Institutional Context
Summary
The University of Kent is a dual-intensive, anchor institution and one of the largest employers in the Kent and Medway region. It adds value to the lives of its students through the delivery of a research-informed education and opportunities to engage with research and knowledge exchange.
Kent’s performance in REF2021 reinforces its role as a research powerhouse within the county. It is committed to transforming regional, national and international communities by delivering significant cultural, social and economic benefits. This is evidenced through the research and educational activities of the University’s Academic Divisions and interdisciplinary Institutes, which play a major role in engagement with external organisations. This is underpinned by a supportive and inclusive culture where colleagues are valued and rewarded.
Institutional context
Since its creation in 1965, the University of Kent has equally valued excellence in education and research, recognising that one enhances the other. It is home to many influential scholars, including the inspirational winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022, Emeritus Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah. The University’s core values include diversity, freedom of speech and the celebration of difference. These values are brought to life by academic colleagues through their commitment to pushing boundaries and making a positive difference to society.
Figure : University of Kent Canterbury Campus
Kent is known for excellence across a broad and interdisciplinary academic portfolio. The University has particular strengths in:
Creativity, Culture and Heritage
Cyber Security, Digital Technology and Communication
Health, Social Care and Wellbeing
Social Justice, Inequalities and Conflict
Sustainability, Environment and Natural Resources
Figure : Research Excellence Framework 2021 outcomes
REF2021 confirmed the University of Kent’s reputation as a research-intensive institution, with the majority of its submissions rated as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) and particularly strong results for research impact. This demonstrates that Kent produces research that not only informs and underpins education at all levels but makes a significant difference to lives and livelihoods regionally, nationally and internationally.
In addition to outstanding REF2021 results, the University was awarded Gold in the last Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), demonstrating strengths in education and long-standing commitments to academic excellence. Kent has been awarded three Queen’s Anniversary Prizes: the Tizard Centre (2013), Kent Law Clinic (2018) and, most recently, the Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology (2020), further reinforcing Kent’s reputation for the quality and distinctiveness in its academic offer.
The Kent 2025 strategy demonstrates a clear focus on research and innovation. The University’s emphasis on civic mission also generates further opportunities for knowledge exchange. As highlighted in the Public and Community Engagement narrative, Kent continues to serve its communities by contributing actively and substantially to health, wellbeing, prosperity and success within the region.
As an anchor institution, local growth and regeneration have long been core values. In 2004, Kent jointly established the Universities at Medway in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Greenwich. The shared campus was developed to build an economic, social and cultural focus for the Medway region and to bring renewed economic prosperity.
As celebrated in the Local Growth and Regeneration narrative, this strategic emphasis continues. The Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) exemplifies a commitment to providing world-class medical training by inspiring the next generation of medical professionals to address regional healthcare inequalities. Based in Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, the activities of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries (iCCi) address the priorities of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, are a critical element of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor, and are embedded in the regional creative industries ecosystem of SMEs.
This work will continue to evolve as Kent further aligns its portfolio to the regional needs of Medway and its people, strengthening relationships with industry, business and the third sector, and enhancing opportunities to access HE through increased provision and support for flexible lifelong learning.
Figure University of Kent Medway Campus
For further information, please send queries to keframework@kent.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
As a regional anchor institution, the University of Kent works closely with partners and stakeholders to ensure that its world-leading research, knowledge exchange and education help to address the principal challenges faced across the region, including health and social care inequalities and deprivation, achieving net zero, and the skills deficit. Guided by its Regional Engagement and Global Engagement strategies, the University works with partners to attract inward investment and stimulate sustainable and green economic growth. The University seek to contribute in a sustained and large-scale way to enhancing quality of life in the region, with particular focus on working to tackle the healthcare challenges set out in the UK Government Life Sciences Vision.
Aspect 1: Strategy
The University is firmly committed to co-creating research, knowledge exchange and education that deliver significant cultural, social and economic benefits to regional, national and international communities. Outstanding REF2021 results confirm the University as Kent and Medway’s research powerhouse, with a commitment to making the region a better place to live and work. However, geographical areas of strategic relevance for the University extend beyond Kent and Medway. The University’s Regional Engagement strategy identifies the region as incorporating both the county and bordering counties, and, given the nature of Kent’s sea border and gateway to Europe position, the related inter-regional areas in continental Europe. This commitment is articulated most demonstrably through the University’s participation in the 3i University Network and the Straits Committee.
Figure . Map of regions which the University of Kent connects
This regional commitment is reflected in the increasing emphasis being placed by both the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on research portfolios that focus on local and regional priorities, and strategies such as Levelling Up, Strength in Places, the Innovate UK Strategy, and the Government’s Life Sciences Vision.
As noted in the institutional context, five areas of strength were identified in our Kent 2025 Strategy Mid-Term Review. These map particularly well onto both national and regional priorities, such as Kent County Council’s Strategy 2022-26 (Framing Kent’s Future) and Medway Council’s Medway 2037 strategy. To understand regional strategic priorities, we have developed deep collaborative relationships with both Kent County Council and Medway Council.
Medway Council’s current growth and regeneration plans are targeted around six priority sectors, three of which align to the University’s existing areas of excellence in education and research (Creative and Cultural; Health & Social Care; and Agri-Environmental Food Systems). The University’s Medway Strategy seeks to develop a new and distinctive offer in and for Medway built upon Kent 2025 values. Three key areas have been identified to underpin the University’s strategic approach: Business & Enterprise; Cultural & Creative Industries; and Health, Social Care & Wellbeing, with the adoption of a place-based approach key to all areas of focus.
Figure . How Kent Identifies and Addresses Local Needs
Kent’s strategic approach emphasises its commitment to working collaboratively across the region by working in partnership with local government and other organisations in Kent and Medway to support activity which attracts investment into the region, enables economic growth and contributes to long-term sustainability and quality of life. This approach has enabled the establishment of recent, regionally important initiatives such as the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) and the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries (iCCi) based at the Chatham Dockyard, showcasing the University’s regional contribution and impact.
As well as through the University’s six Academic Divisions, Kent engages with regional partners through a range of structures including:
Institutes: iCCi; Cyber Security for Society; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology; and the newly formed Institute of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing.
Signature Research Themes: Future Human; Migration and Movement; and Positive Environmental Futures.
Research Centres: In particular, the Centre for Health Services Studies; Industrial Biotechnology Centre; Personal Social Services Research Unit; and the Tizard Centre.
A Central Business & Innovation Gateway: The Research and Innovation Services team working closely with the academic and business communities.
Aspect 2: Activity
During the reporting period, Kent has overseen a number of strategic developments specifically addressing geographical needs within Kent and Medway. Key initiatives include:
Kent and Medway faces significant, well-documented challenges in recruiting, developing and maintaining a clinical workforce, which is compounded by a population that is ageing, growing, and located in coastal areas and therefore among the most deprived in England. A joint initiative between the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) is the first medical school in the region, having secured funding for its first 100 students in 2020. KMMS is therefore uniquely positioned to address key challenges to the local health economy through clinical education, research and knowledge exchange. KMMS seeks to attract talented students from all backgrounds, from the local community and beyond, who can in turn enable, influence and drive changes within the local clinical workforce to deliver high-quality healthcare across Kent and Medway.
KMMS has received £2m funding from the Pears Foundation and £4m funding from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), together with £1m from the Oak Foundation to establish the Oak Professor of Remote, Rural and Coastal Healthcare Systems. This philanthropically funded Chair further strengthens the University’s commitment to addressing coastal health inequalities. Kent and CCCU’s campuses house purpose-built facilities, with students undertaking placements across the local region, thus contributing to the development of the ‘medical corridor’ envisaged by the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission.
Based at the Chatham Historic Dockyard, iCCi is a catalyst for culture, creativity and innovation. It is a priority area for SELEP, a critical element of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor and is embedded in the regional creative industries ecosystem of SMEs. The Institute has secured £5.6m in Levelling Up funding to develop the Medway Docking Station, a state-of-the-art commercial immersive digital studio and co-working space for cultural organisations. The Medway Docking Station has attracted a further £3.5m from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Cultural Development Fund and £375k from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop a full stage 2 proposal for £3.5m. The Institute is one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the creative economy in Medway as part of Medway Council’s cultural regeneration programme.
The University of Kent is part of the UKRI Strength in Places funded consortium Growing Kent and Medway (GKM), assisting businesses in the food and drink sector in the South East of England in healthy and sustainable food production. Businesses can access academic expertise via mentorship opportunities (1:1 mentorship; group peer networking; grant application support), and innovation funding is available. Businesses can also access cutting-edge facilities via the University’s Biotech hub, located on the Canterbury campus.
GKM defines priority areas based on social inclusion criteria, which identify and address socio-economic deprivation and skills gaps. Businesses accessed the programme’s services from five of these key priority areas up to August 2022 with £5m in research and development funding being awarded to businesses in Kent and Medway.
The University is addressing the UK skills gap through the provision of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, working with both SMEs and large companies spanning sectors such as finance, health science and government. Kent also offers a variety of part-time degrees, short courses, summer schools and general interest courses, as well as a number of online-only courses. The Medway School of Pharmacy offers a portfolio of short courses which are focused on the clinical and cost-effective use of medicines and prescribing, whilst the International Programmes team offers courses for English language teachers to develop their language and classroom skills. Kent has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the Third Age to encourage and support further education of retirees in the local area.
The University has played a particularly active role in supporting local businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity. Initiatives have included:
The University has developed a unique relationship with the Port of Dover (PoD), the busiest roll-on roll-off ferry port in the UK. This partnership delivered the Dover Clean Ferry Power Project in 2021, after receiving a portion of the £20m Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition funded by the Department for Transport and Innovate UK. The University and PoD have also embarked upon a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership, which sets out to optimise traffic flow and infrastructure investment at the port.
The Kent and Medway Business Summit is an annual event hosted by Kent Business School in partnership with the Institute of Directors and the Federation of Small Businesses, with additional financial sponsors and media partners. The Summit’s purpose it to bring together local businesses, government and academics to discuss cross-sector collaboration on innovative projects that will facilitate sustainable economic growth for Kent and Medway; exchange information, share good-practice, and build partnerships; and showcase Kent and Medway as a dynamic, innovative, diverse, forward-thinking and outward-looking area that cares deeply about sustainable economic development.
One of Kent’s major partners, the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, was awarded £626k from the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) to work with the University to deliver a vital local regeneration project in the priority areas of skills investment, local business support, communities and place, and supporting young people into employment. The University was the main delivery partner for this work, managing three strands of the activity. SMEs across several of the 100 priority areas identified in the Priority Places Index took part in Deep Dive Training Workshops and a Student Business Challenge and could apply for £10k Innovation Intervention Vouchers to access academic expertise. Investments made using this funding were required to demonstrate a positive impact towards achieving their net zero goals, with the aim of bringing about social and economic benefits.
Funded by Research England's Connecting Capability Fund, Enabling Innovation: Research to Application (EIRA) was a consortium of seven universities and colleges supporting innovation in the East of England. It was a pioneering project, creating a step-change in the way that Knowledge Exchange is delivered. The project attracted £4.7m from Research England to support economic growth in the region by connecting SMEs with universities. The University ran programmes such as the i-Teams event and contributed to the Innovation Weekender, to provide innovative interventions for students and local businesses.
To support local businesses post-pandemic, the University provided a variety of Covid-19 recovery support mechanisms for local businesses. Figure 3 summarises the impact of the interventions.
Figure . University of Kent Covid-19 Business Recovery
Aspect 3: Results
The outcomes and impacts achieved as a result of Kent’s strategic initiatives illustrate a deep commitment to regional development and meeting the needs of the communities it serves. This is evidenced as follows:
KMMS
Students are integrated into the local region from their first day at KMMS, with community placements in Years 1 & 2, and Acute Care placements in Years 3-5 taking place in Primary Care Networks and Secondary Care Facilities in Kent and Medway and directly supporting the local population (see Figure 4).
Public Health England has identified the Kent and Medway region as one of the worst for health inequality, with severe workforce challenges and vacancy rates. It is anticipated that the creation of KMMS will ensure that most graduates stay in the local area to undertake their Foundation training at one of the primary and secondary care facilities they have worked at during their studies. As the first Medical School in the region, more medical staff with an interest in education and research are being attracted to the area.
Figure 4. Kent and Medway Medical School Key Facts
iCCi
Medway Council, supported by Arts Council England, is working with the University to position Medway as a Creative City and nexus for the Cultural and Creative Industries in the South East. The University has been leading a £4.3m Cultural Development Fund project to transform the Thames Estuary into an innovative cultural hub. In February 2021, the University launched a project to develop the Docking Station, in partnership with Medway Council and the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. The Docking Station will address the income, productivity and skills-based challenges faced in Medway, make a visible impact on Medway’s cultural regeneration and provide the facilities and skills development opportunities to support digital innovation within the creative industries sector.
The University was a key partner in the Estuary 21 Festival, a highly visible, high-profile arts festival, playing a key part in the wider vision for the Thames Estuary Production Corridor and Creative Estuary. The Festival generated £16.8m of economic activity for the region and a Creative Estuary Co-commissioning programme resulted in c. 45 commissions from c. 350 practitioners, 24% of which were people of colour (significantly above the intended goal of 17%). The Re:Generation 2031 programme delivered six new practice-based training programmes, with 58 young people enrolled within 33 different local organisations.
iCCi collaborated with the University’s Migration and Movement Signature Research Theme to host a visit from Little Amal to the Canterbury campus, highlighting the plight of refugees across the world. This project directly fed into ongoing work to become a University of Sanctuary.
GKM
GKM’s interactions with businesses have led to over £670k being generated through project funding up to 2022. These projects have led to the development of nine new collaborative business relationships. In order to support business growth, GKM provides access to 20 specialist mentors. To date, 32 mentees have undertaken the programme. The programme will be running until 2025.
GKM has a rigorous EDI process in place to ensure that it engages ‘hard to reach’ groups and fosters inclusive innovation. 30% of the support delivered through GKM programmes is targeted in Medway, using the Indices of Deprivation, and future strategies will now focus on a better targeting of priority groups.
Skills agenda
With a good rating award from Ofsted, Higher Degree and Apprenticeships have been an increasing key strategic priority for the University, delivering a variety of programmes across a diverse and growing portfolio (see Figure 5).
Figure 5. Key data on University of Kent Apprenticeships
Kent and Medway Business Summit
The 2022 Summit welcomed 144 attendees made up of local businesses (many of which were SMEs), local government, strategic partners and academic colleagues. Tangible outcomes included the development of a new KTP project with Priory Direct, a range of academic consultancy projects, numerous local businesses engaging with the GKM project for the first time to become training providers, mentors and collaborators, and a series of student KE opportunities including a consultancy project conducted with Kent Cricket.
UKCRF
In 2021-22, the University of Kent was a delivery partner for the UKCRF-funded ‘Growing Green’ project. This is an addition to the GKM network and aims to give businesses the knowledge and confidence to reduce their carbon footprint. The project recruited 40 micro and SME businesses, upskilling and co-developing diagnostic auditing tools. The project issued 36 grants to support net-zero business innovation activity.
Figure 6. Community Renewal Fund results and impact
PoD
A Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CDMC) project resulted in a collaborative workshop themed around Clean Ferry Power at Discovery Park, with 50 participants from over 20 organisations, including regional government and industry. The project continues to have impact, and the University is seeking to develop a separate business offering to monitor ferry emissions in real time. The project has also led to the development of a strategic partnership focused on three areas: Net Zero, Digitalisation, and Heritage, with a bid for £36m funding from the Centre of Excellence for Digital Borders submitted in Autumn 2022. Work from the CMDC project has resulted in Kent being awarded further funding of £180k for the Green Corridor project, to become the UK’s first high-volume Green Shipping Corridor.
EIRA Results
As evidenced in Figure 7 below, Kent’s involvement in EIRA has generated significant value for local businesses:
Figure 7. Enabling Innovation: Research to Application results and impact.
KTPs
The University has significantly developed its work in the area of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships over the reporting period, growing its number of applications from one to eight by the end of 2022. Projects are usually geographically close to the University but have national reach and impact. The value of applications (2019-22) was over £1.6m, and has included regional projects in Ashford, Dover, Medway and London, but also further afield in Wellingborough and Hull. During the period, the University also completed nine KTPs, predominantly in Kent. As a direct result of these KTPs, four partners reported an increase in turnover (three of which were £1m+); two reported an increase in annual exports (£1m+); and four reported an increase in annual profits (£200k+). In total these projects generated £13.5m increase in turnover for these local companies, solidifying Kent’s role as a key driver of local regeneration.
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
Leadership and ambition lie at the heart of the University of Kent’s approach to public and community engagement (P&CE). One of the three key pillars which form the foundation of our institution, our P&CE strategy is driven by a ‘whole university’ approach. With a firm commitment to becoming a ‘leading civic university’ by 2025, we adopt a university-wide approach to tackling inequalities in our region. We are a university grounded in place, driven by our role as an anchor institution to engage actively with our community partners, demonstrating our values of collegiality, sustainability, and equality, diversity and inclusion. Our P&CE activities inspire the public, influence our research and innovation, and enhance the student experience.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Public and community engagement (P&CE) is one of three pillars of the University’s Kent 2025 strategy. In giving P&CE this prominence and significance, we have signalled our strong belief that our civic mission not only enhances the other two strategic pillars (education and research and innovation), drawing out synergies and inspiring new perspectives and novel approaches, but also enhances all areas of our work. This ‘whole university’ approach lies at the core of our strategy.
The University has committed to becoming a ‘leading civic university’ by 2025 and our activities over the last three years have driven this. Our approach is founded on a keen sense of place, principally the people and communities of Kent and Medway, and beyond towards the Greater South East, the Eastern seaboard and North West Europe.
We have developed close partnerships with key regional bodies and anchor institutions – including local authorities, NHS Trusts, schools, colleges, and other agencies (see Aspect 5). Flagship activities include Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) and our Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries (iCCi), and strategic initiatives such as the Kent & Medway Employment Task Force. Involvement in these partnerships will further develop as we establish civic agreements in Medway (2023) and Kent (2024) to develop a wider and more ambitious programme of positive change for our community.
A key University commitment is to exercise leadership in P&CE locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Reporting to the Vice-Chancellor (VC), the Director of Engagement (DoE) is an Executive-level post that leads these activities for the University and is responsible for developing and implementing the Civic Engagement Strategy. Key to the strategy is the development of distinctive strategic initiatives which unite the three strategic pillars, developing powerful synergies between research and innovation, education, and civic mission. These include becoming the world’s first Right to Food University to tackle food insecurity in the region; becoming a University of Sanctuary to address prominent migration issues in the locality and beyond; and becoming a Net Zero Campus by 2040, achieving our environmental sustainability goals. Through these actions, the University has committed to listen, represent and engage our communities and take our learning out beyond our campuses to audiences beyond our region.
Figure . The three key strategic pillars at the University of Kent
Internal staff and student engagement is critical to our ‘whole university’ approach and central to its success. The University’s academic Divisions have their own Directors of Public Engagement and Public Engagement Champions driving subject- and disciplinary-specific P&CE, ensuring a wide range of interest groups, charities, third-sector bodies and communities of practice across the region and beyond are well served by the University.
The Civic Engagement Strategy informs a wide range of other strategies across the University, including the Regional Engagement Strategy, the Global Engagement Strategy, the Alumni Strategy and the People and Culture Strategy.
Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) inform all aspects of our approach to P&CE, ensuring that we strive to reach all of our communities. The University is a trailblazer with regard to EDI, embedding and celebrating its commitments in all areas. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Academic Strategy and Performance leads this work. The Head of EDI is a member of the Civic Engagement Advisory Group (CEAG), supporting the delivery of the strategy, advising on equality impact assessments and the delivery of KPIs. In 2021 the University of Kent achieved an Athena SWAN Silver Institutional Award, recognising a significant record of activity in promoting gender equality and addressing challenges across different disciplines.
Aspect 2: Support
The University has implemented a robust framework of support to continue developing P&CE. Engagement is now driven from the top, with the DoE leading an Engagement Directorate of 40, reporting directly to the VC; CEAG brings together senior representatives of the University; the Public Engagement with Research Group (PERG) comprises central and Divisional Engagement leads; and the Kent Public Engagement Network (KPEN) is a lively community of practice bringing together around 150 colleagues.
Figure . Organogram showing the key support roles and internal organisation
The appointment of six divisional academic leads for P&CE has driven activity across all academic portfolios. Within Research and Innovation Services (RIS), a central hub with a dedicated Public and Community Engagement with Research Officer coordinates institutional networks, develops connections, and supports P&CE activities. This enables staff to equip themselves with the tools to effectively undertake P&CE work.
The Kent Unit for Research Impact and Engagement (KURIE) is led by an advisory group of academics and practitioners providing online media training, accessed by over 230 colleagues annually. Staff have been centrally funded to attend the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) Academy, which has enhanced further activities. The Division of Law, Society and Social Justice (LSSJ) also trained around a dozen staff through NCCPE, leading to bespoke 1:1 sessions.
To facilitate engagement practice, the Next Generation Impact Series is a live-stream event and panel discussion, informing the practice of over 850 people from over 50 institutions, with an international audience of 3,800. Weekly surgeries are available for staff to discuss individual projects and seek advice, and P&CE has a dedicated strand at the annual Staff Conference, spearheaded by the DoE. The Community Hub on the Kent Engagement website is a key means by which we engage with our regional audience, providing resources and facilitating open dialogue.
P&CE activities are recognised at all levels through the University’s Academic Career Map, with Research and Innovation having its own strand, and P&CE featuring prominently within it. Doctoral training is increasingly supporting PhD students to embrace P&CE, in line with emerging national priorities.
All staff are required to pass EDI training during their probation and managers are required to complete unconscious bias training. All P&CE activities are assessed for accessibility and staff are encouraged to partner with organisations who provide critical support in the design and delivery of programmes (i.e. schools, local councils, agencies, Discovery Planet – see Figure 7 – etc.).
University-wide P&CE awards further incentivise engagement: the Annual Staff Awards include a ‘Community Champion Award’, along with a category for Public Engagement, which is also included in the Annual Research Awards. Funding has been awarded for further Public Engagement Awards in 2023, to support existing events such as the LSSJ Public Engagement Awards. External awards are also widely celebrated across the University’s social media channels, and in some academic Divisions time for P&CE is allocated to staff in the Workload Allocation Model.
Where activities evidence and exemplify innovation and excellence in P&CE (for example, the Youth Summit, Generation Genome and Discovery Planet Pop-Up Shop), we invest in further training and resources to build capacity, grow our networks and disseminate best practice.
Funding is provided centrally, through programmes such as the Knowledge Exchange Development Fund. In 2022 additional funding enabled the development of a media centre to support the Signature Research Themes (SRTs) with engagement activity. Divisions independently distribute funding for P&CE activity and Kent devotes a proportion of its HEIF allocation to this area.
There are a number of formal mechanisms and structures designed to facilitate P&CE and to ensure effective engagement with partners, including University representation on a number of external and strategic bodies:
Figure . How external partnerships at the University of Kent are connected to our key areas of Public & Community Engagement focus
Other partnerships are supported through Memoranda of Understanding, including Canterbury Cathedral, Arts Council England, Discovery Park, the University of the Third Age and Canterbury Christ Church University.
Each Division and SRT has its own Advisory Board, representing members of external organisations. Actions from these meetings inform strategy development and implementation, feeding into larger-scale projects, such as The Right to Food.
Aspect 3: Activity
Our P&CE is led by a range of exemplar activities which illustrate and evidence our ‘whole university’ approach to civic mission and our commitment to progress positive change.
The Kent Law Clinic is led by LSSJ, alongside an ‘Outdoor Clerking Scheme’ to ease the backlog of cases as a result of the issues surrounding legal aid to local solicitors:
Figure . Kent Law Clinic Key Facts 2019-21
Evidencing our novel approach to innovation and engagement, KMTV is a partnership between the University and KM Media Group that has involved 120 students. It reaches 237,000 households across Kent and internationally, and 3,000 subscribers on YouTube. During the 2021-22 academic year the University’s breadth of academic knowledge was further showcased, with expert commentary and exclusive hosting of the Generation Genome series.
In 2021-22 the University hosted two visits of Little Amal, including the Canterbury ‘leg’ of The Walk, one of the largest public arts events in the UK. iCCi and the Migration and Movement SRT ran many related activities, including creative workshops with schools from across Kent, a ‘healing through movement’ ‘Dabke’ dance event, and an evening of Refugee Tales hosted at the Gulbenkian Theatre. Over 3,000 people joined Amal in Canterbury city centre, including 300 schoolchildren, and 8,000 community members took part in the related events, directly supporting our application for University of Sanctuary status. iCCi contributes across the institution in various ways:
Figure . Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries’ contribution to Public & Community Engagement activities
Community support is central to our civic mission, and the University has been recognised nationally for the support it provided during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kent Technical Services Covid=19 PPE Response Team were awarded a Papin Prize for Covid-19 Community Impact, and a Kent Staff Recognition Award for their design and manufacture of free PPE for distribution in care facilities across Kent. The Co-Director of P&CE in LSSJ was awarded a Community Hero Award. The University of Kent also hosted a Covid-19 walk-in testing facility.
We are committed to our P&CE activities through a vibrant volunteering programme involving both staff and students:
Figure . The University Community Volunteering Figures and Partners
The Future Human SRT has its own public engagement programme of activities: FutureHuman30. Since 2021, the programme has undertaken three strands of activity, engaging in outreach with industry and primary and secondary schools. School outreach has focused on interdisciplinary collaboration, using art to engage children with STEM, with events reaching over 200 children through the bOing! festival and the Youth Summit. Examples of industry engagement include a Ministry of Defence-funded sandpit on human augmentation, which aligns with the MOD Science and Technology Strategy 2020; a symposium at the Kent & Medway Business Summit; and a keynote speech at Media City in Manchester.
The collaboration between University of Kent academics and Discovery Planet has also proved very popular with the local community:
Figure Discovery Planet Pop Up Shop Key Facts
Aspect 4: Enhancing practice
The University deploys a variety of bespoke and innovative evaluation methods in its P&CE activities, including surveys, questionnaires, observations, perception and impact analysis, process maps and testimonies (including video).
Although flexibility is afforded to individual projects or initiatives depending on specific requirements, we apply common frameworks for monitoring and evaluation. These include: appropriate project governance and oversight, including external representation; clear reporting lines to the Divisions or central services; a clear understanding of audience; effective planning and the development of objectives and KPIs; reporting on delivery, outputs and performance; and feedback both internally and via peer networks. The Youth Summit exemplified this as it was overseen by a Project Board comprising external stakeholders (Kent County Council and local school teachers) and utilised KPIs as part of its reporting. Board composition such as this ensures community needs are at their heart:
Figure . University of Kent & Kent County Council's Youth Summit Activity
Where best practice is established, we ensure that we embed it widely. The Discovery Planet Pop-Up Shop (see Aspect 3) has developed a planning and evaluation framework, which helps shape activities through the use of the following indicators:
Figure Evaluation Framework
This method allows for the linking of strategic objectives with a detailed approach to data collection to measure the success of P&CE projects. It allows interim evaluation to inform the progress of the project resulting in important changes of focus in later stages. This evaluation method is now being disseminated to colleagues engaging in similar outreach activities, ensuring we both build capacity and disseminate best practice in evaluation.
The Youth Summit evaluated its activities thoroughly, reporting its performance to the Board (see above) using questionnaires, pulse surveys and innovative video testimony. It also reported to KCC’s own evaluation team through an interview with the DoE, providing qualitative assessment as well as evaluation against agreed objectives.
The Estuary 2021 Festival, delivered by the Creative Estuary project, evaluated the festival through an analysis of social, cultural, economic and strategic impact, compiled using audience questionnaires, stakeholder feedback and collation of internal and external data.
SRTs report on their progress annually against targets and KPIs through internal structures as well as their external Advisory Boards to ensure accountability. Similarly, Divisions adopt a range of evaluation mechanisms to monitor progress and effectiveness, including attendance statistics, satisfaction rates and demographic information. PERG and KPEN provide important means by which evaluation is disseminated, shared and assessed.
Kent’s Regional Engagement Strategy also has multiple measures of success built into it, including the number of residents in the region enrolled on skills/educational courses at the University, and the level of public engagement with our cultural and creative offerings. These will ensure we can evaluate our activity, and that future activities are properly supported and working as intended.
Future developments in this area include: the more consistent adoption of monitoring and evaluation procedures across the University; their routine feed-through into future planning; the embedding of evaluation in the emerging Civic Agreement in Medway; and an increase in training and resources in this critical area.
Aspect 5: Building on success
Through the employment of several dedicated P&CE roles (see Aspect 2) we have started to realise the aspirations outlined in our Kent 2025 strategy.
Progress against agreed KPIs for the three key strategic areas are reported to the University’s Council every quarter. For civic engagement these KPIs include the development of forward-looking strategic initiatives (becoming the world’s first Right to Food University and a University of Sanctuary), the establishment of Civic Agreements (Medway in 2023 and Kent in 2024), etc. Termly reports on progress in civic engagement, as well as annual reports, are made to the CEAG and shared with the University’s Executive Group. The DoE has annual appraisal objectives focused on civic engagement, reporting to the VC on performance and delivery through the institutional appraisals process.
High-level University-wide P&CE initiatives, such as Right to Food, Sustainability and Sanctuary, each have their own Steering Groups, made up of both internal and external stakeholders. The University’s ‘exemplar’ activities – including KMMS, iCCi and Creative Estuary – each report routinely to their own Advisory Boards comprising internal and, predominantly, external stakeholders.
Externally, the University sits on a range of advisory boards to ensure its work feeds into wider strategic discussions across the region, but also as a means of understanding the needs of its community and having these inform the University’s work (See Aspect 2: External Partnerships Infographic).
A strategic aim of the Civic Engagement strategy calls on the University to ‘co-create our approach to civic engagement with local and regional communities, informed strongly by their needs and shaped by the University’s distinctive strengths’. Measures to deliver this include the development of a Community Board made up of representatives of the wider community, a Kent Community Pledge, Civic Agreements for Kent and Medway, and annual consultation events.
Civic Engagement is an integral aspect of all the work we undertake at the University of Kent:
Figure . How the three strategic pillars inform all aspects of our Public & Community Engagement work at the University of Kent
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