Institutional Context
Summary
The University of Greenwich takes enormous pride in its 130-year heritage covering high standards of teaching, learning, and research reflecting needs of our local, regional, national and global communities. Our vision is to be the best modern university continuing as a positive force for change with strategic priorities focussed on transformational work across Learning and Teaching and, Research and Knowledge Exchange (R&KE).
The University has four faculties across three campuses, serves 20,000 UK-based students from over 140 countries (plus another 15,000 transnational education students), an annual R&KE income over £30m with over half of the 940-strong academic population engaged in R&KE. The University is firmly embedded in its locale (London/Kent) but has global impact as evidenced by numerous prestigious awards.
Institutional context
Within the context of the university’s ambitious “This is our time” strategy 2030 the following strategic priorities are being addressed to achieve our goals for growth and reach our vision of best modern university by 2030: 1) Student success, 2) Inclusivity and culture, 3) Impactful research and knowledge exchange (R&KE) and 4) Connected and sustainable campuses.
With specific reference to R&KE, the university’s distinct sub-strategy is summarised below.
To realise this ambition, the university is working through a series of interrelated projects towards:
Achieving significant and measurable societal, social cultural and economic impact through world-leading and rigorous R&KE
Ensuring academic excellence in sector-leading KE activities growing the reputation of the institution.
Informing our learning and teaching with our R&KE and practice contributing to student success.
Key elements of the R&KE sub-strategy are:
Developing cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary communities through institutes and associated centres as a means of developing and delivering challenge-led, high quality, collaborative and integrated R&KE activities.
Developing the university’s culture to create a dynamic, diverse and inclusive R&KE environment, giving everyone the opportunity to participate and benefit.
Making commitments to long-term local, national and international equitable partnerships (supported by a new partnership hub).
Growing R&KE revenues by adopting a more business-like approach to project acquisition, implementation and management.
Focusing resources to enable growth in key world-leading R&KE activities.
The University aims to be top of our REF and KEF peer groups with 20% of university total revenues equally contributed by R&KE. The university is already making significant strides as evidence in REF2021 e.g., as referenced in the Times Higher Education tables:
doubling of research power from REF2014 to REF2021.
an 18-place jump in the university ranking based on research outputs.
Increased quality of the research environment, equating to jump of 44 places in university rankings.
significant improvement in the quality of impact case studies leading to a 21-place jump in university rankings.
Organisation of R&KE into challenge-oriented centres and institutes builds upon the success of the Natural Resources Institute which has for decades been the R&KE flagship of the university delivering impact on both local and global challenges winning three Queens’ Anniversary Prizes. Another successful example is the Institute of Lifecourse Development established in 2019 to address significant societal challenges. These successes have led to the development of three institute/institute-like structure: Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments (ICE), Greenwich Business School and Institute for Innovation and Technology (latter to be finalised). These institutes comprise twenty-seven R&KE centres including Mental Health, Tourism and Marketing, Cybersecurity, Food Systems and Sound and Image to give one example per institute; this is a transformational change within the university.
These new institutes and centres are supported by established and highly experienced central support units: Greenwich Research and Enterprise (GRE) supporting bidding activity and external engagement, and Research and Enterprise Training Institute, supporting staff development.
The University’s “Generator” based at our Powerhouse Innovation Hub has broadened its programmes and engagement equipping students with knowledge and skills to start their own business or social enterprise.
For further information, please send queries to Vice-chancellor@gre.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
Stimulating local growth and regeneration is a priority for the University within its Strategy 2030 and it has a major role to play in supporting business ecosystems and the stakeholders therein. The University successfully operates globally but this narrative focuses upon the locale of its three campuses in London and Kent and the needs of local stakeholders through the unprecedented COVID period. The University’s support to local growth and regeneration is broad based, but in this last period it has made a strategic push and indeed, a financial commitment to establish a food innovation/enterprise hub in Medway and early indications show this is addressing a real market need and driver for sustainable local growth.
Aspect 1: Strategy
The University of Greenwich has three campuses based in London and Kent, specifically in Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the banks of the Thames; Avery Hill in the suburb of Eltham; and the former Royal Naval barracks at Chatham; the campuses combine modern facilities with historic locations. The University is fully embedded and committed to its locale of each of its campuses and we see the University as being a key player, partner, facilitator, and power within its locale. The University maintains an ambitious programme of works to ensure its facilities offer the best available to support local growth and regeneration (see below).
Whilst the University’s activities are on a global level particularly improving the livelihoods of the world’s poorest people through the work of the Natural Resources Institute, this narrative will primarily focus upon the local growth and regeneration activities in the south-east of England and specifically in London and Kent around its campuses. That said, the internationally recognised work of the Natural Resources Institute is being actively applied to more UK-focused initiatives e.g., Growing Kent and Medway (GKM project financed by the UKRI Strength In Places Fund), which is establishing the area as a world-leader in sustainable horticultural and plant-based food and drink production.
The surrounding London Boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley, Bromley and Lewisham and the county of Kent continue to be key areas of student recruitment. Our two campuses in London are strategic for the wider area of South East London and associated trade and more technology focused hubs. The business base around Greenwich is dominated by many micro, small and medium businesses, many with a food focus given the £1.44 billion generated for the local economy by way of 19 million visitors per annum. In Medway, an area traditionally strong in terms of science and engineering and construction hence, the location of the Faculty of Engineering and Science at Medway but it is also an area that is undergoing significant change with an upsurge in food, drink, and hospitality business ventures. Our campus at Medway forms the central part of the “Universities at Medway” grouping, a unique partnership between the three Universities of Greenwich, Kent, and Canterbury Christ Church to provide a powerhouse of expertise for the local area. During the reporting period the University has continued its strategy to be committed to enhancing innovation and entrepreneurial capacity and this is expanded upon in Aspect 2 below.
The University has a major role to play locally, moreover civic bodies are dependent upon the University playing such as a role e.g., the Medway 2035 highlights the power of the local university sector and the key role in delivering across six priority areas including:
destination and placemaking – putting Medway on the map as a smart and sustainable city.
inward investment – increasing high value businesses and expanding high quality employment.
innovation – supporting creation and growth of business.
business accommodation and digital connectivity.
sector growth.
improving employability in matching business demand and supply of skills.
Through extensive stakeholder mapping and discussions to identify key issues within our local geographical areas and gaps within existing University reach, the following key areas for development were identified as:
The South East Local Enterprise Partnership.
South East London and Kent Chambers of Commerce.
Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Medway Council.
Peabody Housing Association.
Councils or key facilitator organisations for voluntary service in Medway and Greenwich.
In both South East London and Kent, we have observed a significant number of businesses active in the food and drink sector and this has been particularly noticeable in Medway, post-COVID. As evidenced below the University has, aligned to external funding secured, strategically moved to create a food enterprise hub at our Medway campus to engage and nurture local businesses to start-up, grow and/or diversify.
Aspect 2: Activity
The university Strategy 2030 sets out the importance of partnership building in order to deliver impactful Knowledge Exchange (KE). The Research and Knowledge Exchange (R&KE) sub-strategy identifies food security and poverty reduction, lifelong health and wellbeing, sustainable policies, systems and practice, a productive economy and sustainable, creative, inclusive and just communities as the key thematic impact areas for its KE activity.
Key areas for development were identified as detailed above and the University has actively been establishing and fostering partnerships throughout this current KEF reporting period. For example, the University by way a Greenwich Research and Enterprise (GRE) senior manager sits on the South East Local Enterprise Partnership Accountability Board and chairs the U9 group of universities who sit within the Local Enterprise Partnership geographical area. Another member of the GRE team sits on the Board of Directors for the South East London Chamber of Commerce. Other activities in delivering our strategy include:
Collaborating with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to develop an approach to encourage sustainability in the area through the “Greener Greenwich” conference and in other topic events e.g., International Women’s Day.
Working with the Mayor of London on public health strategy to keep women and girls safe.
Engagement with Medway Council around access to academic expertise on key areas of interest e.g., Innovation Park – Rochester, sustainability, and housing stock issues, but also on more fundamental aspects e.g., https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1141/medway_receives_government_funding_for_accessible_facilities
Partnership with Charlton Athletic Football Club on issues of community outreach, student work opportunities and research and knowledge transfer opportunities to improve the local area.
With Peabody, engagement with student enterprise and in return University personnel presenting to local businesses on engaging with university activity.
Enhanced relationships with Medway Voluntary Action and with METRO Gavs as key facilitator organisation in the local areas – both relationships have led to joint funding applications in areas of mutual interest e.g., Shared Prosperity Fund.
Engagement with Maidstone Innovation Centre and Discovery Park in Sandwich.
Engagement with local businesses with over 140 businesses attended engagement workshops.
#GreHacks – two-day events where student teams compete to solve bespoke challenges set up businesses and organisations e.g., Peabody Group, Kilnbridge.
Business Scale Up Accelerator and the Food Accelerator programmes became operational during the reporting period (see below for more detail).
Active engagement with local businesses to explore mutually beneficial funding opportunities e.g., Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
Sponsorship of local business awards e.g., Local Kent Business Awards.
The University continues its strategy to be committed to enhancing innovation and entrepreneurial capacity and employs several mechanisms to achieve this aim e.g.,
Greenwich Generator – based at the University’s Powerhouse Innovation Hub has broadened its programmes and engagement equipping students with knowledge and skills to start their own business or social enterprise.
Greenwich Scale up Accelerator Programme – for businesses already trading with the University providing workshops, tools, knowledge, resources, and support to business leaders to develop a comprehensive plan to grow their business.
Food Accelerator Programme – funded under the GKM project and specific food and drink related ventures, to provide free technical support and financial support to help take a business concept to market. This is aligned to a mentoring programme operated by the University of Kent under GKM.
Use of internal funds to run annual Innovation and, Impact Development Funds designed as catalytic monies to trigger business engagement and solving business challenges.
To evidence, the commitment of the University to deliver on its strategic vision, to enhance local growth and regeneration, reference already been made in Aspect 1 to the significance of the food and drink sector within the local area. There has been a strategic push at Medway to create a food innovation/enterprise hub – the Medway Food Innovation Centre. This also houses the Food Accelerator programme and has been established with funds from the above-mentioned GKM project pooled with resources from Research England’s Expanding Excellence in England (E3) and a significant financial commitment from the University itself. This has created a state-of-the-art facility offering the opportunity for local businesses to address operational challenges as well as pioneering new capabilities in alternative protein, novel processing, sustainable packaging, and product development to support new and/or diversifying business initiatives. Several traditional research grant funding mechanisms are operational under GKM, but one has been specifically designed to help support local businesses – the Business Innovation Voucher – which allows access to university facilities and expertise in addressing a business challenge.
Other University activities are also noteworthy here include:
two Community Renewal Fund (CRF) projects successfully secured and implemented during the reporting period which will be detailed in Aspect 3 below.
Work with local schools, trust, and federations to employ early career teachers.
Gentrification and regeneration - working with Aylesham Community Action
Reference was made above to the ambitious rolling plan of works to ensure the University continues to best support the local economy and some brief examples are provided here that were implemented in the KEF3 period:
New library facilities at Avery Hill which is open to some members of the public and NHS workers.
The Greenwich Learning and Simulation Centre also accessible for all NHS partner workforce personnel, simulation-based education to facilitate upskilling and refreshing of skills to deliver outstanding patient care.
The purpose-designed moot room which replicates a courtroom for mock trials, without witnesses, involving two opposing parties arguing a point of law in front of a moot judge.
Aspect 3: Results
The outcomes and impacts from the University’s activities during the reporting period have been encouraging and particularly so as in part covering the COVID pandemic and post pandemic period. Understandably, local growth and regeneration was constrained, and the role of the University changed to one of supporting local need and its staff and students. The University has a vital role to play in society and we have seen many examples of the sector helping during the pandemic particularly in areas such as nursing, health, engineering, and science. The University printed, produced, and sourced items of PPE to help frontline workers, healthcare workers and made vital equipment available to NHS trusts and many of our teaching staff returned to NHS posts at critical care units.
Post-COVID the role of the University continues to be an important source of knowledge and advice as the COVID period also provided a time of reflection and for many this triggered a change in career and/or life choice. This was particularly evident in Medway where we observed many individuals who decided to take the “leap of faith” and start a new food/drink-based venture. The mechanisms we have employed under the GKM project e.g., the Business Innovation Voucher scheme (five vouchers already awarded that are aligned with university expertise) and the Food Accelerator (seventeen businesses in each of the two cohorts to date) has been oversubscribed and we are actively seeking alternative funding streams to meet demand. This provides preliminary evidence that the market potential exists and that the University’s strategic trajectory towards creating a food innovation/enterprise hub has merit.
More work is of course needed to provide more robust evidence but one of the businesses in the first Food Accelerator cohort, Fermenti, won the Best Food Innovation at the World Food Innovation Awards 2023 which took place recently at the International Food and Drink Event in London. The CEO, Marie-Laure Prevost commented:
“A big thanks to the people that have helped us on our journey: Nimisha Raja from Nims Crisps, Valerie Pondaven from the Food Accelerator Programme, Greenwich University, Rebecca Smith from Kent University, Michelle Blee from EPAC, Stacey Duvenage from Greenwich University, Jolanta Kaczmarek from Innovate UK, Ann Nkune from Bloomsbury’s Beginnings, Jo Harmsworth from On the Spot”.
Interaction with Medway Council and with Kent County Council has increased substantially over the reporting period within which the University successfully secured and implemented two Community Renewal Fund projects, which were originally designed as feeders into the SPF (Shared Prosperity Fund), reports will be in the public domain in due course:
Kent and Medway Partnership for Enterprise, Food and Health (CRF 579201) – following extensive landscape and stakeholder mapping a series of fifteen actions were identified to drive the contribution of the food system to the local community e.g., through the development of regional food market action plans and creating markets for the future in Gravesham, Swale and Medway. A one-year pilot project is currently seeking funding to take this initiative forward.
Medway Together (CRF 56557) – an initiative that brought together and coordinated eleven voluntary and community sector groups in working to create genuine employment opportunities to underserved groups in the community who are persistently regarded as economically inactive. This was a pioneering activity which although short in duration (10 months) demonstrated the power and added value of local groups working together. It was successful in piloting innovative pathways to real employment opportunities and in strengthening the relationship between third sector, employers, and statutory services within Medway. Follow-on funding is currently being sought as the SPF allocation to Medway Council was significantly less than anticipated.
The University’s Start-up Accelerator programme has now taken twelve companies through with 100% completion rate and without exception all have benefitted from the experience. Examples of comments received include:
“We’ve implemented some of the tools already and they are making such a difference”.
“Really like the way it’s been structured, supporting us to develop our own plan and not telling us what to do”.
“It really complements the GK&M (food) Accelerator, virtually no overlap” (two of the companies are on both programmes).
“I’m telling everyone to come on it, when’s the next one”.
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
The University has significantly aligned and amplified its Public and Community Engagement (P&CE) as part of its “This is our time” strategy 2030. Our P&CE work is of fundamental importance to the university in achieving its goals and is mapped directly against the following strategic priorities:
Student success (curriculum content is informed via our civic networks).
Inclusivity and Culture (EDI is prioritised and embedded into P&CE).
Research and knowledge exchange impact is shared with multiple communities.
Sustainability is an elevated strategic focus.
Governance, support and resourcing have all been aligned to achieve our goals and as such we can demonstrate a significant uplift in the management, support and impact of our strategy which is now embedded across the organisation.
Aspect 1: Strategy
The University has significantly aligned and amplified its Public and Community Engagement (P&CE) as part of a strategic approach to ensure that is fully embedded across the organisation and is reflective of our vision and values by way of our Research and Knowledge Exchange (R&KE) sub-strategy. This is managed through the R&KE Board (reporting to Academic Council via the Deputy Vice Chancellor for R&KE) ensuring that knowledge exchange (KE) work is integrated by bringing together central units, Greenwich Research and Enterprise (GRE) and External Relations Directorates into a matrix management structure to support academic faculties who have a designated Associate Dean for R&KE.
Our P&CE work is embedded within the University’s R&KE sub-strategy:
Our strategic objectives for P&CE work are:
To raise awareness of the University’s R&KE work to co-develop the impact that we are making within our communities with a specific focus on EDI and sustainability (evidenced by impact case studies and an uplift in baseline metrics).
To build long-term relationships with key stakeholders including schools, colleges, employers, businesses, civic bodies, third sector groups and alumni so that the University is embedded as part of the community ecosystem. This includes working with our communities as well as building social capital that is collectively able to solve societal challenges on local, regional, national and international levels (evidenced by annual HESA: Business and Community Interaction submission).
Priority Activities:
Stakeholder mapping. A cross functional group of staff has co-created the KE stakeholder map below (and integrated with annual communications and engagement plans for each faculty). Stakeholder mapping at both institutional, project and individual level helps us to identify, prioritise and allocate resources (including staff time) to scholarly activities and projects.
Knowledge sharing. Arranging for knowledge experts within the university (including our pool of 250,000 global alumni) to contribute to and share their expertise including the creation and sharing of reports and insights that outline community need and how the university can support this.
Promotion and delivery of a wide range of community events: inviting stakeholders, including relevant communities into the University to foster knowledge exchange opportunities as well as celebrating success.
Presentations, workshops, lectures and advisory meetings take place regularly with the public as well as interest groups. Local groups are also identified for focused activity to understand and address specific needs as a pathway to and from the University, whether those local communities are located near our three university campuses or in areas of the world where projects are being implemented.
Public relations work to profile our KE work and partnerships so that they featured within local, regional and sector specific press and our communities can share our pride in the impact of our work.
Driven by the overarching principles detailed in our Strategy 2030, we have funded and implemented support for:
Facilitating opportunities for internal sector experts to ensure that their KE activities are founded upon local, regional, national and/or international needs, often facilitated by our active involvement in advisory groups, professional bodies, funding opportunities and local economic partnerships via faculty advisory boards at subject cluster level.
Ensuring that projects are informed by the needs of the sectors they represent via GRE.
Proactive recruitment of academic staff that are committed to the application of their research including their potential to contribute to societal needs.
The university’s workload planning tool can track time spent on KE activities (including involvement in associated P&CE work) against project resource allocations. R&KE colleagues are also measured on the reach of their work via published channels and measured via a digital monitoring service.
Aspect 2: Support
The University has made a strategic choice to create an institution-wide approach to supporting the communications of and engagement with KE activities since 2020. Our people centred approach aligns support across the cross functional teams both internally, via our affiliate networks and externally.
Following strategic investment in the KEF, internal support for staff and students to engage with communities and communicate their work to the public includes but is not limited to:
Bid writing and submission (via specialist support via GRE).
Access to community groups (via Communications/Alumni/External Relations).
Co-creation methodologies to map skills gaps or test curriculum changes with target audiences and/ potential employers such as businesses from specific sectors including SMEs when facilitating enterprise activity.
Access to aligned stakeholders/influencers (via the Partnerships Hub/External relations).
Training in co-design methodologies is available from our inclusive design specialist team in the School of Design.
The External Relations Directorate conducts surveys, analyses feedback and takes part in national research to understand the needs of young people, including their desire for enterprise related skills and demand for sector specific qualifications or skills.
Support to promote and deliver public facing events (External Relations).
Support to create case studies and/or promote their work to the media (GRE support and training/External Relations).
Support to build individual online ‘profiles’ on the university website (external relations) Example: https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/las/anastasios-maragiannis
Impact assessment and evaluation (specialist support via GRE).
Help and support is readily available in person and via the university portal where P&CE has been embedded in guides and checklists.
EDI is a strategic priority at Greenwich and our EDI work is reflected across our P&CE work and indeed across all university activity. Practical support to develop equality impact assessments is available and expert advice and contact with specific communities is provided by our university staff networks covering race, gender, sexuality and disability.
Evidence of the uptake and effectiveness of the key support mechanisms that are in place in reflected in the R&KE KPI monitoring framework which is reviewed by the R&KE Board and the Strategy Programme Board including metrics such as training attendance, faculty reports, media monitoring reports and event attendance reporting.
The University holds a series of staff and student awards and competitions to recognise and reward success, including the Enterprise Challenge for Students within Generator based at the University’s Powerhouse Innovation Hub equipping students with knowledge and skills to start their own business or social enterprise. Other awards include Student Teaching and Learning Awards, voted for by students. Winners are often those who have embedded stakeholder and community engagement within teaching programmes. Furthermore, staff are also regularly recognised in the Vice Chancellor weekly newsletter and VC road shows each term.
Aspect 3: Activity
Overall responsibility for the governance and management of KE activity sits with the R&KE Board, coordinated via Faculty Associate Deans who align activities around the 2 overarching organisational objectives through the lens of their relevant faculty specialisms and aligned research institutes. The University places significant importance on enhancing its P&CE activity. The following examples demonstrate direct interaction with the public, with a specific focus upon either EDI or sustainability, or demonstrate how Greenwich expertise has influenced networks of stakeholders resulting in change, or both.
Our academic and professional services teams have worked in tandem to ensure that all our engagement programmes are co-created based upon the needs of relevant community or academic interest group and are promoted extensively and participation levels are monitored by both faculty leadership teams, project sponsors and project managers. University-level performance indicators have seen notable growth in areas such as levels of funding and number of collaborators, new partnerships, output generation and staff engagement with KE and we are working on indicators for VFM and social return on investment. The University also allocates internal QR funding for catalytic impact development and, innovation activities to initiate community engagement activities.
Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments: The Innocence Project London (IPL) is a pro bono law clinic based in the School of Law and Criminology, and Centre for Human Rights, Environment and Governance Justice. Students work alongside Dr Louise Hewitt, (Senior Lecturer in Criminology and IPL Director) and lawyers offering their time pro bono, deconstructing claims of innocence from convicted individuals who have exhausted the appeals process with a view to supporting them in making an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Further information found here.
Greenwich Business School: Examples include:
Go Trade project produced training material for 200+ small market traders.
SIREE facilitated social and economic integration of refugees and helped 145 refugees develop entrepreneurial action.
SuNSE supported 300 social enterprises in geographically and/or socially isolated regions.
FACET works to increase the adoption of circular solutions in the tourism sector by SMEs.
These projects have successfully delivered all outputs and outcomes with sustainable and impactful legacies. For example, SuNSE, the first financed social enterprise project funded by Northwest Europe, it has created 8 physical social enterprise hubs, interconnected by a virtual digital support hub / toolkit which the University have received three years of post-project funding to curate, update and further develop.
Student Enterprise: The University of Greenwich Generator, brings enterprise and entrepreneurship to communities both within and outside the University. Greenwich Business School’s (GBS) Career Mentoring Scheme includes several career mentors from small enterprises. The Generator works with mentors for Enterprise Challenge and #GreHacks. In 2022, GBS was awarded the Small Business Charter in recognition of its commitment to supporting small businesses, student entrepreneurship, and the local economy. GBS is now actively engaged in delivering Help to Grow training in the coming academic year. In addition, GREat Talks, which are free public lectures, are hosted by faculties across Greenwich and Medway Campuses on a regular basis.
EDI Partnership with Charlton Athletic Football Club: The University has a long standing and impactful relationship with Charlton Athletic Football Club (CAFC) and its charity arm, Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) which is founded on shared values and a commitment to actionable work on EDI. The ‘Football Vs Homophobia’ project aimed to leverage shared networks, bringing likeminded organisations together to create a high-profile project and authentic allyship that both called out homophobia and celebrated our partner LGBTQ+ communities. The project involved businesses, organisations, fans, staff, students, and alumni within a 20-mile radius to engage in online educational webinars, a networking lounge at a themed game and extensive promotional work. The project reached a local combined audience of 524,205 with over 21,600 engagements across channels. The University has set up an LGBTQ+ Alumni Network and Charlton LGBTQ+ groups are setting up an affiliate network combining over 250 LGBTQ+ members across the community.
Improved community-police engagement: Collaborative research at the Institute for Lifecourse Development Centre co-created a communities of practice knowledge-sharing model contributing to improved community-police engagement through conflict resolution with marginalised Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) young people. An extended anti-hate crime partnership with Second Wave Youth Arts led to societal, practitioner and policy impact, increasing confidence and social inclusion of marginalised communities, improving police and youth worker professional development. Impact included improved mutual respect from perceptual and behavioural changes in community-police relationships. Trust between young people and the police increased, contributing to neighbourhood safety, leadership development and a de-escalation of criminalisation of young people formerly triggered during critical police-community encounters. This group has also been recognised for a Queens’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Aspect 4: Enhancing practice
Our strategy to invest in and support P&CE is reflected in the investment made into evaluative measures and staff resource. Evaluation, Monitoring and Learning (MEL) is operationalised through the matrix structure and alignment of academic faculty expertise and professional services support across the university.
The communications workstream provides a focus which links R&KE strategy to operational delivery plans that report into faculties, research institutes/centres and ultimately to the R&KE Board. In addition, P&CE performance against KPIs are also analysed by the four Associate Deans for R&KE at annual faculty reviews hosted by the Vice Chancellors’ Office.
The University supports both formal and informal insights as measures of success for project or the overall performance of a research institute. Our approach to the evaluation of our P&CE work is founded upon building outputs and outcomes into KE work from the outset to ensure that this approach is embedded (and learnt from) across all programmes of work.
Specific investment to support evaluation includes:
Creation of KPIs into bid submissions (specialist support via GRE).
A media monitoring & reporting system (External Relations)
Support to record ‘impact’ (specialist support via GRE).
Data collection support for HESA public engagement submissions.
Help and support to evaluate P&CE work is also available to all staff and students via the university portal where P&CE has been embedded in guides and checklists. Using this model, individual projects are able track activity against KPIs. For example, the University Generator typically meets its annual KPIs: 1200+ students engaged in enterprise projects, 150 business ideas generated with community mentor support, 20 trading business created by students. Other evaluative methods are also used e.g., our Practice as Research Knowledge Exchange (PARKE) workshop “learn to love being with less” provides more personal reflection explores work on SDG 11 based on movement to music. There is a considerable amount of work in this area e.g., the University is currently supporting Second Wave Youth Arts, the Metropolitan police and partners leading several research projects to evaluate engagement activities.
All public relations and communications work is tracked via an online tool through External Relations (tracked against KPIs in relation to audience ‘reach’).
External indicators of success are aggregated from project level review and the entire body of KE and impact generated measured in terms of traditional “hard” parameters – publications and other outputs, citations, conference attendance, income – as well as more recent softer parameters such as web traffic and social media profiles. These are all captured within the University’s bespoke data management system.
Impact case studies for engagement are collated centrally to support the institutional REF and KEF submission and the University accepts there is still more work to do in this area and this will be prioritised in the coming year. In addition, academic faculties host R&KE Committees to ensure that regular reporting and best practice is shared and amplified for example, our work on national and international partnerships creating educational strategies for preventing gender-based violence.
Aspect 5: Building on success
The University has significantly increased its capacity and capability in KE as evidenced by a revised and focused organisational strategy (Aspect 1) and the subsequent investment into an infrastructure that reflects the strategic importance of P&CE to the university. The revised governance structure via the R&KE Board with dedicated faculty Associate Deans as well as the matrix approach allows all public engagement to be reported against our two key objectives for P&CE on an ongoing basis. This focus has allowed us to develop a person-centred approach to support staff and students with specialist support across their projects and aligned to their needs (Aspect 2). We have an active portfolio of impactful P&CE activities which can only be briefly covered above (Aspect 3). Our data systems and reporting at institutional level provide wider opportunities to review our performance and take any corrective action if required. (Aspect 4). Evaluation of the effectiveness of our ambitions to achieve P&CE at scale are shared internally via committees and is embedded in internal staff communications and engagement work (which is measured regularly). We do, however, appreciate there is much more to do.
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)