The following is an open letter from the University of Northampton’s Interim Vice Chancellor, Becky Bradshaw, to the people of Northamptonshire following the ‘Future Communities’ event held on Tuesday 15 September 2026:
Dear Northamptonshire,
What do we want our communities to look like in 20 years?
It is a big question, but one we believe is one worth asking – and, importantly, one that should not be answered by any one organisation alone.
That is why we brought together people from across Northamptonshire to have an open conversation about our shared future.
Today, we invited civic leaders, businesses, public services, educators, community organisations, students and residents to tell us what they value about Northamptonshire, what they want to see change and what they need from the organisations that serve their communities.
We did not come with a finished vision for the future – we came to listen, and this is what we heard.
As a result of the conversations, the following themes were identified:
- Community: The people are at the heart of Northampton, and we need to be better at shouting more about our successes and exactly what makes us such a great place to live and work.
- Connection: We need to connect people with more opportunity through employment, volunteering, study and business.
- Collaboration: We need to explore more potential to unite the county’s siloed individual and group collaborations into a bigger display of success.
These conversations reinforced something we already know: Northamptonshire is a county with enormous strengths, but also challenges that cannot be solved by individual organisations working in isolation.
The University of Northampton is fortunate to be part of this community.
The conversation builds on the University of Northampton’s existing work with communities across the county, from our student midwives supporting around 2,500 births annually and conducting 600,000 hours a year supporting our local health services; the Orchard Project at the Autumn Centre in Corby, which is working with partners to strengthen dementia awareness, support and care; and Headsets for Hope, which uses immersive reality to help children with developmental or learning disabilities build confidence around everyday travel.
Other examples include research into technology supported wellbeing in care home settings, nationally funded work on community engagement and physical activity led by Dr Declan Ryan, and Move Northamptonshire, where the University is supporting partners to use data, evaluation and training to help more people be physically active and tackle inequalities across the county. This partnership work has helped Northamptonshire Sport and our two unitary authorities secure £2.3million of funding from Sport England’s Place Expansion Programme.
These are just some examples of what can happen when the University works alongside the community rather than simply within it.
But our conversation has also made us ask where we can do more.
And so, we are committing to three things.
First, we will keep listening.
Today’s conversation will not be a one-off. We will create further opportunities for people across Northamptonshire to tell us what matters to them and what they need from their local university.
Second, we will be clearer about what we can contribute towards helping to solve local problems.
We will look at the themes that have emerged and consider where the University’s teaching, research, students, staff, facilities and partnerships can make a meaningful contribution towards solving issues raised by members of our community.
Third, we will work with others.
The challenges facing Northamptonshire do not belong to one organisation. Neither do its opportunities.
We will continue to work with our civic partners, businesses, public services, schools and colleges, voluntary organisations, cultural and sporting organisations and, most importantly, the communities themselves.
We commit to opening ourselves up, with a new Community Day at our Waterside Campus next Summer, allowing members of the public to come together, celebrate our town and see both what we offer but also what more we can do.
As a final reminder, this event has kickstarted a conversation, not a conclusion.
Universities are sometimes described in terms of economic contribution – the graduates they produce, businesses supported, jobs they create and investment they attract.
Those things matter – but our contribution to Northamptonshire is about more than economic impact.
We asked Northamptonshire what it wants its future to look like. Now we have a responsibility to listen and act.
We are a university that listens, and we want to play a full part in building the future of our community and a place we are proud to call home.
The conversation starts here.