Eastern Arc will focus on four areas of strength and opportunity, which all have a global urgency in an increasingly challenging political and environmental world.
The consortium – which includes Essex, the University of East Anglia, the University of Kent and the University of Sussex – will focus on Coast, Food, Heritage and Sanctuary from 2025-30.
Eastern Arc is well-positioned to address these as the regional group that enables both academics and external stakeholders to learn from each other and to build productive and creative partnerships.
In the past decade more than 1,000 colleagues have taken part in its events, 300 have been involved in its mentoring, and together more than £10m of external funding has been secured.
The focus areas have been selected as they are unique identifiers for our region.
- Coast: Our region has 1,000 miles of coast, and is home to significant natural beauty and opportunity, but also to economic and social challenges.
- Food: Similarly, our region is known for its food: a third of income from farming comes from our region, and two thirds of food imports come through our region.
- Heritage: Historically, we are a region that has been at the forefront of national defence and invasion, leisure and pilgrimage. As a result we have more heritage assets than anywhere else in the country, more museums, and more than a third of England’s listed buildings.
- Sanctuary: As the region closest to mainland Europe, our region has been shaped by migration and movement, trade and transport. Understanding these -- and working to develop a positive engagement with them -- will be central to our work.
“The new strategy will use our interdisciplinary strengths to understand and explore these unique facets,” said Phil Ward, the Eastern Arc Director.
“All of our universities were founded to be different, radical, outward-looking and ‘disruptive by design,’ to use Sussex’s term, and we will nurture and build on this collaborative ethos to address the most pressing issues of our day, from food security to migration, from addressing climate change to safeguarding our history.
“However, our strategy is a framework and a starting point, and shouldn’t limit us in our aspirations. Our consortium is about opportunity and flexibility, and we will explore and respond to new ways of encouraging collaboration between all of those working in our universities and beyond.”
To find out more about the Strategy go to the consortium’s dedicated web pages, or email for more information.