Newcastle University

Background

David was founding director of KITE and has now moved to the post of Dean of Research and Development at Curtin Business School in Perth, Australia. He will continue to be a visiting professor in KITE and to collaborate with KITE researchers.

Qualifications

BA, PhD

Honours and Awards

Academician of the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences

Research Interests

David has a wide range of research interests, which include innovation management, the role of universities in regional development, regional innovation policy and urban development. His work on universities and regional development has included leading an eight-country EU Framework Programe project on this topic (UNIREG) along with a number of other projects for national government bodies, regional agencies, university associations, and OECD. Recent work on HE business interaction for the Higher Education Funding Councils and Office of Science and Technology attracted considerable policy and press interest and was cited by the Prime Minister, Science Minister and Bank of England. Building on these he also led an EU Marie Curie Training Site on Advanced Research Training in University Region Interaction.

David has also led a number of studies on regional innovation policy and innovation in clusters for the EU, OECD and regional development agencies. His other recent research interests include research into the role of cities in regional competitiveness.

Current Work

David has recently been a partner in an ESRC Science in Society project ‘Building Science Regions in the European Research Area: Governance in the Territorial Agora’, led by the SURF centre in the University of Salford.
Currently he is involved in an ESRC project on universities and disadvantaged communities.

Postgraduate Supervision

David currently supervises the following doctoral students:
Dessy Irawati - Clusters and the triple helix in Indonesia

Completed PhDs in recent years
Fiona Whitehurst - Cluster Strategies in Local Economic Development (ESRC CASE Studentship)
Stuart Dawley - Understanding and responding to plant closures: the case of the microelectronics industry in the North East region (ESRC CASE Studentship)
Paul Benneworth -
John Williams - An investigation into the use of the internet to study regional industrial clusters
Dawn Cranswick - Opening the black box on business support

Esteem Indicators

Visiting Professor of Regional Innovation and Learning, RMIT University Melbourne
Member of the expert group of the "City Regions, Knowledge Bases and Innovation Support Systems" project funded by the Research Council of Norway and led by the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research

• Irawati D, Charles D. The involvement of Japanese MNEs in the Indonesian automotive cluster. International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 2010, 10(2-3), 180-196.
• Charles DR. Regional development, universities and strategies for cluster promotion. In: Harding, A; Scott, A; Laske, S; Burtscher, C, ed. Bright Satanic Mills: Universities, Regional Development and the Knowledge Economy. Burlington, Vermont and Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate, 2007, pp. 53-68.
• Benneworth P, Charles DR. Bringing Cambridge to Consett? Understanding University Spin-Offs' Impacts on Less Successful Regions. In:Groen, A; Oakey, R; van der Sijde, P; and Kauser, S, ed. New Technology-Based Firms in the New Millennium.Oxford:Elsevier,2006.
• Charles DR, Duke C. Old wheels and new: cyclical progress in the use of language, metaphors, networks and projects to enhance learning and city governance. In:Duke, C., Doyle, L., Wilson, B., ed. Making Knowledge Work: Sustaining learning communities and regions.Leicester:NIACE,2006.
• Charles D. Universities as key knowledge infrastructures in regional innovation systems. Innovation 2006, 19(1), 117-130.
• Charles DR, Conway CD, Pickering HE, Tennant J, Chaudhuri S. Supporting the contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development: North East Regional Case Study. France: The OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE)., 2005.
• Charles DR. Universities and engagement with cities, regions and local communities. In:Duke, C., Osborne, M., Wilson, B., ed. Rebalancing the Social and Economic: Learning, Partnership and Place.Leicester:NIACE,2005, pp. chapter 10.
• Benneworth P, Charles DR. University spin-off policies and economic development in less successful regions: Learning from two decades of policy practice. European Planning Studies 2005, 13(4), 537-557.
• Benneworth P, Charles DR. ‘Overcoming learning uncertainties in the innovation process: the contribution of clustering to firms’ innovation performance’. In:During, W., Oakey, R. and Kauser, S., ed. New Technology-Based Firms in the New Millennium, vol III.Bingley:Elsevier,2004.
• Webster AJ, Rappert B, Charles DR. Controlling Intellectual Property Across the High-tech Frontier: University Spin-offs, SMEs, and the Science Base. In: Blackburn, R, ed. Intellectual property and Innovation Management in Small Firms. London, UK: Routledge, 2003, pp.114-132.
• Charles DR. Universities and territorial development: reshaping the regional role of UK universities. Local Economy 2003, 18(1), 7-20.
• Benneworth PS, Charles DR. ‘Expert or lobbyist? Universities, the new regional agenda and London’s governance’. In: S. Syrett and R. Baldock, ed. Governing London: competitiveness and regeneration for a global city. London: Middlesex University Press, 2001.
• Charles D, Benneworth P. Are We Realizing Our Potential? Joining Up Science and Technology Policy in the English Regions. Regional Studies 2001, 35(1), 73-79.
• Charles DR. European Technology Policy and Cohesion. In: Lawson-Smith, H, ed. The Regulation of Science and Technology. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001, pp.97-126.
• Charles DR, Conway CD. Higher Education Business Interaction Survey. Bristol: HEFCE, 2001. 01/68.
• den Hertog P, Bergman E, Charles DR. Innovative Clusters: Drivers of National Innovation Policy. Paris: OECD, 2001.
• Charles DR, Benneworth P. Situating the North East in the European space economy. In: Tomaney, J. and Ward, N., ed. A region in transition: North East England at the millennium. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001, pp. 24-60.
• Charles DR. The Evolution of European Science and Technology Policy and its Links to the Cohesion Agenda. In: H. Lawton Smith, ed. The Regulation of Science and Technology. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001, pp.288.
• Charles, D.R., Benneworth, P., Taylor, J. et al. The Regional Mission: The Regional Contribution of Higher Education: The North East. 2001. London: Universities UK.
• Charles DR, Nauwelaers C, Mouton B, Bradley DP. Assessment of the Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Strategies and Infrastructures. Newcastle upon Tyne: Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, 2000. Available at: http://www.innovating-regions.org/download/finalrep.pdf.
• Charles DR, Benneworth P. Plant Closure and Institutional Modernisation: Siemens microelectronics in the North East. Local Economy, 14 200-213 1999.
• Charles DR, Bradley DP, Chatterton P, Coombes MG, Gillespie AE. Core Cities Centres for Regeneration. Newcastle upon Tyne: Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, 1999. Available at: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/curds/publications/pdf/3071corecity.pdf.
• Benneworth, P. and Charles, D.R. Human resources and sustaining competitive advantage in the North East pharmaceutical industry. Northern Economic Review, (29): 63-81. ,(29) ,pp 63-81 1999.
• Rappert, B., Webster, A. and Charles, D. R. Making sense of diversity and reluctance: academic relations for USOs and SMEs. Research Policy, (28): 873-890. 1999.
• Charles DR. Technology, organization, and competitiveness: Perspectives on industrial and corporate change. New Technology, Work & Employment 1999, 14(2), 159-161.
• Charles, D.R., Hayward, S. And Thomas, D. ‘Science parks and regional technology strategies: European experiences’. Industry and Higher Education 1995, 9, 332-339.
• Charles, D.R. and Howells, J. Technology Transfer in Europe : Public and Private Networks. London: Belhaven Press, 1992.