Universities are increasingly involved in regional economic development and innovation. In the long-established industrial city of Lowell, Massachusetts, in the US north-east, rms, community groups, and various centres, institutes, and academic departments at the University of Massachusetts have been engaged in systematic activities designed to revitalize neighbourhoods and improve industry performance. This paper examines these relationships and assesses changes made at the University since 1990 as it seeks to implement an enhanced regional development mission. An iterative process has begun at Lowell that involves faculty from diverse disciplines and off-campus constituencies. Internal relationships among faculty and between faculty and administrators are being altered, while external relationships are being reconstituted to make certain that the campus listens better and engages the community in collaborative activities in the best land-grant university tradition.

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Robert Forrant and Jean L. Pyle look at the fast changing global economy and discuss what can be the role for the university, as an institution, to promote sustainable human development. They contend that the university is an important civil society institution, whose power could be considerable in promoting sustainability. The authors explore ways the university can play a role in fostering a development approach that countervails the preponderant power of institutions advocating a ‘market-driven’ development strategy. Cohesive links at the local and regional level between higher education and industry and community-based organizations create the possibility that difficult societal problems will be tackled and resolved. Development (2002) 45, 102–106. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1110388