Institutional Context
Summary
Our mission is to be a life-changing university, with underpinning ambitions to be student-focused, professions-facing and society-shaping. Our focus is global as well as local, with campuses in London and Hong Kong, alongside engagement with 27 transnational education partners in 44 locations. However, we remain deeply rooted in Sunderland and the north-east of England.
Our academic excellence is combined with a commitment to widening participation and the creation of career-ready graduates. Equally, we support local SMEs, apply our research in practical ways, create and exchange knowledge, and engage communities through our education and outreach programmes. This work maximises the regional impact of all that we do. In financial terms, this amounted to £476 million and 5,760 jobs in 2017/18.
Institutional context
The University of Sunderland’s Strategic Plan 2020-25 encompasses our mission to be a life-changing institution by offering transformative experiences to our students, career-focused and professions-facing teaching, and the positive difference we make to society. An assessment of our economic impact in 2017-18 found that the University added:
£250 million GVA and 4,130 jobs in the City of Sunderland;
£476 million GVA and 5,760 jobs in the north-east of England; and
£706 million GVA and 8,200 jobs across the UK.
This impact reflects our role as a significant anchor institution in a region which has economic challenges around productivity, employment, R&D, higher level skills and business birth rate. We have been rooted in the city of Sunderland since the establishment of Sunderland Technical College in 1901.
We attract around 85% of our ‘Home’ student enrolments from the north-east, many of these from low participation neighbourhoods. Alongside its commitment to academic excellence, Sunderland is one of the UK’s leading widening participation universities and The Times/Sunday Times University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2021. We are a founding member of the Sunderland Business Group, the Sunderland Culture Company and Sunderland Software City.
We have many strategic partnerships with the NHS focused on research, innovation and workforce development in our Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, including the Sunderland Medical School, the Helen McCardle Nursing and Care Research Institute and the John Dawson Drug Discovery and Development Research Institute.
Knowledge exchange is of fundamental importance to our mission, with a particular focus on the following areas:
Skills, enterprise and entrepreneurship – we have a long history of providing tailored CPD programmes for local employers, with around 800 degree apprentices studying with us. Despite low local and regional start-up rates, we have a vibrant graduate enterprise community, with support programmes and accelerator funds supported by European Regional Development funding, Santander and local trusts.
Local growth and regeneration – as a key partner in local and regional regeneration efforts, we deliver significant value and impact through our business support and innovation programmes, securing significant grant funding from regional, national and European sources.
Public and community engagement – engagement with local communities is a natural part of our work, including through outreach education, participatory research and practice, and performance, exhibitions and community arts practice through Sunderland Culture.
Research partnerships – the emphasis of our research is on engagement with real world issues and practical applications.
Working with business – we undertake a range of engagements with business around innovation and skills. We have navigated the economic context and the relative lack of HQ functions in the region by securing public funding to support this work.
Working with the public and third sector – we have close connections and partnerships with the public and third sectors, with a particular focus on skills development.
IP and commercialisation – our partnership with other north-east universities through has enabled us to identify and support a range of propositions from within our academic portfolio. As a result, the University recently secured £300,000 from the Medical Research Council, to support the acceleration towards commercialisation.
For further information, please send queries to RKE@sunderland.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
With its life-changing purpose, the University of Sunderland has the ambition to be student-focused, professions-facing and society-shaping.
The University is responsive to employer needs and creates shared value for both its students and those beyond the institution, through mutually beneficial activities. Our core activities of learning, teaching, research, innovation and knowledge exchange are supported by activities which deliver growth and regeneration in our communities, while providing learners with higher-level skills that will benefit the regional economy.
The University directly supports the identified needs of the local and regional labour market, including in priority sectors, as well as ensuring that its graduates also possess so-called ‘softer skills’ such as the ability to communicate effectively and work in a team.
Aspect 1: Strategy
With the underpinning aim to be life-changing, the University of Sunderland (UoS) Strategic Plan 2020-25 outlines our ambition to be:
student-focused;
professions-facing; and
society-shaping
Student-focussed
This is at the heart of our approach to local growth and regeneration. We recognise our students are our greatest asset and have developed a Student Success Plan. This outlines how we will ensure graduates are equipped with essential employability and entrepreneurial skills to meet the needs of the regional economy. This is done by providing students with real world experience within businesses and communities.
Our Access and Participation Plan aims to ensure that underrepresented groups get the opportunity to study, further maximising the intellectual resources in our region. For example, our Medical School draws 25% of its learners from areas of socio-economic deprivation compared to a national average of 5%.
Professions-facing
We are focused on supporting local employers to access our students, graduates, expertise and facilities to contribute to their growth and economic resilience. Examples of this include:
the North East Workforce Skills consortium, providing funded professional development programmes;
our internships and enterprise programme, retaining graduates in the region by placing them with SMEs and supporting them to start businesses;
the Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing project which supports manufacturers to improve their productivity; and
our knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs) using University expertise to support company growth.
Society-shaping
We have been established in the city of Sunderland since the inception of Sunderland Technical College in 1901. We attract around 85% of our ‘Home’ student enrolments from the north-east, many of these from low participation neighbourhoods. Alongside our academic excellence, Sunderland is one of the UK’s leading widening participation universities and was The Times/Sunday Times University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2021.
Our Research and Knowledge Exchange Plan sets out our focus on areas of research and knowledge exchange which deliver impact and align with our strategic plan. Through this, we are establishing inter-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange institutes which cluster our areas of research and knowledge exchange strength to maximise their societal impact.
These include:
the Institute for Economic and Social Inclusion which will bring together cross-discipline, academic research and knowledge exchange to tackle economic and social equality;
the John Dawson Drug Discovery and Development Research Institute to lead ground-breaking work in new drugs and discovery techniques; and
the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute which is leading the way in areas such as innovative approaches to nursing and care through technology and social prescribing.
These institutes will provide a suite of applied research to support the growth agenda in Sunderland and the wider region. Through these institutes we are setting a clear path towards society-shaping research which has a tangible impact locally, regionally and nationally, and includes research with a truly global reach.
Geographical areas of focus
The University is active across the whole of the north-east of England and in the east end of London through our campus in Canary Wharf. We are also piloting activity in North Yorkshire through the Campus@Northallerton initiative.
Our interventions are informed by:
local need with reference to the north-east Strategic Economic Plan and local economic plans which identify priority sectors for support. We also maintain relationships with relevant local authorities via our Enterprise and Innovation Directorate, senior faculty academic colleagues and the University Executive.
our academic programmes and their contribution to broader regeneration specifically in areas such as health, engineering, and digital and creative technologies, particularly where there are opportunities to upskill and/or promote innovation.
areas where we recruit our students from. For example, Centre for Cities found that 46% of the graduates working in Sunderland are University of Sunderland alumni.
We have commissioned studies into our economic impact to understand how our activities support the communities and economy of Sunderland and the north-east. In 2017-18, this amounted to £476 million, securing 5,760 jobs. Our international operations contribute £71 million annually to north-east exports.
We have strategic partnerships with the NHS locally and regionally focused on applied research, innovation and workforce development across the health sector in our Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, including the Sunderland Medical School, the John Dawson Drug Development and Discovery Research Institute and the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute.
We have strategic partnerships with the DfE regionally and nationally, predominantly focused on research, innovation and workforce development in initial and continuing teacher education and development.
Aspect 2: Activity
Our local growth and regeneration activities respond directly to regionally and locally identified priorities, focusing on the labour market, graduate employability and enterprise. They also encompass strategically significant sectors such as health, engineering and manufacturing, education and culture and creative industries.
The University makes a substantial contribution to the regional labour market, responding to the need to develop employment-relevant skills identified in the Sunderland City Plan, and developing the higher-level skills for productivity identified in the north-east Strategic Economic Plan. Over 60% of our graduates remain in the north-east.
One of our major contributions to local growth and regeneration is our curriculum. This is subject to ongoing review to ensure it remains career-focused and profession-facing. In addition to core provision, we support some of the largest sectors for north-east employment and those classed as “areas of strategic importance” by the Local Enterprise Partnership through our research and knowledge exchange activity. Examples include:
Health
Our health provision prioritises research and practice with a local/regional impact. For example, our Medical School was founded as a response to three key problems:
Inaccessibility: Recruiting more students from underprivileged backgrounds.
Insufficient generalists: Addressing the chronic regional and national shortages in general practice, and psychiatry.
Health inequality: Driving significant improvements to the long-term health and wellbeing of our local communities.
The University is working closely with Sunderland City Council and local partners to explore how our health work can be utilised to stimulate further employment and regeneration. We are currently developing plans for a Health Innovation District in partnership with the local NHS foundation trust, Sunderland City Council, the North East and North Cumbria Academic Health Sciences Network and private sector partners. This will stimulate economic growth and address health and social care challenges.
Our Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing works closely with the NHS, playing a vital role in the health sector labour market. Our new Medical School is addressing the shortfall in GPs working in areas of deprivation. Our Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute is leading research on the organisation and delivery of care within the NHS and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors in the region. Themes include military health and wellbeing, and interdisciplinary work on the health and care workforce.
Sustainable advanced manufacturing
Our ERDF Funded Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing Project is supporting businesses in transitioning into Industry 4.0 and with digital transformation, providing access to equipment, expertise, active support and grant funding. The interim project assessment states that the project has delivered £43.3m GVA to the regional economy and created 1,368 jobs.
Digital transformation
We have delivered several initiatives to support digital skills, including:
Driving Digital Skills, an ESF funded £2.4m project which supported 2500 employees by project close in 2021.
Institute of Coding (IoC), through which we delivered short course digital programmes to 1,290 people with attendees drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, 57% of which were female.
The Higher Level Digital Skills Project – we are in the early stages of a £837,000 North of Tyne Combined Authority funded project to deliver higher digital skills to Northumberland between 2022/23 and 2024/25.
Creative and cultural sector
The Arts Council England (ACE)-funded Cultural Spring project has engaged 40,000 people. Subsequently, Sunderland Culture was established as a partnership between the University, Sunderland City Council and the Music, Arts and Culture Trust (MAC). This partnership work has been heralded by the Cultural Cities Enquiry and Local Government Association.
Work across the creative and cultural sector has been supplemented by Creative Fuse, a £2.07m collaboration with regional universities, to support local SMEs with creative and digital innovation solutions led by academics and graduate placements.
In addition to sector-specific work we undertake a range of activities which are cross-sectoral, such as funded workforce training and broader innovation support as part of our wider knowledge exchange. These include:
ERDF-funded internship scheme: The University’s graduate placement schemes have placed over 1100 graduates with local employers, including over 600 with SMEs.
Innovate UK-funded knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs). Over the period, the University successfully concluded 4 KTPs. Innovate UK estimate each KTP has a £900,000 impact on a business’s ‘bottom line’.
North East Workforce Skills consortium: This project delivered accredited and non-accredited skills support for employed people in the north-east region. The project value is in excess of £14.5m and by completion will have delivered 17,590 interventions.
We are a partner in the North East Raising Aspirations Partnership (NERAP) which works with schools, teachers and parents to encourage participation in higher education, especially amongst under-represented groups. The Partnership has developed the north-east Uni Connect Programme (one of the largest Partnerships in England funded by the Office for Students) involving all universities, colleges and 106 schools.
The University has also achieved the Care Leavers Covenant and sits on the National Strategy Group of the National Network for Education of Care Leavers (NNECL). The University has been cited as ‘exemplar’ with our NNECL Quality mark – rated exceptional in all 7 areas of assessment.
In addition, the University provides scholarships and bursaries for under-represented groups in HE with the aim to unlock the potential of the region’s current and future labour market and support in tackling the cycle of deprivation.
We are the sponsor of two University Technical Colleges; North East Futures focused on digital technology and health sciences, and UTC South Durham focused on engineering and manufacturing.
Our Faculty of Education and Society works closely with the DfE, Social Work England and the College of Policing, playing a vital role in the supply of professional to the wider education, social care and policing workforces.
We have had a succession of projects which focus on graduate employability and enterprise development. The latest evaluation reported 89% retention of graduates placed into SMEs and 72% of SMEs reporting growth as a result of a graduate internship, including 68% creating additional jobs. Companies supported by our Enterprise Place reported turnover of £2.9 million in 2018-19.
The recent launch of our Institute for Economic and Social Inclusion highlights the University’s strategic aim to be society-shaping, harnessing the power of cross-disciplinary, collaborative research to tackle inequality across the city and wider region. This recognises the multi-faceted challenges some people face before they can take an active part in economic activity. The Institute will work with local practitioners and communities to shape models of intervention that deliver tangible and sustainable impacts on our communities.
Aspect 3: Results
Outcomes and impacts
We monitor progress and commission evaluations of our programme activity, updating partners with results and promoting our activities externally.
Our impact was independently calculated as £476 million in the north-east for 2017-18, supporting 5,760 jobs. This demonstrated an increase of 34% over 2012-13 figures. Notably, this regional impact represented over 63% of our UK impact, reflecting the interdependence between the University and the region.
Cultural activity is reviewed on an ongoing basis and an evaluation of the Cultural Spring activity by the Culture Cities Enquiry found that 18,906 people engaged in Cultural Spring’s activities, and for every £1 the Arts Council invested a further £1.05 was secured to expand delivery. Of those engaged, 77% reported improved wellbeing, 78% felt more connected, 77% were more active and 85% learned new skills.
Our graduate placement schemes have placed over 1100 graduates with local employers, including over 600 with SMEs. The latest £6.52 million internships and enterprise project supports SMEs with the cost of recruiting a graduate with over 90% retained. This helps businesses secure higher-level skills in their businesses and retains graduates in the area.
The Enterprise Place incubator supports graduates to start their own business. University and ERDF resources are complemented by contributions from Santander and local charitable trusts, creating around 30 business starts each year. This incubator project expanded with £1.58m Local Growth Fund and University Enterprise Zone support from Research England to create a Digital Incubator aimed at digital and media students to start their own ventures.
Our students and academics are directly benefiting the local and regional economy through knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs), supporting companies with product and process innovations. Over the period, the University successfully concluded four KTPs. Innovate UK estimate each KTP has a £900k impact on a business’s ‘bottom line’.
The University was the first UK university to be funded by Arts Council England (ACE) to lead a successful Creative People and Places project (Cultural Spring), engaging more than 40,000 people.
Subsequently, Sunderland Culture was established between the University, Sunderland City Council and the Music, Arts and Culture Trust (MAC). Sunderland Culture’s work has been heralded by the Cultural Cities Enquiry and Local Government Association. This aims to improve the night-time economy of the city and increase ‘dwell time’.
This work has been supplemented by Creative Fuse, a £2.07m collaboration with the other regional universities, with support from AHRC and ERDF, to support local SMEs with creative and digital innovation solutions led by academics and graduate placements.
The Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) project is a £8.2m ERDF and University funded project, proving cutting-edge kit, technical and research expertise, and access to finance for manufacturing SMEs. The project provided critical support to the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic, through PPE provision and advising on the set up of testing sites. An assessment of its impacts highlighted a GVA contribution in excess of £43m to the regional economy.
| Jobs | FTE | Sales | GVA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Durham | 23,000 | 28.2% | 386 | 428 | £37,197,914 | £12,243,620 |
| Gateshead | 10,000 | 12.3% | 168 | 186 | £16,173,006 | £5,323,313 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 6,000 | 7.4% | 101 | 112 | £9,703,804 | £3,193,988 |
| North Tyneside | 7,000 | 8.6% | 117 | 130 | £11,321,104 | £3,726,319 |
| Northumberland | 11,000 | 13.5% | 185 | 205 | £17,790,307 | £5,855,644 |
| South Tyneside | 4,500 | 5.5% | 76 | 84 | £7,277,853 | £2,395,491 |
| Sunderland | 20,000 | 24.5% | 336 | 372 | £32,346,012 | £10,646,626 |
| Total | 81,500 | 1,368 | 1,515 | £131,810,000 | £43,385,000 |
Our links to the regional manufacturing industry have harnessed collaborative networks including the Maintenance Forum, which has reached hundreds of organisations and practitioners since its inception.
Driving Digital Skills is a £2.4m project focusing on digital skills, particularly for manufacturing industry. The project uses ESF to lever employer investment in upskilling their workforce. The project supported 2500 employees by project close in 2021.
The North East Workforce Skills Programme is an ESF funded programme, delivering skills support for employed people. The project value is in excess of £14.5m, delivering 17590 interventions.
Our outreach programmes continue to unlock future potential in critical local growth areas, such as our medicine outreach sessions interacting with over 4,800 primary and secondary level students.
Acting on results
The University is now actively shaping future project proposals that build on the impact of our previous projects. This includes wide ranging proposals into local authority-led UK Shared Prosperity Fund programmes under ‘Communities and Place, Business Support and People and Skills streams.
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
The University of Sunderland’s mission is to be life-changing, and public and community engagement is a fundamental part of this endeavor. It is central to our activities in education, research, innovation and practice, as we seek to have a positive impact.
We were recognised for our work through the award of University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2021 from The Times/Sunday Times. Our leadership of the cultural agenda in Sunderland, through the establishment of Sunderland Culture and operation of programmes such as Cultural Spring, is a demonstration of our commitment to meaningful engagement with local communities.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Strategic Approach to P&CE
Underpinning our mission to be a life-changing institution, the University of Sunderland Strategic Plan 2020-25 outlines our ambition to be:
student-focused
professions-facing; and
society-shaping
It articulates two of our key values as being:
Collaborative – working with the community and partners to create long term relationships that create shared value.
Inclusive – we celebrate our diverse culture, which values everyone's contribution.
Our strategic mission and underpinning ambition informs the University’s approach to Public and Community Engagement (P&CE) with the aims of:
enhancing student employability through real world experience, with mutual benefits for students and the community;
engaging relevant partners in target professions to ensure our research and knowledge exchange (RKE) offer adds value to them; and
ensuring that collaborative approaches to RKE deliver positive impact to society.
P&CE underpins our approach, and this is shown in the supporting plans which underpin our Strategic Plan:
Research and Knowledge Exchange Plan
The implementation of this Plan includes an engagement workstream, with a specific Research Culture Fellow for engagement, to lead our P&CE work.
The Plan includes the development of inter-disciplinary institutes, building on the excellence in P&CE delivered through the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute. This includes work with armed forces and veterans, which was recognised with a Gold Award in the 2020 Employer Recognition Scheme.
The work of the institutes includes/will include a focus on the identification of key external stakeholders, and on ensuring collaboration is effective, inclusive and informs activity. The development of an Institute for Economic and Social Inclusion has involved engagement with the local authority and the voluntary and community sector to explore new approaches to P&CE.
This outlines how we ensure graduates can meet the needs of organisations or start their own business. It aims to create opportunities for students to develop real world experience through engagement with businesses and communities, through projects like our Law Clinic and Creative Agency.
The Access and Participation Plan 2021-25
The University is committed to improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, with PC&E at its heart. Activity includes:
engagement with pre-16s in areas of multiple deprivation;
membership of North East Raising Aspirations Partnership (NERAP);
chairing NERAP Regional Steering Group;
achieving the Care Leavers’ Covenant
membership of the National Network for Education of Care Leavers, (NNECL) and sitting on the National Strategy Group; and
Cited as ‘exemplar’ with our NNECL Quality Mk, rated exception in all seven areas.
The University’s work in widening participation was recognised in The Times/Sunday Times award of University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2021.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
EDI is overseen by a University Executive-led group and is responsible for advising and reviewing all EDI- related activity across the University. The group reviews plans every year, and will focus on specific aspects of the EDI agenda. Equality impact assessments are also carried out where appropriate to ensure an equitable approach to the activity.
Identifying public and community groups
Our approach to P&CE is driven by key areas of strength for the University. These include:
Governance
Our P&CE activity is devolved to faculty level, informed by the University strategic plan, supporting plans and faculty plans. All of these have P&CE activity at their heart. Progress toward our aims is reviewed every year through the annual planning round, led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Commercial.
Aspect 2: Support
P&CE is embedded in every faculty and supported by central teams. These include:
Enterprise and Innovation (E&I)
E&I supports the growth of RKE, and P&CE is a key focus of the team, specifically:
5 x FTE Strategic Projects and Funding Managers who work with academics to develop projects, leading on engagement of external stakeholders;
2 x FTE focused on RKE environment ensuring it supports P&CE as a central element of research impact;
2 x FTE focused on pre- and post-award funding support, including liaison with external stakeholders; and
1 x FTE knowledge transfer partnerships (KTP) officer, focused on engagement with local businesses.
The team develops collaborative delivery ‘vehicles’ to meet societal challenges, such as our ESF-funded Northeast Workforce Skills project providing funded skills provision for businesses. The team led on establishing a ‘micro-campus’ at Northallerton, which addresses the under provision of HE in the area. To date, Campus @ Northallerton has run events, drop-in sessions, business clinics and worked on collaborative projects to support armed forces personnel.
Centre for Graduate Prospects (CfGP)
The CfGP leads on implementation of the Student Success Plan, embedding real-world experience into our curriculum and ensuring that our students are ready to take up graduate-level jobs. They Centre coordinate a range of activities on an annual basis that engage local stakeholders with the University, such as graduate job fairs.
Widening access and participation
This 12 x FTE team engage with local schools and VCS organisations to raise aspirations among under-represented groups in HE. Work with care experienced students has been recognised as exemplar, with an award of the NNECL Quality Mark where it was rated ‘exceptional’ in all seven areas. The University work in widening participation was recognised in The Times/Sunday Times award of University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2021.
Wider support
The Institute for Economic and Social Inclusion focuses on work which positively impacts society. Engagement with external stakeholders such as the Voluntary Sector Alliance has shaped its focus, and approaches to P&CE will be a key area of study and practice.
Cultural sector
Through Sunderland Culture, the University directly supports the National Glass Centre and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. In 2019/20, a dedicated academic post undertook a multidisciplinary project, CoLab, looking at how the arts can work with other disciplines to increase community impact.
Our focus on impact through the REF means a consistent focus on P&CE. Interdisciplinary research networks such as RaCE and SunGen, engage with the public as fundamental part of their work.
Engagement
Our engagement and communication group provide oversight and a consistent approach to P&CE with a dedicated Research Culture Fellow focused on engagement to support this work.
Promotion, reward and recognition
The University has created promotion pathways that reward excellence in P&CE, in particular though creation of an associate professor route via enterprise and innovation. Selection processes include reference to projects enhanced by external partners.
Aspect 3: Activity
Business
The University plays a key role in Sunderland Business Partnership (SBP) through the Academic Dean of the faculty of Business, Law and Tourism. The SBP played an integral role in setting up the Sunderland Business Improvement District, developing the Sunderland Enterprise Growth Hub, and supporting the development of Sunderland’s coastal areas.
Through our Northeast Workforce Skills (NEWS) Project we undertake wide ranging engagement with local businesses. This includes a podcast series discussing the offer: NEWS Podcasts
Through our membership of the Institute of Coding (IoC), we delivered short course digital programmes to approximately 1,290 people with attendees drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, 57% of which were females.
Health and social care sector
The Faculty of Health, Sciences and Wellbeing work with 170 Patient Carer and Public Involvement participants with a wide range of work and life experience to shape content and delivery of our professions-facing health programmes.
Engagement with the local authority, NHS trusts, Integrated Care Boards and North East and North Cumbria Academic Health Sciences Network has led to a proposal to develop a Health Innovation District - a place-based initiative to deliver positive economic and health impact. We have also undertaken patient engagement in health research projects, e.g. in the development of oral health solutions.
Cultural and creative sector
The University was the first UK university to be funded by Arts Council England (ACE) to lead a successful Creative People and Places project (Cultural Spring), engaging more than 40,000 people in creative disciplines.
Subsequently, Sunderland Culture was established between the University, Sunderland City Council and the Music, Arts and Culture Trust (MAC). Sunderland Culture’s work has been heralded by the Cultural Cities Enquiry and Local Government Association.
Our Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries (FACI) play a key role in delivery of the Seascapes programme with 23 projects engaging local coastline communities.
Education and social sciences
A range of research has been carried out with P&CE at its heart, including:
#pullupachair where 213 children, excluded from school were engaged to talk about their experience. This research has led to findings and materials being presented to the DFE, the Children’s Commission for England and Ofsted and further sessions with head teachers Sunderland and London.
A project looking at campus safety – where students were canvassed for their perceptions of safety on campus. This led to high quality research paper and practical changes to campus safety protocols including a ‘walking taxi’ scheme.
Engineering and manufacturing
Northeast Maintenance Forum (NEMF) – The forum is attended by hundreds of organisations and practitioners with the most recent event having 75 sign-ups.
Primary Engineer – The University sponsors and lead the “If you were an engineer what would you do” competition for the north-east of England. This competition engages all school ages to raise awareness of careers in Engineering.
Voluntary sector and community engagement
The Sunderland Law Clinic offers professional legal advice to local residents – handling approximately 130 cases per annum at a notional value of around £100,000 to the local community.
The University is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant and deliver a project working with Veterans in Crisis Sunderland in partnership with Sunderland CCG utilising arts and glass making to support positive mental health.
Community researchers have been used in 'cultural mapping' of Southwick, Sunderland, with outcomes including the Being Human exhibition.
The University has a number of inter-disciplinary research networks with strong emphasis in P&CE. These include:
Adverse Childhood Experience
Race, Class and Ethnicity
Vulnerability and Criminal Justice
Gender and Sexuality
Health and Care Workforce
Oversight
This strategic activity is overseen by the University Executive and Senior Leadership Board, with many senior staff themselves engaging at board-level with community organisations across the city and region, providing resources and expertise to support wider engagement. Examples include our Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive’s contribution to the North East LEP and the Academic Sciences Network and the Academic Dean of Business, Law, and Tourism’s work on Sunderland’s pandemic response, as well as his Board membership of the Sunderland Business Partnership.
Aspect 4: Enhancing practice
Resources
The University has established a research and knowledge exchange-focussed team, with:
2 x FTE working on RKE Culture and Environment, which includes P&CE processes;
A RKE impact officer ensuring evaluation is embedded in all activity;
A KTP officer ensuring projects meet customer needs, capturing impact through end of project evaluation reports and testimonials; and
2 x FTE who are tasked with liaison with faculty staff to capture HEBCIS data and ensure all activity is captured. This informs our understanding of the breadth and depth of P&CE across the institution.
This activity is reviewed by the Knowledge Exchange Steering Group to identify where institutional strengths and weaknesses are and to inform future priorities.
Concordat
Our internal audit against the eight guiding principles highlighted a number of actions that have been taken, including under principle 3 - Engagement:
a conference to highlight our Institutional approach to RKE. This showcased academics’ research with a strong emphasis on P&CE;
a baseline survey to establish academic confidence to engage with external parties, which has led to plans for networking training for academics;
a planned external baseline surveys with external stakeholders;
a campaign to raise awareness of the University approach to RKE, targeted at public and community external stakeholders; and
SMART objectives including metrics to measure brand strength with external stakeholders.
Evaluation
For Sunderland Culture, annual reviews are published, showing 26,000 visitors to programmes in 2018/19. The Cultural Spring evaluation completed in April 2020 identified 18,906 participants in activities and developed a 'theory of change' to provide a benchmark for evaluating future programmes.
Other evaluations include “Time for Tea” which identified outcomes around ‘creating a sense of community’, ‘using arts to project military heritage’ and ‘feeling inspired to try something new’.
A wider range of public and community engagement activities are captured through articles on the University website. Many of these activities are individual staff and students supporting community ventures, underpinning the University’s ‘society shaping’ mission.
On our funded projects, we build in evaluation as a means of measuring impact and informing future funded propositions.
All of this work has helped to reinforce our mission as a life-changing institution. This is then embedded in faculty and support team annual plans. Furthermore, evaluation of funded provision has shaped our approach to potential projects that could meet objectives of ‘levelling up’ via UKSPF-funded projects.
Aspect 5: Building on success
Realising our strategic goals and ambitions
The University has made significant progress against its strategic goals and ambitions for P&CE. Our approach to embedding P&CE into the development of our curriculum and more widely across the institution has borne significant fruit. Specifically:
we have developed our City campus with a powerful focus on health-related disciplines, helping integration and the cross-discipline cooperation needed by our health partners;
the RKE plan has been established to develop Inter-disciplinary RKE institutes which will pool expertise and knowledge across the University and create effective mechanisms for P&CE to inform projects that address complex societal challenges;
the Centre for Graduate Prospects has significant institutional resources invested ensuring learners get ‘real world’ community-based experience. This recognises the impact our student resource can have on our local businesses and wider community. For example, through our Creative Agency our students undertake projects at minimal costs, including creating digital marketing content, campaign and collateral; and
we have a sector-leading widening access and participation team at the forefront of ensuring that the University is accessible to all.
Evaluating effectiveness
The University has a range of methods to assess effectiveness of activity. Specifically:
assessing outputs through our HEBCIS data;
assessing the demographic profile of our learners, attrition rates and achievement;
feedback loops at a faculty level such as through the patient participants within the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing;
feedback from key stakeholders such as the local NHS trusts via programme review processes; and
project-level performance reviews such as summative assessments.
As an example, for the Cultural Spring programme, the report and a summary infographic has been shared on the website. Recommendations from the evaluation report were built into the objectives for the next phase of the project and its business plan. In addition, the project continues to work with the evaluators using the ‘theory of change' framework they developed.
Community engagement also features prominently in our research and practice and, as such, is reviewed through our research assessment exercises and through the processes of peer review inherent in this work.
The University’s work on participative practice focuses on best practice in community engagement and involvement. Such work has informed approaches to community engagement, leading directly to changes in approach.
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)