30 Years of partnerships: regulatory change, regional opportunity

This paper contributes to the Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education Special Edition, marking the journal's 30th anniversary. Revisiting Booth's 1997 framing of partnership working, it examines whether his analysis still holds today despite significant policy, regulatory, and market changes over three decades. Considering franchised and validated arrangements, the paper finds that partnerships still offer relevant potential for widening participation. Analysis of contemporary demand, sector size and shape and literature highlights the need for universities to deliver modern, student-focused services with constrained resources. Where Booth focused on the North West of England, the paper identifies a parallel opportunity for partnerships in the North East to close regional education and skills gaps through subcontractual relationships. Booth framed the partnership debate as ‘strategic alliances or tactical necessities'; this paper argues that today's regulatory complexity makes it impossible to be fully tactical because developing partnership infrastructure is, in itself, a strategic investment.