Why it’s vital for higher education institutions to support small businesses for pandemic recovery
The University of London (UoL) is a founding member of the London Anchor Institutions’ Network and has made a significant commitment to support London’s recovery from Covid-19 through an innovative approach to procurement, which will see an increase in spend with small, micro and diverse businesses. Here, Professor Wendy Thomson CBE, Vice-Chancellor, explains why it’s so important that higher education institutions support small businesses as part of our recovery from the pandemic:
More than two years ago, the UK went into its first national lockdown due to the pandemic. Our world became smaller, and the neighbours on our doorsteps became the lifelines for so many of us. Today, of course, we all hope that lockdowns and daily briefings are things we can consign to the past. Yet the effects of the pandemic will be felt in this country, and around the world, for years to come. Deaths in the millions, an international economic downturn, and lives and livelihoods changed forever.
As with all tragedy, there have been positives and not just now, as we start to herald the green shoots of recovery. Our NHS heroes were rightly recognised for the job they do, day and night, to look after us for all our ills, not just the deadly virus knocking at our door.
In London, I was incredibly proud to be a part of the London Anchor Institutions’ Network, which met very early on in the pandemic to discuss ways we could help the capital recover. Anchor institutions are typically public and not-for-profit organisations such as councils, hospitals and universities whose long term sustainability is directly linked to the health and wellbeing of their communities. Just over a year ago, the members of the Network signed a charter pledging to support London’s recovery. We set ourselves targets prioritising the creation of good jobs, ensuring young people have access to the right guidance and opportunities, and reducing the environmental impact of our various estates.
Since the pandemic began, the University of London has put London’s recovery at the heart of its purchasing policies, with over £48 million going to London-based suppliers in the last two years. Following the Mayor’s recent announcement of nearly £1.2bn investment in London’s small businesses, and as one of London’s leading anchor institutions, the University of London is further directing its purchasing policies towards London-based micro and small businesses. We aim to focus our spend, both directly and indirectly, to help the recovery of small and diverse businesses and charities, public service mutuals and social enterprises in London.
This commitment to smaller enterprises is crucial. It won’t come as any great surprise to learn that London has the highest number of private businesses of any region in the UK – some 1m at the last count. But the impact when these enterprises do not get the support they need is therefore greater in London – so it goes that London had the largest drop in such enterprises in 2020/21 – 90,000 less than the previous year (UK Small Business Statistics | FSB, The Federation of Small Businesses).
Those from outside London may think it’s a city of 9 million individuals from all over the world, with little affiliation to the city or to each other. To those who love this city – and I truly do – we know that it is a diverse and wonderful place, full of families and communities for whom it is home.
We are committed to ensuring that social value is embedded within our purchasing decisions and policies. In short, at every stage of spending our money we’ll be considering how it can help London recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Higher education institutions have a civic duty to look after their communities, and I believe that this example of London anchor institutions working together, can serve as an example of how higher education providers across the UK can contribute to the nation's recovery after the pandemic.
Professor Wendy Thomson CBE, Vice-Chancellor