Professor Chris Pearce, Vice Principal for Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Glasgow, and Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, hosted a roundtable bringing together key leaders from across academia and the public and private sectors with civic society.

The event, which took place in the Clarice Pears Building on Wednesday 23 August, was held as part of GALoPP (the Glasgow Aligning Local Policy Partnerships project) to discuss opportunities for greater local partnership alignment across the Glasgow City Region to reduce inequalities and increase prosperity for all citizens. 

The GALoPP project, which is led by Professor Shona Hilton, Deputy Director of the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), reflects the University’s commitment to finding solutions to major societal challenges enabled by research, innovation, education and, critically, partnership.

Key issues discussed at the roundtable were how we work towards the agenda of greater policy connectiveness across Glasgow City Region, how we can be more effective in partnership working and how we can use our data better to help us understand priority issues in greater detail.

There was also a focus on the challenges, solutions, and opportunities for greater innovation and meaningful partnership to help move us towards fairer, more sustainable, and inclusive polices that allow everyone in our communities to thrive. 

Professor Chris Pearce said: “The University of Glasgow is committed to finding solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges through our research, innovation and partnership working. The GALoPP project is a catalyst for real-world innovation and solutions, and I was pleased to co-host the roundtable and bring together key leaders from the Glasgow City Region to discuss how we can better work together to create a more sustainable future for all.”

Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Susan Aitken, said: “The work of the GALoPP project comes at a time when sectoral and geographic collaborations are maturing rapidly and our ambition for an economy which works for everyone is delivering tangible results. Inclusive growth and the Glasgow City Region have real substance and meaning.

“Given the scale of the social and economic challenges in the west of Scotland but also the potential around growth and innovation, we’re in a good place. The work of the GALoPP project will help take that progress forward.”

The University of Glasgow was one of 10 Local Policy Innovation Partnerships (LPIPs) to receive phase one funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). LPIPs will establish a nationwide network to harness the power of research and innovation to benefit people in all four nations of the UK. GALoPP aims to catalyse opportunities for innovative and actionable solutions around local policy design within the Glasgow City Region.

Enquiries: media@glasgow.ac.uk 

 

First published: 24 August 2023

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