Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity
A key premise of the Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity mission is that every young person in Britain should have the same opportunities, regardless of their background. In the North of England our young people face a specific and complex set of challenges to realising these opportunities, ranging from economic and health-based inequalities, to barriers to educational attainment and access to the digital technologies and skills that can enable them to thrive.
Government already recognises the unique role that universities play in opening doors for young people, and their commitment to working with their local communities to spread this opportunity as widely as possible and to raise aspirations. Yet there is always more that we can do and new challenges to overcome.
The universities of the N8 Research Partnership continue to deliver world-class research and identify opportunities to apply their research in ways that support children and young people from their very first days through to adulthood. Our Child of the North initiative harnesses the wealth of expertise, innovation and collaborative relationships across our members and far beyond, to create an evidence base and practical policy recommendations that will help to improve the lives of children across the North and more widely.
