David Charles

David Charles holds the David Goldman Chair of Business Innovation in the Business School and is Director of the Institute for Policy and Practice (IPP) in the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. David also directs the centre of Knowledge, Innovation, Technology and Enterprise within IPP.

 David’s research interests include innovation management, the role of universities in regional development, regional innovation policy and urban development. David has a longstanding interest in regional innovation and innovation in clusters and was co-editor of a landmark publication on clusters for OECD. He has also led cluster studies for national government and regional development agencies. His work on high technology in the North East goes back to the mid 1990s and he has led a number of projects on the electronics and IT sector over this period, as well as international studies for the EU.

In recent years he has led an EU TSER project on universities and regional development (UNIREG) along with a number of other projects on the regional role of universities and their collaboration with business, including for Universities UK, HEFCE, OST, and a Marie Curie Training Site on Advanced Research Training in University Region Interaction.  Just recently he has been working with OECD on the contribution of HEIs to regional development and led a peer review study in Australia. David has also been undertaking work on the role of cities in regional competitiveness and processes of learning in cities.