As the new Westminster Government shines a light on growth as well as devolution, it is time to ask what contribution can be made by regional groupings of universities. This paper considers the role of university collaborative groupings and how they interact with other groups, such as pan-regional partnerships and private sector boards. It draws from research and interviews with leaders of industry bodies and universities, and demonstrates that there is a widespread recognition of the strategic and economic value of universities (and other research institutions) and industrial partnerships working together, and shows that there is considerable appetite for such engagement. This appetite is expressed by several existing partnerships, which endeavour to do much with little. However, there is also frustration at the lack of an overarching government vision, clear structural framework or long-term funding. This paper seeks to set out a roadmap to establish such a vision, framework and funding model, providing recommendations to the new Government and university leadership. [This paper was created with the Oxford-Cambridge Arc Universities Group.]