Universities are crucial to sparking growth and opportunity, by bringing together student populations, research partners, local businesses, and employers to create vibrant communities, jobs, and opportunity across the UK. This series of briefings takes a look at how universities are generating growth and opportunity across the nine regions of England. Universities in the East of England are located across the region in cities and towns such as Cambridge, Norwich, Chelmsford, and Luton. Some institutions, such as Anglia Ruskin University, have campuses in cities and towns across the region. Recent analysis by London Economics estimated that universities in the East of England alone contributed £9.6 billion in gross output and £5.6 billion in gross value added to the UK economy. This figure includes the economic activity generated by employing people, their purchasing of goods and services, and the local spending power of staff and students. In 2021-22, universities in the East of England spent £2.3 billion on staff. Staff spend a proportion of their income with local businesses and on local services, which supports a thriving economy.