Dr James Ransom
Independent Researcher
My work over the past decade has looked at how universities can help solve challenges facing society. I have started to focus on AI governance specifically, and this will be my research priority in 2025 (with support from Open Philanthropy).
Speaking at UK-Poland Year of Science and Innovation event (photo: British Council)
I am co-founder of Open Impact, and Head of Research at the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE). I am also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at UCL Institute of Education, and I am a Specialist Advisor to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. I am based in the UK, but have extensive international experience, including recent research in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. This page also provides information on my academic work, and my other policy work.
You can contact me via email. You can also find me on LinkedIn. See ORCID for some of my publications.
Open Impact
I co-founded Open Impact with Dr Richard Whittle in early 2023. We help universities better understand their local contribution and make better decisions. We are ‘of the sector’, with extensive experience working with universities and sector bodies, and our data analysis is grounded in policy experience. So far we’ve worked with over 35 universities, large and small.
NCEE
I am Head of Research at the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE), an international organisation set up by UK Government in 2004. I lead and design research projects that explore the impact of innovation in higher education. I help inform NCEE’s policy positions by authoring reports, briefings, and other publications on key issues in enterprise and entrepreneurship. My work also involves promoting research findings and advocating for evidence-based policies through events, conferences, and wider engagement.
Academic work
My open-access book on the local, national and international roles of Africa’s large, public universities was published by African Minds, a Cape Town-based academic press, in September 2024. It includes a foreword by Professor Goolam Mohamedbhai, former president of the International Association of Universities and former secretary general of the Association of African Universities. Although focused on Africa, the lessons on balancing excellence and relevance are applicable for university leaders and policymakers worldwide who are seeking to enhance their institution’s societal impact.
There’s a summary article in The Conversation. The book builds on my PhD at UCL Institute of Education, looking at the roles of universities in cities in Africa.
I also have a recent working paper on engagement activity at the University of Rwanda published by the Centre for Global Higher Education at the University of Oxford, a book chapter on open data and university-business engagement, and slightly older academic articles on universities and cities and the Marshall Plan.
Other work
Over the past few years I have completed work for the British Council, the Royal Society, the British Academy, Imperial College London, Greater Manchester Universities, KPMG, GuildHE, Rwanda Action, the University of Hamburg, Universities UK, the Government Office for Science, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (now Research England) and British Council International Education Services.
In 2018-19 I led an eight country research project for the British Council on ‘smart cities’ which attracted national and international press coverage.
Publications for some of these projects can be found on my ORCID profile.
In the past I’ve worked for Universities UK, UNESCO Vietnam, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. I have been a Research Affiliate at the University of Rwanda, an Associate at Yorkshire Universities, an Associate at Work and Learning Opportunities (a Sussex-based social enterprise), and an Advisory Associate at the Class of 2020, a Dutch NGO focused on urban campuses. I have also been a reading committee member for the UK Government’s Chevening scholarship programme.