While universities already play an important role in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the UK, there is a clear opportunity to expand and enhance this role through better collaboration between universities, local growth partners and government. This HEPI Report intends to begin a conversation -- within universities and across local economic organisations and national government -- about what this role currently looks like, how it can be co-developed for mutual gain and what benefits this could create for local innovation-led growth and the UK's global competitiveness. A more intentional and coordinated approach could create an array of additional benefits for universities, local economies and the whole UK, including: helping to overcome growth and productivity challenges; supporting the expansion of innovation clusters with universities at their heart; and enabling universities to leverage their global connections for greater economic benefit. [Midlands Innovation and the National Centre for Universities and Business partnered with the Higher Education Policy Institute and Universities UK International to produce this report.]