̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Cambridgeshire

Drawing Cambridgeshire

zs332 — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 07:47:58 +0000

A collection of drawings by local amateur artist Richard Relhan, showing the history of Cambridgeshire, has been added to the Cambridge Digital Library

̽��ֱ��forgotten poet of Fordham

sjr81 — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 11:45:15 +0000

Handwritten verses from a nineteenth-century Cambridgeshire poet – who died destitute despite royal patronage – have been saved by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library.

̽��ֱ��£2 billion vegetable and the agricultural future of the East

lw355 — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 11:00:01 +0000

From crop science to robotics, supply chains to economics, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� researchers are working with farmers and industry to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and profitability.

Opinion: Why policymakers should care about location

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 09:00:58 +0000

̽��ֱ��EU Referendum of June 2016 shone a light upon some of the deep fault lines contained within British society, throwing up profound and uncomfortable questions about what underpinned the differences in people’s perspectives that were revealed in the vote. Evidence suggests that you were much more likely to have voted to Leave if you had not been to university, were over the age of 45 and lived in a town or the countryside rather than a city.

This seismic event, along with the other political earthquakes currently shaking democratic politics throughout the Western world, reveals societies that are profoundly divergent in terms of political values and cultural outlook. Life chances are often contingent on where you are born, where you grow up and what access you have to educational opportunity. ‘Place’, in other words, has a profound influence on our sense of where we belong and the values we prefer.

For politicians and policymakers who came of age during years of sustained economic growth, and who assumed the financially driven economy would generate opportunities for all, these deeply structural patterns of inequality must come as a shock. Anger and frustration underpinned the revolts by the disenchanted against democracy’s political establishments, sentiments which powered new waves of popular protest and support for populist challenger parties.

These responses highlight the inadequacies of a policy paradigm rooted in assumptions about stable economic growth, the unalloyed merits of urban expansion, and the capacity and political will of states to redistribute public goods across poorer regions.

Government is not alone in bearing responsibility for these issues. Academic experts could also have done more to highlight the major inequalities that are opening up across our democratic lives. These inequalities have helped fuel the very different responses to Brexit that have been apparent in our own ‘place’.

̽��ֱ��city of Cambridge was very clearly in favour of Remain in the Referendum – with 73.8% voting in favour. But drive for 30 minutes in almost any direction from the centre and you will find yourself in villages or towns that voted overwhelmingly for Leave. They may be geographically close, but, in relation to Brexit, a chasm of outlook and experience divides Cambridge from the places around it.

A new Combined Authority now links Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – one of a number of innovations in administrative devolution introduced in England in recent years. This single jurisdiction has a limited set of powers conferred upon its elected Mayor. These new arrangements have had the effect of formally linking Cambridge and its world-class university to districts and towns from which it is, in many ways, a world away. This has created a kind of natural experiment on our doorstep, a smaller-scale replica of some of the geographical divides that are apparent across the country. Some of the social inequalities that exist in the eastern region are ingrained – and are one reason why this area lacks a sense of shared geographical identity. Divides of this sort will require both political will and policy ingenuity to solve.

If we compare Cambridge and Peterborough, for instance, the latter’s inhabitants have a significantly lower standard of living, on average, than their counterparts in Cambridge. On a range of public health measures, from obesity to physical activity levels and avoidable mortalities, there is an entrenched difference between these towns.

More of Peterborough’s children receive free school meals, and a much lower proportion of its residents have access to further and higher education. Most Cambridge full-time residents can expect to earn £120 more per week than their Peterborough equivalent; and the latter’s inhabitants can expect, on average, to live two years fewer than their Cambridge counterparts.

There are significant disparities within each of these places, as well as between them. In 2018, for instance, the think tank Centre for Cities ranked Cambridge the most unequal city in the UK – for the second year in a row – which should give us pause for thought. Cambridge is home to an extraordinary concentration of academic expertise, innovation and knowledge-intensive industries. How can the economic and societal benefits of these assets be more evenly distributed?

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� has a key role to play in addressing these issues. At Cambridge’s newly established Bennett Institute for Public Policy, we are committed to a deeper understanding of them, and to helping policymakers think through different potential responses.

For instance, we are currently examining some of the main differences in economic opportunity and social provision that characterise life in different kinds of town within England, looking at whether the ‘footprint’ of public services is receding more dramatically in, for instance, post-industrial towns than elsewhere. And we are exploring ways in which the newly created tier of Combined Authorities, including that in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, can improve in terms of their political accountability to their citizens.

Cambridge is, in relative terms, one of the wealthiest parts of the country. ̽��ֱ��city is one of the strongest sources of economic growth in the UK, and a provider of employment for many residents from Cambridgeshire – though relatively few from Fenland or Peterborough. ̽��ֱ��most widely aired solution to the region’s imbalances is to do more to improve its connectivity to the areas that lie beyond its boundaries. To get to the root of the economic disparity in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough region, we need to understand the underlying factors that make ‘place’ so important both to the innovation industries that have flourished in Cambridge and to the other kinds of business – notably agriculture – in the landscape that surrounds it.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� houses a range of individuals and groups with considerable academic expertise on the social and policy issues facing the region, and the importance of place. Several of these have made important contributions to policy debates, for instance as advisors to, and members of, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review, the Greater Cambridge Partnership and the Combined Authority’s Business Board.

Understanding the importance of place to public policy does not just mean thinking locally, however. There are many different kinds of community – institutional, cultural, or voluntary – which matter to people, and also to policymakers, and some of these extend beyond national borders while others reside within them. In policy circles, the notion of place is a more recent discovery in the wake of events like Brexit. Our conclusion is that bringing intellectual depth and a richer evidence base to this emergent issue is one of the major contributions which the ̽��ֱ�� can make to public policy in our region.

By Ben Goodair, a Research Assistant at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Michael Kenny, the Institute's inaugural Director.

What account should policymaking take of the notion of 'place' – the landscapes, cities and towns we inhabit, with all the opportunities and challenges they bring? Ben Goodair and Michael Kenny from Cambridge’s newly established Bennett Institute for Public Policy explore the question in light of the different responses to the EU Referendum in the eastern region.

Some of the social inequalities that exist in the eastern region are ingrained – and are one reason why this area lacks a sense of shared geographical identity. Divides of this sort will require both political will and policy ingenuity to solve

Ben Goodair and Michael Kenny

̽��ֱ��District

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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How to tend an economic bonfire

lw355 — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 13:05:07 +0000

Business, enterprise and employment are flourishing in Greater Cambridge, but housing and infrastructure are struggling to match the jobs boom, and gaps in social equality keep widening. ̽��ֱ�� academics are connecting their insights, data and algorithms to find solutions to the area’s “growing pains”.

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� research and the East of England

lw355 — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 09:15:20 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is a global institution. Our students and staff come from all over the world; our researchers conduct their work on every continent. Notwithstanding this international outlook and impact, our ̽��ֱ�� is firmly and proudly planted in the East of England. Our roots in the region run deep because of our longevity.

In fulfilling our mission – to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research – we are fundamentally committed to engaging with communities and partners close to home.

Over the coming month, we will feature a selection of the research and outreach activities carried out by Cambridge academics across the East of England, an area that includes the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. See also a special issue of our magazine, Research Horizons, focused on the East of England (PDF)

̽��ֱ��region has many assets – innovative and entrepreneurial people, hugely successful clusters of knowledge-intensive industries, vast tracts of high-quality agricultural land and outstanding academic institutions.

But the region also faces multiple challenges. In some areas, acute economic inequalities are linked to low educational outcomes, poor health, skills deficits and reduced connectivity.

At the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, we take seriously our responsibility to be a champion for the region and to help address some of its more pressing challenges. In collaboration with local partners, researchers are offering innovative approaches to areas ranging from understanding coastal erosion to ensuring healthy ageing and from tackling inequality to enhancing agriculture.

Whether it is helping to improve skills and education, supporting innovation and better infrastructure, bringing an evidence-based approach to criminal justice or assisting the management of national heritage, Cambridge research is having a real impact on some of the biggest problems facing the UK today.

Collaboration allows our researchers to draw on, and learn from, our partners’ expertise, while amplifying the impact and reach of our own knowledge. Lessons learned locally are transferable far beyond the eastern counties.

This is a good time to share these stories of local engagement. Some have direct relevance to the UK government’s Industrial Strategy, which aims “to boost productivity… to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.”

Many of the themes we will cover reflect that aspiration.

I hope this Spotlight will achieve two things. First, that it will be of value to policymakers – in the eastern region and beyond – who are grappling with the local issues we explore.

Second, that it will demonstrate the many intricate ways in which a global institution like ours discharges its duty to serve and support local communities.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge must be a good local citizen, an advocate for the region, a national asset and a truly global actor. Balancing these distinct roles is not easy. Beyond the expertise we bring to our partnerships, it requires openness, and the humility to listen and learn what our communities expect from us. This is the only way an institution such as ours can offer the greatest and widest possible value to society, at home and abroad.

In the region, as elsewhere, there is always more to do. But the breadth and longevity of our mutually beneficial partnerships with local authorities and policymakers, schools, healthcare providers, businesses, employers and research institutions underscore the importance that these relationships have for us.

Our engagement takes many shapes and serves many purposes. Our academic community remains open to new and creative forms of working with partners in the East of England.

Professor Stephen J Toope
Vice-Chancellor

As we begin a month-long focus on research and outreach activities carried out by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� across the East of England, our Vice-Chancellor talks about the importance of telling these stories.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge must be a good local citizen, an advocate for the region, a national asset and a truly global actor

Stephen J. Toope

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� research and the East of England

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Releasing the imagination: the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Primary School

fpjl2 — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:31:48 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Primary School is committed to improving education for all primary children, everywhere.

READ THE STORY HERE

Also available: Dr James Biddulph discusses the Primary School's approach and life as a headteacher as part of the 'We are the ̽��ֱ��' podcast series:

Read more about our research on the topic of children in the ̽��ֱ��'s research magazine; download a pdf; view on Issuu.

More than just an outstanding Ofsted rating sets the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Primary School apart: it places research at its heart, informing education practice and furthering research at Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and elsewhere.

We want to be a new voice in the chorus

James Biddulph

ARTBASH/ ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Primary School

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Trumpington Cross goes on display for the first time

sjr81 — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:57:35 +0000

Read more about the unusual burial of one of England's earliest converts to Christianity.

Extremely rare, early Christian gold cross, gifted to Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

̽��ֱ��skeleton of the teenage girl, and the remnants of her burial, as discovered by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� archaeologists in 2011.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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