Using construction procurement strategy to achieve socioeconomic development objectives.

The procurement strategy for a construction project should provide the framework to achieve secondary procurement and socio-economic development objectives [2]. However, little attention has been focused on this in theory and practice. This paper addresses that gap by presenting a case study of the innovative targeting strategy developed and successfully implemented on a New Universities Project in South Africa to promote specified socioeconomic development objectives.

'Living at work': COVID-19, remote-working and the spatio-relational reorganisation of professional services in UK universities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the source of large-scale disruption to the work practices of university staff, across the UK and globally. This article reports the experiences of  = 4731 professional services staff (PSS) working in UK universities and their experiences of pandemic-related work disruption. It specifically focuses on a transition to remote-working as a consequence of social restrictions and campus closures, presenting both quantitative and qualitative findings that speak to the various spatio-relational impacts of PSS working at distance from university campuses.

COVID-19: A Neoliberal Nirvana?

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the operation of universities around the world. A transition to online platforms and remote forms of working as a consequence of national lockdown measures and campus closures has produced new labour challenges for academic faculty. This article makes use of 12 months of reporting from the academic trade press related to the experience of the pandemic in the UK higher education sector.