Community Cohesion & Regional Economic Development: Parallel Roads or Congruent Paths? (Advert Ref: RDF18/BAM/CABRAS)

Policies and methods addressing the achievement of economic growth and development at regional and sub-regional level have been significantly explored and examined in the past, particularly with regard to what concerns the finding and application of sustainable solutions aimed at maximising outcomes by involving different stakeholders at different levels in the economic processes. The importance of leaders and champions in such context has been widely acknowledged and studied, although more recent research has investigated and re-evaluated the crucial role played by local communities and networks with regard to local economies.

Combining a community focus with economic and entrepreneurial approaches, with a more active involvement from local communities as well as private entrepreneurs and public sector bodies, represents a challenging task but appears to be required in order to ensure a more sustainable growth particularly in remote and peripheral areas. However, while many studies have provided interesting theoretical frameworks in order to track and identify possible patterns of development in the field, very few have been able to demonstrate the effectiveness of such practices empirically, also due to the paucity of data available at lower administrative scales.

This research project seeks to examine and analyses how community and social cohesion can generate and stimulate economic development at a regional and local level. In particular, the project aims to identify and quantify the value of social and community cohesion for local entrepreneurs, innovations and competitiveness, exploring and evaluating the ways in which public and private agents and local communities create and sustain cohesive communities.

In terms of methodology, we would expect applicants to outline one potential methodological approach, either qualitative or quantitative, and justify its potential appropriateness to the study including its strengths and limitations. Given the paucity of empirical studies on the interconnections between community cohesion, social capital and economic development, the study is likely to generate significant interest among practitioners and policymakers.

The Supervisory Team has a strong background in this field of research. They contribute with peer-review articles to several journals, are engaged in international research networks and projects, and have strong links with business and industry.

Eligibility and How to Apply
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required.
• Applicants cannot apply for this funding if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere.

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/

Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. RDF18/…) will not be considered.

Deadline for applications: 28 January 2018
Start Date: 1 October 2018

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers