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership
- Community organisations – VAST; New Vic Theatre.
