Civic partnerships are needed more than ever here across Yorkshire - Dave Petley & Sarah Norman

Four years after the launch of the ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Yorkshire and Humber Councils (YHC) and Yorkshire Universities (YU) – the representative bodies for local government and higher education in the region – we have renewed our commitment to work in partnership for the benefit of the region and to help champion the voice of Yorkshire.

From May 2, there will be full coverage of Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) in Yorkshire and the Humber. Five Mayors, with the advent of Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire mayoralties, will be in office. Local authorities are founding partners in the evolution of MCAs.

It is testimony to how our region is underpinned by collaboration and has the appetite to acquire further devolved powers and responsibilities, that local authority Leaders and Mayors are working in tandem to create the conditions to develop and drive growth, prosperity and access to opportunities for more people. The contributions of business and industry, as well as the higher education sector, represented by YU, is pivotal to whether we succeed or not.

Local government is no stranger to navigating acute financial challenges, and the region’s universities are now facing their own difficulties. It would be a false economy to neglect or to retreat into sector isolationism at a time when civic partnerships are needed more than ever, and the benefits of joint working are becoming increasingly apparent.

The initial phase of our collaboration has yielded substantial results. The MoU has been instrumental in the region being awarded £10m of funding from UK Research & Innovation – through the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) and the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP).

These projects are enabling our universities to widen and deepen their partnerships with communities and institutions.

Nationally, this MoU is seen as an exemplar of good practice, which other regions are keen to replicate.

The opportunities and challenges posed by new technologies, as well as the political, economic, societal and climate ruptures and change we face, requires us to work even closer together to create the necessary critical mass and confidence for us to be ambitious and to be optimistic about Yorkshire’s future.

Professor Dave Petley is the chair of Yorkshire Universities and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hull, and Sarah Norman is chair of Yorkshire and Humber Councils Chief Executives Group and Chief Executive of Barnsley Council.