Institutional Context
Summary
We are a university with impact. Our ‘Catalyst for Change’ Strategic Plan connects the University’s research, expertise, and students with the needs of employers and communities. Our knowledge exchange is built on the foundations and applied mission of our University where REF2021 rated 87% of our research impact as very considerable or outstanding. Our main campus in Stoke-on-Trent is a central hub for our enterprise and innovation, leading the innovation partnerships with the regional companies, developing and nurturing start-ups and supporting the regional workforce with higher skills development.
Institutional context
Staffordshire University is the largest university by student numbers in Staffordshire and delivers undergraduate and postgraduate provision across three key campuses: Stoke-on-Trent campus, Centre for Health Innovation (CHI) in Stafford and Staffordshire University London (SUL). Our mission is to inspire, challenge and innovate locally, nationally, and internationally.
Our ‘Catalyst for Change’ Strategic Plan emphasises the ambition of the University to make a positive impact and transform people’s lives, places, and society. Our Strategic Plan is focused on four key priorities: Next Generation Education, Next Generation Experience, Next Generation Engagement, Next Generation Environment. The NextGen Engagement strand connects our academics, researchers and students with employers to generate creative solutions through co-creation and innovation. Digital is in our DNA and we use our expertise to deliver NextGen experiences and collaborative and enterprising environments.
Based in the region, which comprises of more than 99% small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and with the R&D investments and skills levels below the national average, the University strives to reduce the gaps by providing access to its expertise, researchers, R&D infrastructure, and student and graduate talent. The Innovation Enterprise Zone in Stoke-on-Trent is home to collaborative partnerships with businesses co-located on site and the Centre for Health Innovation in Stafford is a leading facility for simmersive learning and health innovation. We have developed a Research, Innovation, Enterprise Strategy to ensure the breadth of our knowledge exchange activities have a co-ordinated contribution to our Strategic Plan.
Our strategy is focused on providing our students and partners with the skills and knowledge that addresses current skills and innovation challenges and prepares students and companies for the future. Our Connected Communities Strategy is designed to support the regional challenges around educational attainment and high levels of social disparities and needs. Participation, inclusion and ethical engagement are at the heart of our approach to understand our communities and drive our Public and Community Engagement (PCE) work.
For further information, please send queries to Marek.Hornak@staffs.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
Staffordshire University’s approach to local growth and regeneration is an intersection of the local socio-economic needs, employers’ innovation ambitions and skills needs, and the University’s R&D assets, expertise, and students. We are aligned with the strategic sectors in the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership area (SSLEP) including: advanced manufacturing and materials, digital, health, energy, transport and creative.
Our Innovation Enterprise Zone in Stoke-on-Trent is a central hub for knowledge exchange, co-creation, and the commercialisation of ideas. The Centre for Health Innovation in Stafford is a leading facility for simmersive education and innovation.
Our impact is visible through the development and market introduction of innovations delivered by collaborative R&D between the University and employers and by higher skills development.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Staffordshire University’s approach to supporting socio-economic progression and growth is built on the foundations set out in our 'Catalyst for Change' Strategic Plan. Our emphasis is on next generation engagement that inspires, challenges, and innovates using collaborative R&D, effective start-up support and a flexible professional skills offer. We have developed a Research, Innovation, Enterprise Strategy as a coherent approach to knowledge exchange across the region. Our geographical priority is the county of Staffordshire (Picture 1) where our main campus in Stoke-on-Trent is home to our Innovation Enterprise Zone. Our Stafford campus houses the Centre for Health Innovation, and we have a Business Village in Lichfield. Our strategic approach is informed by local employers and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire’s needs and priorities where we consult regional businesses on their skills, R&D and innovation gaps and opportunities and connecting with the local partners including local authorities, Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce or Local Enterprise Partnership. We use learning from the existing knowledge exchange models and projects to inform our approaches and steps to grow the regional engagement. Our developments draw on intelligence on needs and opportunities identified in regional strategic plans from priorities across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire boroughs and districts, including the Powering Up Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire County Council Economic Strategy and the SSLEP Local Industrial Strategy.
Local impact is delivered in partnership with employers, communities, our Local Enterprise Partnership, Chamber of Commerce, and civic leaders across Staffordshire.
The industrial landscape of the Staffordshire LEP area is dominated by Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), representing 99% of businesses. One of our key strategic priorities is to improve SME innovation levels, creating high-value jobs across the region and better utilising the University’s research expertise through knowledge exchange. We use advisory boards and market assessments to continually consult local businesses and ensure our support is tailored to their needs and opportunities.
Our approach builds on the need to improve investment in R&D and innovation across the Staffordshire region, improve skills at higher level (NVQ L4+) and to support start-up formation and growth by:
Ensuring our knowledge exchange is meeting the needs of local employers and communities.
Utilising our research, expertise, and R&D infrastructure to support employers in innovation-led growth, investment in R&D and support productivity gains.
Supporting regional workforce skills development with flexible professional higher skills provision at level 4 and above.
Developing long-term strategic partnerships with businesses and local partners.
Providing enabling environments and support for start-up creation and support survival and accelerated growth across the region.
Improving productivity across our region by supporting employers with adoption of digital and advanced technologies.
Connecting businesses with our researchers and students driving innovation.
Continue to develop enabling R&D and start-up infrastructure and environment in support of local strategic sectors.
Improving communities through the dissemination of our research.
Staffordshire University’s Innovation Enterprise Zone is the central hub for accessing the University’s expertise and R&D assets, connecting businesses and communities with our research and students.
Our approach and activities focus on the priority sectors identified by the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP including:
Growing the digital sector and boosting adoption of digital technologies, including data science, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI)
Health and social care, working in collaboration with local authorities
Engineering and electronics, in support of our manufacturing base
Advanced materials, building also on our heritage in ceramics
Creative and visitor economy, building on local heritage and targeted growth ambitions
Transport, logistics and mobility, building on the region’s central location which facilitates logistics hub growth
Higher skills through provision of professional continuing development and higher and degree apprenticeships.
Aspect 2: Activity
University activities are driven by the following key priorities which were supported through the HEIF investment and allocation and include:
Supporting R&D, innovation-led growth, and productivity improvement
Developing workforce and higher-level skills
Supporting and developing start-ups
Engaging communities
The Innovation Enterprise Zone is a gateway to the University’s expertise, research, students, and our R&D infrastructure. We continue to develop our innovation ecosystem through investment in our infrastructure, organisation and talent. Our University continues to engage with the European Structural and Investment Fund and Levelling Up funds including the Getting Building Fund and the Community Renewal Fund.
Developing R&D and innovation infrastructure
The University, with the support from the Getting Building Fund, launched two innovation and enterprise-led facilities:
Centre for Health Innovation, a hub enabling and supporting innovations in the health sector, showcasing the latest technologies in simmersive learning and innovation.
Creative Lab, a creative collaborative R&D space which supports entrepreneurs and businesses by acting as a catalyst for the development of entrepreneurship, transformational ideas and innovation exploitation and management.
Incubation centre and start-up Hatchery
The University’s incubation centre and start-up Hatchery provide innovative opportunities for small companies in the heart of our Stoke-on-Trent campus. These also equip businesses with unrivalled access to specialist innovation labs, a CPD Academy, and research to aid new product development and innovation in materials and advanced manufacturing.
Our University continues to focus on strategic, long-term and transformational activities and projects that connect our research and expertise with the region’s businesses and communities. These included:
Start-up support
BeInspired, this flagship ERDF and HEIF funded regional start-up programme supports students, graduates or associates of the University to start businesses. The project addresses SSLEP priorities, which sees the role of Staffordshire University and other HEIs as drivers for a collaborative support provision, aimed at stimulating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the region.
Supporting R&D, innovation-led growth, and productivity
Staffordshire Digital Innovation Partnerships, this ERDF and HEIF funded programme is a collaboration between Staffordshire University and Staffordshire County Council to drive digital transformation through regional digital innovation. The programme creates 50 partnerships between Staffordshire SMEs and Staffordshire University to improve business processes and support the development of new digital products and services.
Staffordshire Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping Demonstrator, this ERDF and HEIF funded project aims to stimulate innovation and new product development through utilisation of university’s cross discipline expertise and showcase of advanced manufacturing capabilities. In turn, this supports 36 SMEs with prototyping, product design and small-scale advanced manufacturing.
Staffordshire Connected and Intelligent Mobility Innovation Accelerator, ERDF and HEIF funded project supports SMEs with the development of new products and services with the application in transport, logistics and mobility. The project supports 45 companies through knowledge exchange partnerships with the University.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, the University works with the small and large companies developing relationships and forming KTP partnerships in a range of STEM and management subjects.
Innovation and Productivity Pathfinder, part-funded by the Community Renewal Fund, the project provided businesses with the opportunity to partner with the University to develop innovation pathways towards new products, services or through innovative technology adoption.
Engaging Communities
Discover, a project part-funded by the Community Renewal Fund, which improved digital inclusivity across Stoke-on-Trent communities. The project widened the reach of digital inclusivity to ensure that the most digitally excluded members of the city are engaged and supported and have the means and confidence to engage in the digital world and enabling access to online services.
Developing workforce and higher-level skills
Staffordshire Higher Skills and Engagement Pathways: this ESF and HEIF funded project continued to upskill the regional SME workforce at higher level through microcredentials, short courses, masterclasses in subjects such as leadership and management, cyber security, artificial intelligence, or human resource management. The project also delivered hackathons and student placements to support the region’s graduate retention ambitions.
Staffordshire e-Skills and Entrepreneurship Gateway: this ESF and HEIF funded project provides a CPD offer for aspirational entrepreneurs and post-18 people who have ambitions of starting up or developing innovative ideas which have entrepreneurial potential. People are engaged in content, such as creativity and design thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship, that enhances entrepreneurial skills and knowledge.
Engaging students in knowledge exchange and consulting, the University continues to engage students in innovation-led projects in areas of data, software engineering, product design, working in partnership with local and national companies.
Aspect 3: Results
Start-up support
Be Inspired (biSU) results
The programme supported 95 graduate start-ups during the last three years and contributed to 222 of active firms who survived at least three years. The external, independent evaluation confirmed that the biSU return on investment is £2.41 for every £1 spent and that 90% of our start-up owners sustain their business over three years, exceeding the UK average of 57.6% (Statistica, 2021). The impact from the external evaluations includes:
• £1 investment returns £2.33 in gross turnover for each business created
• £1 investment returns £2.06 in gross turnover (scaled to the project)
• £1 investment returns between £0.90 (low) and £3.92 (high) in GVA
Supporting R&D, innovation-led growth, and productivity
Staffordshire Digital Innovation Partnerships project has now secured 50 collaborations with the regional SMEs, of which 32 have been completed. The project has supported companies with the development of 16 new products to the company and 11 new products to market and helped to create 10 new jobs.
Staffordshire Advanced Manufacturing, Prototyping, and Innovation Demonstrator supported 34 companies and helped with development of 12 new to firm products, supported three new to market products, helped with the creation of 10 new jobs and supported five new enterprises.
Staffordshire Connected and Intelligent Mobility Innovation Accelerator supported 30 regional SMEs of which five were new enterprises, supported the creation of two new to firm products, one new to market product, and supported the creation of one new job.
Innovation and Productivity Pathfinder supported the creation of 45 Innovation Plans, supported 40 SMEs, helped with the creation of 24 new to the firm products and delivered innovation training to 51 workforce staff.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, we had two new projects in the KEF period in artificial intelligence-based analytics and low-powered sensor technologies and a cloud-based management system collaborating with the regional companies.
Creative Lab provided an environment for supporting entrepreneurship and innovation to more than 460 users from outside companies and supported the creation of four products.
Developing workforce and higher-level skills
Staffordshire Higher Skills and Engagement Pathways delivered, through 10 short courses, microcredentials and masterclasses to more than 530 people from the regional SME workforce. Of which 267 were female, 107 over-50s, 31 were from single households and 137 employed females gained improved market status.
Staffordshire e-Skills and Entrepreneurship Gateway delivered, through 15 short courses, microcredentials and masterclasses to 690 people, of which 268 were female, 90 over-50 participants, 27 participants from a single household and 39 participants gained unit of qualification at higher level.
Our University continued to engage students in knowledge exchange and consulting where more than 300 students engaged in knowledge exchange projects, innovation-led or skilled roles with the regional companies.
Communication
Our focus is on development of case studies showcasing how our expertise, research, R&D infrastructure and student and graduate talent can positively impact on growth and competitiveness.
In the last three years, we hosted more than 12 employer events, five student events engaging them in consulting and knowledge exchange, and 32 online webinars. We developed 26 case studies across the Innovation Enterprise Zone, all published on our case studies website. We added 52 testimonials and developed 20 press releases.
Examples of our case studies are: the development of a bespoke software solution for a local electrical installations company, resulting in significant gains in productivity and data quality. The development of a ballistic vest specifically for the female body. And the development of innovative training solutions for pilots using virtual reality. The case studies are visible on the University’s website, distributed through the Innovation Enterprise Zone newsletter and our partners, such as the Chamber of Commerce.
The University holds annual an Innovation Enterprise Zone EXPO showcasing the success of university-business collaborations in partnership with our businesses. We work closely with the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, councils and business partners to highlight regional innovation-led growth and the need for reskilling the region through flexible work-based learning opportunities through microcredentials, masterclasses, short courses and apprenticeships.
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
We are a civic university with impact. As a ‘Catalyst for Change’ in our region, we transform lives, places and society. Our strategic approach to Public and Community Engagement (P&CE), spans our teaching and learning, research and knowledge exchange activities. Our ‘Connected Communities’ approach is participatory and embeds asset-based principles though our Community Advisory Network (Staffs CAN) to respond to local educational and socioeconomic needs. In the last three years we have invested in our P&CE infrastructure. This strategic institutional approach has elevated mutually beneficial, ‘Next Generation Engagement’ of community and civil society partners and members of the public. In 2022 we established an institutional level evaluation framework to provide a strong evidence base of P&CE impact.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Connected Communities Strategy and five-year commitments
Our Connected Communities Strategy was conceived in 2021 to provide direction for our public and community engagement (P&CE) to contribute to the priorities of Staffordshire University’s Strategic Plan. The Connected Communities strategy encompasses knowledge exchange activity with communities, civil and civic partners and members of the public. It provides a clear framework for our public engagement in research, participatory action research, community partnership and engagement activity to deliver social impact. Our P&CE priorities of co-creation, community giving and place shaping deliver against the university’s ‘Catalyst for Change’ ambitions.
Connected Communities (CC) provides a direction for next generation engagement with communities and publics. It contributes to four of the 15 University Strategic Plan’s KPIs:
To deliver against these KPIs we have set institutional five-year commitments and a series of indicators including development of a Civic University Agreement (CUA) and our Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach:Our Connected Communities approach to P&CE has supported Teaching and Learning, Research and our wider engagement with staff and students. It is embedded in several strategies including the Academic Strategy; Research, Innovation and Enterprise Strategy; Access, Participation and Student Success; Digital Transformation Strategy.
Our unique and distinctive approach
Our expertise in PAR, engagement with communities and established relationships with community organisation and civil society networks have been instrumental in developing our strategy to meet the needs of local partners and communities. Findings from PAR projects were used to inform our P&CE approach, built on a foundation of participation, inclusion, sustained and long-term relationships and ethical engagement.
Staffordshire University’s Stoke-on-Trent campus is in an area of low levels of educational attainment and high levels of social and multiple disadvantages. We are engaging directly with communities to understand place-based disparities and needs, placing people with lived experience at the heart of our approach. Building on learning from PAR, Staffordshire University’s Community Advisory Network (Staffs CAN) was launched in 2022, elevating participatory work from project to strategic level. Staffs CAN is made up of members of the public and representatives from civil society. It informs our understanding of local need, identifies opportunities for university-community partnerships, and evaluates engagement (see Aspect 4). Community members and organisations are also involved in other university committees (Ethics Committee; Action on Poverty Degree programme steering group).
Connected Communities has provided an institutional framework for P&CE and a means to evaluate our institutional societal impact with Staffs CAN.
Governance
Staffs CAN: This group discuss P&CE activity, advise on areas for development and exploration and play a central role in the Connected Communities Evaluation Framework (see Aspect 4 for further details).
University Partnerships Committee (UPC): The remit of this group is “the development, implementation and impact evaluation of the University’s Connected Communities Framework to support the delivery of the University’s ‘Catalyst for Change’ Strategic Plan.”
Research, Innovation and Impact Services (RIIS): provides line management to the Connected Communities team.
Mainstreaming and resourcing activity
In addition to the institutional posts (See Aspect 2), Connected Communities has been mainstreamed with the introduction of three permanent staff and an operational budget in the region of £30,000 per annum. Since 2019, external funding to support P&CE has been secured through five Community Renewal Funded projects, UKRI Enhancing Partnerships for Place-based Engagement, and commissioned evaluations and participatory action research projects.
Aspect 2: Support
P&CE-focused roles are distributed institutionally, with line management from four members of Executive:
Connected Communities Team: Grade 9 academic – Lead for Civic Engagement and Evaluation, 2 Grade 6 Engagement Officers (new roles in this period) to lead Connected Communities evaluation and impact, PAR and social action projects.
One Grade 12 Director of Communities and Commercialisation (new role) to lead stakeholder, alumni, honorary graduate engagement and commercialisation.
One Grade 8 Communities Engagement Manager (new role) to lead community engagement for Schools and Colleges Liaison.
Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion engages communities for staff, student and community inclusion.
The University events team organise public events across schools and professional services.
A Research Engagement Team (RET) has been established to coordinate public engagement in research.
While several of these roles have a broader remit than P&CE (as appropriate for our institutional size), open communications and governance structures ensure a robust approach to local needs analysis, increasing our responsiveness.
An underlying principle of our Connected Communities strategy is inclusivity; the strategy informs Staffordshire University’s Inclusion Group and through its participatory approaches provides guidance to the University Ethics Committee on good research practice for community engagement. Our principles and prioritisation of co-creation (Aspect 1 and 3) through Staffs CAN (Aspects 1, 3), PAR and lived experience (Aspect 3) and partnership working embed inclusion commitments throughout our P&CE activities.
There is budgetary support for Staffs CAN, the public manifesto for research, and small grants for staff to engage with participatory research and community-university partnerships. Additionality has been provided through a QR Participatory Research allocation from 2021-22. Staff and community partners now have access to a Connected Communities meeting room, hotdesking space and creative and participatory consultation tools.
Peer support has been delivered through the University Research Conference, Teaching and Learning Conference, Professoriate Working Group meetings and bespoke training sessions. These workshops focus on evaluation tools for P&CE, participatory research approaches and the Connected Communities strategy. A Teams site provides ongoing support and exchange which informs a community newsletter.
P&CE is represented across the breadth of University governance and management committees; University Partnerships Committee; Research, Innovation and Enterprise Committee and annual updates to the Board of Governors.
The annual Celebrating Staff Success awards during the period included the Connected Communities Award, Connected Leader Award and Connected University Network Award. The Student Ambassador Awards recognise student’s achievements in relation to Outstanding Contribution to the Community and Community Partnership Award.
Aspect 3: Activity
Between August 2019 and July 2022, Staffordshire University hosted 428 P&CE events, investing 897 staff days and attracting 107,231 attendees. Events included exhibitions, public lectures, performances, participatory action research projects, webinars, podcasts and community meetings. Of these, 120 events were online, 29 were hybrid.
Since 2019 we have adopted a more coordinated approach to P&CE to address local social and economic inequalities in response to low social mobility, low educational attainment and high levels of financial insecurity in the region. Our P&CE activity is coordinated around the Connected Communities themes of co-creation, community giving and place-shaping:
Co-creation
Staffordshire University’s strategic Community Advisory Network was launched in 2022. Twenty-five individuals have engaged directly in CAN meetings, with a further 43 members of the public and community and voluntary sector partners part of the wider network. The co-creation and participatory principles that underpin this group were informed by a long history of Get Talking projects, Staffordshire University's approach to PAR. These collaborations are research informed and documented within a REF2021 Impact Case Study. Since 2019 Staffordshire University has facilitated seven community-based PAR projects supporting 109 community researchers.
Since 2019 Staffordshire University has collaborated with Stoke-on-Trent‘s Hardship Commission to deliver two PAR projects tackling hardship and poverty. Get Talking Hardship and Raising Voices worked with more than 50 community researchers, using a range of creative methods, to understand the impact of hardship on people in Stoke-on-Trent and create a manifesto for change.
Students on the Action on Poverty degree undertake community-based projects as placements. In 2022 they worked with Health Watch to deliver a mental health campaign and completed placements with voluntary and community sector organisations such as Disability Solutions, Citizens’ Advice and New Era.
Our 2020, UKRI Enhancing Partnerships for Place Based Engagement project Keep Talking collaborated with Expert Citizens CIC and community researchers to co-create a model for sustainable community research. Most of this project was delivered remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, maintaining a focus on the groups’ wellbeing through creative and nurturing communication.
Community Giving
Staffordshire University responded effectively and flexibly to the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost all public and community events were delivered online during 2020-21, with online event attendance increasing from 8,879 in 2019-20 to 41,088 in 2020-21. Staffordshire University launched a series of new online engagement activities, such as podcasts and #WednesdayWisdom webinars, Positive Parenting in a Pandemic, and Keeping the Faith). The Staffordshire University Sports Therapy Clinic offered daily interactive neuromusculoskeletal advice clinics using Microsoft Teams to support patients.
A Redundancy Taskforce was established with Staffordshire County Council to mitigate the impact of redundancy on the region during the pandemic through a series of support measures.
We hosted an Eid celebration event in 2022 to engage with residents in the vicinity of the Stoke campus. This included a consultation on future University engagement priorities to inform a programme of activities.
The Catalyst building was designed with community engagement and public events in mind. In March 2022, Staffordshire University hosted its first Catalyst Community Day. The building has since hosted a range of public events including TEDx talks, Staffs CAN events and project celebration events.
Place shaping
Staffordshire University is cited as a case study of good practice in the Million Plus report, Staying Local to Go Far: Modern Universities as Placemakers.
Staffordshire University played a significant role in delivery of five HM Government Community Renewal Funded programmes in Stoke-on-Trent, worth £2,798,173. Discover Digital, led by the University with 10 community and education partners, aimed to boost digital inclusion in Stoke-on-Trent. The project was underpinned by a community consultation, provided 243 people with equipment grants and 14 community organisations with grants to deliver hyperlocal projects. The project delivered digital learning through community venues and a pop-up shop. It engaged with more than 1,000 digitally excluded people and produced a website of resources and a team of digital champions.
In 2020, the Vice-Chancellor signed a social mobility pledge and joined the Purpose Coalition, driving forward our commitment to social mobility, equality and sustainability. We have hosted Higher Horizons+ as part of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme and through a network of 14 local academies support progression through sponsorship of the Staffordshire University Academies Trust to raise aspirations and outcomes of local young people. The University Subject Clubs provide enrichment for years 9 – 13 and work across the Stoke-on-Trent Opportunity Area to improve IAG and Maths and English Level 2 outcomes in support of social mobility. Our commitment to the Stand Alone Pledge for individuals without the support of a family network and our access initiatives (Step up to HE) support individuals to directly transition to HE.
We aim to improve the aspirations and attainment of local pupils through Staffordshire Children’s University (SCU). SCU supports local schools to provide after-school clubs, projects and enrichment activities, and visits to destinations such as libraries, sports clubs, historic centres, museums. SCU works with local communities, local authorities, national partnerships, schools and parents across the region.
Local need informs our curriculum, and we engage closely with community sector partners. Our Coaching in the Community Degree was codesigned with Stoke City Football Club and has 19 students in its first cohort, helping Staffordshire University reach students and communities who face barriers to higher education.
Aspect 4: Enhancing practice
Prior to the development and launch of the evaluation framework outlined below, P&CE was evaluated individually in line with funding requirements. Multifaceted evaluations were used for large-scale collaborative projects such as the Discover Digital, incorporating a combination of independent evaluation reports, video case studies and reflections on learning. Smaller, P&CE activity was evaluated locally by the staff members delivering the work, using feedback forms or post event surveys.
Staffordshire University commissioned Hatch Regeneris to conduct a social impact report to provide a ‘snapshot’ of our impact in 2019. The report provided useful baseline data but highlighted the need to adopt a consistent, whole institution approach to understanding the impact of our P&CE work.
As a result, our 2021 Connected Communities strategy included a framework to evaluate our institutional P&CE activity. This Connected Communities Evaluation Framework was shaped by:
Our experience of writing locally focused REF 2021 Impact Case Studies and work to create an impact culture through a comprehensive staff training and development programme.
HEBCI P&CE data requirements.
The Civic University Network Civic Impact Framework
The TEFCE Toolbox for Community Engagement in Higher Education
The evaluation framework aligns to the Connected Communities Strategy (see Aspect 1) and identifies the intended social and economic impacts of our P&CE activities and alignment with UK Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) which are embedded across University strategies. A SDG working group has been developed to ensure robust evidence capture of our SDG contributions.
The evaluation reflects the participatory principles that underpin the Connected Communities Strategy, engaging Staffs CAN in participatory dialogue and action planning. The evaluation framework was launched in 2022 to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of the collective impact of our public and community engagement work. Over the next year we will start to see the impact of this approach. Data will be collated in an annual report, first due in October 2023 as an institutional statement of social impact.
Training sessions provide an evaluation process, creative consultation tools and Teams site to engage staff and build a support network. Although a clear evaluation structure is provided, staff are supported to use creative techniques to engage their audiences and encourage inclusive practice. There are a suite of creative tools and other resources to support staff evaluation of community and public engagement activity available to loan from the Connected Communities space (see Aspect 2).
Aspect 5: Building on success
We consulted on the Connected Communities Strategy with staff, students and community partners in 2020-21 through ‘Big Conversation’ events and via Staffs CAN in 2022. Our evaluation framework for P&CE has been launched within the last 12 months and will start to produce robust data to inform our future strategic approach.
Working with communities on high profile projects has shaped our strategic direction for P&CE. The UKRI Enhancing Partnerships for Place-based Engagement Keep Talking project and the UKRI Community Research Partnerships Learning Programme project in partnership with NCCPE and Young Foundation informed our commitment to long term sustained relationships with communities, valuing lived experience as vital to understanding issues and place, mutuality and engagement for impact.
We report our progress to local and regional networks who provide feedback on our approach. The Collaborative Network has informed our asset-based approaches to engagement. Stoke-on-Trent Hardship Commission has helped us hone our participatory approaches within our Connected Communities strategy. We have established a MOU with Expert Citizens outlining shared responsibility for community research support in the city.
Collaborative projects report regularly to project partners, for example Discover Programme Board. This allowed for timely and innovative solutions being implemented to respond to project needs, such as the need to open a city centre pop-up shop to improve engagement.
Internally, Connected Communities shares progress with the Alumni Relations and Development Board, Staffordshire University Inclusion Group, and reports directly to the RIIS Senior Management Team, University Partnerships Committee, Senior Leadership Team and Board of Governors (annually). We report externally through our annual financial statements.
As we move into the next phase of our P&CE, Staffs CAN will continue to take a central role in the evaluation of P&CE at Staffordshire University and inform future planning.
Note You are currently viewing the latest version of this narrative statement. View the previous version as published in previous iterations of the KEF (KEF1 and KEF2)