Spaces for dialogue, spaces for connection: new structures and dynamics in universities' regional engagement

In recent years, universities have been increasingly expected to engage with their immediate territory. Whether based on the idea that these publicly funded institutions have a responsibility towards society, or in the wide recognition of their valuable contribution to regional innovation capacity and development (Arbo & Benneworth, 2007; Uyarra, 2010), universities’ regional engagement has evolved to become a central tenet within academia. According to Etzkowitz (1990), the introduction and integration of a third (following teaching and research) mission of external engagement is a “revolution” of the academic ethos, signalling greater changes in universities’ organisational structures.