Our Bay Campus location has enabled School of Management (SoM) researchers to develop extensive research collaborations with Engineering and the Computational Foundry, with projects such as ‘Re-designing the coast: The Morphodynamics of Large Bodies of Sediment in Macro-tidal Environment (MORPHINE)’ and the ‘Cherish-DE Digital Economy Research Centre’ project which is delivering innovative digital economy work.
Our other interdisciplinary research strength is within health, as demonstrated by the City Deal, the Pfizer partnership (see below), and the SoM location of the Bevan Commission. SoM also provides a base (alongside other Welsh Universities) for WISERD, a national ESRC-funded interdisciplinary social research institute, designated by the WG as a national research centre.
Swansea Bay City Region City Deal
The £1.3billion Swansea Bay City Region Deal is the largest ever investment across South West Wales. The City Region aims to deliver 11 technology, health and wellbeing, and advanced engineering projects in the Swansea Bay City Region over 15 years.
In March 2017, the then Prime Minister Theresa May visited SoM and signed the Swansea Bay City Deal. SoM researchers produced several research papers and reports that informed the development of the different strands of the Deal. Through ARCH (A Regional Collaboration for Health), the deal combined several stakeholders in the region, including the local authority areas of Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Neath Port Talbot, joined by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg and Hywel Dda University Health Boards, Swansea University and UWTSD, and private sector partners. The investment brought stimulating economic and technological growth across south and west Wales; in July 2019, initial funding of £18m was released by the UK and Welsh Government for the Yr Egin and Swansea City and Waterfront Digital Districts projects.
Pfizer
As part of the City Deal, Swansea is seeking to become a UK hub for Life Sciences and Digital Innovation with the goal of creating interconnected eco-systems joining academic, business, health, and data spheres to cross-pollinate and sustain each other to improve patient outcomes and scale health innovation globally. Pfizer (globally and in the UK) has provided funding to establish a Chair in Enhanced Innovation, Engagement and Outcomes, based within SoM, with the aim of improving patient outcomes and in particular to develop the understanding and application of Value-Based healthcare (VBHC) for the life-science, health and care industries that can be scaled across global markets.
