Institutional Context
Summary
The University of Leeds was founded in 1904, whilst our origins go back to the Leeds School of Medicine (est. 1831) and the Yorkshire College of Science (est. 1874). Today, we are one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, globally renowned for the quality of our teaching and research. We are a member of the Russell Group and the Worldwide Universities Network.
Our institutional strategy, Universal Values, Global Change, sets an ambitious, transformative roadmap for the next 10 years, one that harnesses our expertise in research and education to help shape a better future for humanity. Our values of collaboration, compassion, inclusivity, and integrity underpin our strategy and enable us to build a fairer future for all.
Institutional context
Our ambitious 10-year strategy ‘Universal Values, Global Change’ launched in 2020, following the appointment of new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simone Buitendijk. Setting out a blueprint for a values-driven University, which harnesses its expertise in research and education to tackle inequalities, achieve societal impact and drive change. In 2020, our staff, postgraduate researchers and students helped to co-create the core values and behaviours that underpin our strategy and help us build a fairer future for all. The Directorate of Knowledge Exchange & Impact (established 2020/21) provides strategic oversight of knowledge exchange (KE) activities, ensuring effective use of HEIF as an enabler of our KE ambitions. Over the last three years, the University has overcome challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver against its strategic objectives for KE:
Creating an environment and culture that enhances our
capacity to deliver KE;
In 2021, the University appointed its inaugural Dean
for Research Culture and established the Research Culture Working
Group to support and reward KE activity at all career stages.
Acting as a catalyst for improving the prosperity of Leeds & the Leeds City Region; During the COVID-19 crisis, the University provided academic leadership to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and the Mayoral office, through the Place-based Economic Recovery Network (PERN), which has shaped scenario planning for the region’s economic recovery. This approach was so successful that through Research England Development funding, it was expanded across Yorkshire through Y-PERN.
Generating impact through increased breadth and depth of our key external partnerships; Participation in the Henry Royce Institute’s technology roadmaps has shown how UK materials science contribute to the UK’s low carbon energy transition. A virtual hackathon generated climate narratives for decision makers in East and West Africa as part of a series supported by the Met Office in the run up to COP26.
Maximising our opportunities to create and grow early-stage
businesses:
Since 2019, the University’s Innovation Hub, Nexus, has created over 198 jobs
and delivered more than 250 student engagement activities, including
placements and internships. The Nexus community has grown to over 135
member businesses who have raised £65.2m in private investment and
£24.1m in public collaborative R&D funding.
Since 2019, University-created spinouts have employed 1,200 people; generated turnover of £969m; and attracted external investment of £142m. The University has 36 spinout companies, 12 of them established over the past three years.
The Northern Gritstone Investment company launched in 2021 to support early-stage investment into spinout companies securing its first close of funds of £215m.
Our student enterprise programme Spark
has helped students and recent graduates to establish 161 businesses
across a range of sectors, including technology/digital, retail, service
and social enterprise.
Creating a positive culture for public engagement and support
for engaged research:
Our Public Engagement Team have worked with 3,080 academic and KE staff
and held 72 PE-focussed training sessions to embed an engaged culture
across the institution. The University has engaged with more than one
million members of the public at events like the annual Be Curious festival
(below).
For further information, please send queries to Knowledge-Exchange@leeds.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
The University of Leeds plays a pivotal role in the local economy with our approach to supporting the region guided by our 2020-30 Strategy and supporting strategies. We aim to act as a catalyst for wellbeing and prosperity in Leeds, West Yorkshire and the wider region. Embedded within our approach is proactive engagement and collaboration with our civic partners designed to:
strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem by facilitating business creation and growth; supporting skills development; and encouraging entrepreneurship;
harness and translate our knowledge and research capability to develop & co-design solutions to local, national and global challenges that will deliver equitable, socio-economic, cultural and environmental benefits in the different geographies within which we are active.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Leeds, West Yorkshire and the wider region performs below the UK average in productivity, skills, and investment in R&D and innovation; and face major environmental challenges. Structural and historic inequalities have been exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19 and the growing cost of living crisis. Within this context, the importance of research and analytical expertise to inform targeted, long-term investment in the region cannot be underestimated. The University is committed to making tangible improvements in productivity, education and skills, employment and population health, with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation sitting on the Leeds Inclusive Anchors Partnership Board.
Despite its challenges, the region has significant sectoral strengths in finance, manufacturing, and health; and capabilities in low carbon transport, space, Agri-Tech, creative industries, and the circular economy, which align to the University’s existing research strengths.
Supporting local growth and maximising our role as an anchor institution are embedded within our institutional strategies and the following knowledge exchange priorities:
Acting as a catalyst for improving prosperity in the region. Working collaboratively with civic partners to influence policy and maximise opportunities to derive positive benefits for the region arising from our R&I strengths.
Generating impact through increased breadth and depth of our key external partnerships by growing opportunities for new collaborations with civic and business partners to generate mutually beneficial research and KE outcomes.
Maximising opportunities to create and grow early-stage businesses through supporting initiatives that maximise the impact of the Nexus community and boost the creation of innovation-driven start-ups.
The University sits within the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (WYCA) area, which secured a devolution deal in 2020. In defining ‘local’, the University works predominately within the Leeds, West Yorkshire and Yorkshire & Humber geography (the region), collaborating extensively with many civic bodies, including WYCA, Leeds City Council, other district authorities in the wider region, the voluntary sector, Yorkshire Universities and regionally based organisations such as the UK Infrastructure Bank.
Complementing and informing our local and regional work, the University also has a significant national and international footprint where we engage with partners to advance knowledge and design solutions to global challenges. For example, we work:
effectively with national institutes including Henry Royce, Rosalind Franklin and Alan Turing Institutes, Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Livestock, and the Met Office to enhance the University’s contribution to UK growth and competitiveness.
in partnership with countries around the globe, making significant positive impacts through our global capacity-strengthening activities. Our research on Tropical Weather Forecasting was acknowledged through a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its work building the scientific capacity of local agencies to give communities the warnings they need for impending hazards, and the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy programme was recognised with an award by the Royal Astronomical Society for Higher Education in 2022.
Our long-established partnerships with civic, business and community stakeholders are key to understanding the needs and priorities of the region and informing how the University can help to address them. We engage at the highest level with civic bodies, including:
Representation on key advisory committees responsible for shaping and informing regional strategies and funding priorities. Our Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research & Innovation sits on WYCA’s Business, Economy and Innovation Committee, whilst we also have representation on the WYCA Culture, Heritage and Sport Committee and UK Shared Prosperity Fund Local Partnership Advisory Group.
Collaboration with regional partners to map innovation capability, business strengths and growth needs in regional clusters, including rail, textiles, space, materials and Agri-Energy systems.
During the COVID-19 crisis, we worked collaboratively with Yorkshire Universities and WYCA providing academic expertise via the Place-Based Economic Recovery Network (PERN) to inform the development of the West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Plan and Business Productivity & Resilience Plan.
In 2020, the University and City Council undertook a joint Review of Civic Research Collaboration in Leeds, to identify shared priorities and improve research collaborations between the two organisations.
Aspect 2: Activity
Figure 1 summarises the strategic focus of our local growth activities, designed to respond to the priorities of local stakeholders and deliver positive benefits to the region. The diagram and following narrative demonstrate how the University’s KE priorities have been translated into positive action to meet the needs of the region.
CATALYST FOR IMPROVING PROSPERITY: Need addressed: below average investment in R&D and innovation, low levels of enterprise, poor productivity.
Enhancing the regional innovation ecosystem: In partnership with Nexus, WYCA, Leeds City Council, Leeds Academic Health Partnership, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, local SMEs and large corporates, the University led the MIT Regional Entrepreneurial Acceleration Programme (REAP), which aims to further develop the region’s innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem. As part of REAP, BUILD and LEAP have been developed to drive entrepreneurship, working with a diverse cohort of entrepreneurs. This has led to the University leading a £1.3m programme called Innovative Entrepreneurs funded by WYCA to support entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented groups. The University has grown its portfolio of collaborative R&D projects across a range of sectors and industries, including more than 100 Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Nexus is a strategic partner in Propel@YH, a six-month digital health accelerator programme targeted at SMEs with digital health innovations in the region, the Leeds Innovation Arc, a place for new businesses and talent to collaborate on R&D and the West Yorkshire Innovation Network, which aims to position the region as a hub for innovation. We have also participated in the delivery of business-facing events such as the West Yorkshire Innovation Festival and Leeds Digital Festival.
Delivery of skills, apprenticeships, and enterprise support programmes. SPARK, supports the creation of student and graduate start-ups and our Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship supports early career researchers to build their knowledge, skills, confidence and commercial awareness in order to deliver impactful research. The University is supporting the growth ambitions of local employers. For example, we work in partnership with a wide spectrum of employers, from small start-ups, through to local authorities, NHS Trusts, charities and large private sector organisations, to deliver internships, higher and degree apprenticeship at levels 5-7, work placements and widening participation opportunities via our Lifelong Learning Centre. We are a lead institution in the Go Higher West Yorkshire network delivering initiatives such as the West Yorkshire Graduate Skills Programme.
Supporting cluster growth: The University supported WYCA in developing the region’s Healthtech Strategy and we are investing in major R&I infrastructure aligned to regional sector and cluster priorities. For example:
The University has a rich portfolio of healthtech research, including the Centre for HealthTech Innovation, who in partnership with the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust, forms a strategic part of the integrated regional healthtech ecosystem of academic, clinical, and commercialisation infrastructure that supports product development, and uptake into the NHS.
We lead Space Hub Yorkshire (SHY), a coordinating and convening body for the space sector, enabling the region’s industry base to make connections, learn from best practice and build supply chains. SHY is working with regional partners to develop a Radio Frequency cluster and a Yorkshire-wide Foreign Direct Investment space proposition.
Approved in 2021, our Climate Plan is investing £170 million over the next decade. A key priority of the Plan is working towards making Leeds a net zero city, delivering a range of initiatives including our Living Lab Programme.
The University is a partner in the Advanced Machinery & Productivity Institute industrial-academic consortium that supports growth in the advanced machinery sector along the M62 Innovation Corridor.
We have led on the establishment of national capability based upon our regional business strengths, including the £21.1 million Leeds Institute of Textiles & Colour, which brings together world-leading research capabilities in design, science and engineering and our £97 million Sir Henry William Bragg Building aligned to our partnership with the Henry Royce Institute.
MAXIMISE OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE & GROW EARLY-STAGE BUSINESSES. Need addressed: low levels of entrepreneurialism and enterprise, below average investment in R&D, poor productivity.
Maximise the impact of the NEXUS community of innovative start-ups, SMEs and academics. NEXUS, a £40 million innovation hub, co-locates a vibrant community of innovators to create business partnerships delivering local, regional and national impact by driving innovation in existing companies and stimulating the start-up of new high-growth companies. NEXUS connects businesses to research expertise, facilities and talent of the University to facilitate longer-term partnerships.
Commercialisation of research and spinouts. We actively drive the creation of new spinout companies. In partnership with the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield, we have established Northern Gritstone Investment Company to support University spin-outs across multiple industry sectors by delivering a step change in the availability of investment capital. The University is also home to the Leeds hub of the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment, a national centre established to accelerate the adoption and use of climate and environmental data and analytics by financial institutions internationally. The Leeds hub supports companies and start-ups to commercialise products, helping create jobs and developing new green finance talent.
IMPACT THROUGH INCREASED BREADTH & DEPTH OF OUR KEY EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS. Need addressed. Addressing gaps in analytical capacity and capability/designing & informing policy solutions.
Working with our public policy partners, NHS, third sector, local community and other universities, we use our academic capability to better understand needs, inform policy development and design solutions to local and regional challenges. Examples include:
Building on the successful PERN initiative in West Yorkshire, the University secured £3.9m of Research England Development funding to deliver Y-PERN, the Yorkshire & Humber Policy Engagement & Research Network, a region-wide consortium of 12 HEIs, 22 local authorities and the two Mayoral Combined Authorities in South and West Yorkshire, which aims to enhance the contribution of academic research to policymaking to address economic opportunities and challenges in the region.
Locally, we partner in Leeds ACTS, an academic collaboration with the Third Sector to better understand societal challenges within local communities and the Leeds Inclusive Anchors Network, where we seek to maximise the local benefits of our spending, services and recruitment. We chair the University of Leeds & Leeds City Council Research-Policy Collaboration Steering Group, established to implement the recommendations of the joint Review of Civic Research Collaboration in Leeds. Through the Leeds Academic Health Partnership (LAHP) we bring together academic capabilities with the health and care system across the city to speed up the adoption of research and innovation, improve health and social care and prepare the future workforce. We chair the Leeds Climate Commission and co-direct the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission, bringing public, private and third sector partners together to help tackle the climate challenges facing the city and region.
We also partner in the Born in Bradford initiative, an internationally recognised research programme tracking the lives of Bradford residents to find out what influences the health and wellbeing of families.
Positive Impact Partners, our flagship programme designed to increase collaboration with the third sector, build capacity, and positively contribute to our local communities. Policy Leeds and the Horizons Institute are strengthening the influence and impact of our research on policy design, delivery and impact and play a critical role in supporting our policy engagement activity through Y-PERN and our research collaboration with Leeds City Council.
Our Centre for Cultural Value works alongside cultural organisations, academics, funders and policymakers, such as Leeds City Council, Leeds 2023 and WYCA to shape policy, such as the West Yorkshire Culture, Heritage & Sport Framework, and support the cultural sector to develop skills in research and evaluation. In collaboration with partners including Opera North, the Cultural Institute at Leeds delivers activities to increase pioneering research collaborations with creative sector partners and widen cultural engagement and participation.
Aspect 3: Results
Major initiatives such as Nexus and Northern Gritstone have been designed to deliver significant, long-term, sustainable benefits to the regional innovation ecosystem and economy, whilst collaborative initiatives such as Y-PERN aim to create a stronger and lasting societal impact from our research further strengthening the universities’ regional role and civic mission.
CATALYST FOR IMPROVING THE PROSPERITY IN THE REGION
Since 2019, the Nexus community has grown to over 135 member businesses (90% building occupancy), created almost 200 jobs, raised £65.2m in private investment and £24.1m of public collaborative R&D funding and delivered over 250 student engagement activities. Nexus also has a healthy pipeline (including international businesses) with the ambition to rapidly scale-up over the next few years.
Our connections with industry partners have also led to high-impact research and innovation collaborations. For example:
We have secured £42.5m in collaborative R&D funding and were awarded £6.3m for 26 new KTP projects. An additional £70k was secured for the pilot Accelerated Knowledge Transfer to Innovate scheme both involving SME partners, whilst a further £35k was awarded for KTP Capacity Building which includes a Yorkshire regional KTP business promotional event in collaboration with 6 other regional universities.
SHY secured UK Space Agency funding for a Space Development Manager, tasked with developing the Virtual Space Campus initiative that will play a key role in coordinating regional space activities across industry, research and teaching, maximising the contribution education can make to the UK space industry.
Over 30 researchers have participated in the Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship, resulting in successful grant & funding applications to progress their entrepreneurial initiatives. We have also delivered over 430 work placements and 30 subsidised internships in West Yorkshire organisations, whilst our Volunteering Team worked with over 134 third sector organisations and 387 schools in the Leeds and West Yorkshire area during 2021/22.
MAXIMISE OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE & GROW EARLY-STAGE BUSINESSES.
Our spinouts have predominately remained in the Leeds and West Yorkshire. Since 2019, University created spinouts have employed over 1,200 people; had a turnover of £968.7m; and external investment of £142m. Over this period, the University also supported the creation of 12 new spinouts, the Northern Gritstone Investment Company secured its first close of funds, £215m, in 2021/22 and Spark has supported 160 new business start-ups, generating c. £3m in revenue, and creating over 70 jobs.
INCREASED IMPACT THROUGH KEY EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS
Our research is shaping policy at all levels.
Since 2019, QR-SPF Policy funds have been deployed to enable projects in collaboration with local policymakers, including collaborative research projects with Leeds City Council that are delivering valuable benefits for the city and beyond.
The University, including via collaborative initiatives such as PERN, has influenced and shaped key strategic documents in West Yorkshire, including WYCA’s Strategic Economic Framework, Innovation Framework, & UK Shared Prosperity Investment Framework.
Academics at Leeds are advising the UK Infrastructure Bank on emerging technologies and ideas to support the transition to net zero and climate resilience around the regions of the UK, and local authorities on Local Climate Bonds, a new type of municipal finance investment to support net zero projects.
Leeds Climate Commission published a new Net-Zero Carbon Roadmap for Leeds in 2021 with refreshed data and a new infographic showing the pathway to net-zero by 2030.
The success of PERN in West Yorkshire was integral to securing a Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement Regional Development Fellow and Y-PERN which will further embed knowledge brokerage capacity to address key place-based policy challenges across the region.
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
Leeds is a signatory to the Manifesto for Public Engagement (PE), demonstrating a commitment to using our expertise in research, knowledge exchange and education to help shape a better future for all.
Led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, public engagement is championed at the highest levels of the University and permeates our institutional strategies. Dedicated teams support staff to engage with a wide range of communities for the purpose of impactful research, education and the public good.
We embrace PE as our social responsibility; we aim to increase public trust in research; we are accountable to the public as the funders of our research, and we aspire to increase the relevance of research in people’s lives.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Public engagement permeates our new 10-year University strategy, ‘Universal Values, Global Change which is rooted in a desire to make a difference in the world and is built on three pillars; Community, Culture and Impact.
This public engagement goal must be achieved in line with our University values of collaboration, compassion, inclusivity and integrity. To achieve this aim, we commit to increasing the local impact of our research and education, ensuring our students and staff feel they are, and are seen to be, active and positive citizens.
Our priorities in this regard are to:
Engage business, cultural partners, government, local community and the third sector to coordinate and build our community impact.
Co-create projects with local stakeholders to reduce inequalities and allow mutual learning and knowledge sharing.
Work in partnership with the city and region to realise our ambitions in net-zero emissions and sustainable travel.
Ensure that student dissertation, placement and volunteer opportunities are recognised by all partners and are actively encouraged.
Extend the Leeds Living Lab programme further within the city and region, providing a research testbed for a wide range of organisations and communities.
Use our outdoor spaces to deliver a programme of events that engage the wider community.
Governance for Public Engagement is led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Innovation (DVC: R&I), who represents PE at the University Executive Group and at the Research and Innovation Board, a committee of Senate which sets and oversees delivery of the University’s vision for research and innovation. Public engagement is supported by a 3 FTE Public Engagement Team located in the Research & Innovation Service, focussing on public engagement with research and a 5 FTE Sustainability Team, which supports a programme of community outreach and student volunteering activity.
Coproduction and participatory research are a cornerstone of the University of Leeds approach. The Co-production Network at the University is a community of researchers from across disciplines with a shared interest in participatory, engaged methodologies and citizen science that puts those with direct experience at the heart of the research process, and seeks to empower often marginalised communities. A Research England award supporting participatory approaches has been used to produce a Co-Production Research Toolkit. It includes 16 case studies demonstrating a range of innovative methodologies which have led to improved research designs, enhanced credibility of knowledge generated, and increased community ownership of initiatives.
An Engaged for Impact Strategy, launched in 2021, is designed to embed a culture of engagement across the institution, with a focus on achieving research impact through engaging individuals, communities and organisations with our research.
Aspect 2: Support
PE with research is supported by the PE team, part of the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Directorate in the Research and Innovation Service. The team co-ordinates activity across the institution, collaborating with central and faculty-based colleagues who have PE-related activity in their remit. A network of Engagement Champions are active in enhancing the spread and adoption of engagement practices in their school/institute/service and act as local contacts.
The team’s activities include people development, support, communication and visibility (Figure 1) and acts as a facilitating and supporting function, which includes signposting, advice on what works and coordination of institutional PE bids. The team also offers research proposal surgeries and supports researchers to develop engaged research practice.
An online community (MS Teams) for ‘Engaged Research’ was launched during the pandemic, building on existing networks, including Engagement Champions and those involved with public and patient involvement, open research, third sector and schools engagement. This online community now numbers more than 1,100 staff from across all schools, faculties and professional service teams, facilitating networking opportunities, training workshops, opportunity sharing and themed discussion fora. As part of EDI and research culture considerations, the online community is open to all staff members, including PGRs and technicians, to foster cohesion, collaboration and community.
Figure 1
A Research Development Fund runs competitive calls for researchers seeking to engage with the stakeholders prior to submitting a research proposal. Over the reporting period, 56 applications were received and 42 were awarded funding.
The Engagement Excellence Scheme (EES) is a year-long mentoring and coaching scheme, which aims to build researchers’ skills, knowledge and confidence to undertake public and/or patient involvement activities. During this reporting period 12 more Engagement Fellows have graduated from the scheme creating a network of skilled champions across the institution.
Public Engagement with Research Awards were held in 2021 to embed an institutional culture that promotes and values PE activity. These were followed by Engaged for Impact Awards in 2022, celebrating excellence in engagement leading to impact. An external panel of judges assessed applications, and the Chancellor and DVC: R&I presented awards to the winners.
A suite of training and support for engagement activities leading to impact is offered to all research-active staff and includes a Building Impact Momentum course, bespoke Impact Coaching and Introduction to Engagement with Research.
A ‘PE and outreach’ criterion was introduced to all three staff promotion pathways: research and innovation, student education and academic leadership in 2016 and has since been used in 35% of promotion applications across all grades and pathways.
In September 2019, the PE team transferred from the Communications team to the Research and Innovation Service and the University committed to their long-term funding, further increasing team capacity by 50% in 2021.
Aspect 3: Activity
Activities that illustrate delivery on our strategic priorities for public engagement include:
Priority 1: Engage business, cultural partners, government, local community and the third sector to coordinate and build our community impact.
Positive Impact Partners (PIP) is our flagship programme designed to increase collaboration between the third sector, civic partners, local schools, and businesses with our staff and students, to network, share knowledge and experiences and form new partnerships. Through PIP, we connect external partners to the right staff or students to access various areas of expertise and create new research and partnership projects. In 2020, we worked with International Mixed Ability Sport (IMAS), an organisation that breaks down barriers to participating in mainstream sports by creating sporting environments that are safe, welcoming and non-judgmental. Through PIP, they were partnered with Ben Williams from the Research and Innovation Service who gave advice to help expand their activities at a European level and to new areas of sport. This helped IMAS deliver their first European-based Mixed Ability Rugby World Tournament, held in Vitoria-Gasteiz and attended by hundreds of players from all over the world.
Priority 2: Co-create projects with local stakeholders to reduce inequalities and allow mutual learning and knowledge sharing.
In the Holme Wood estate in Bradford, an area suffering from high levels of deprivation, researchers from the Centre for Applied Education Research brought together unheard voices from the community and local policy makers to co-create place-based solutions specific to the needs of the community. Data scientists worked with connected datasets to identify patterns and relationships relevant to community-identified issues around exclusion, healthy life choices, mental health, pride in place and adverse childhood experiences. Residents and decision makers used these data to develop changes in local services, policies and interventions. The success of this approach, pairing community engagement with data analysis, led to a £1million investment from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to expand this work.
Priority 3: Work in partnership with the city and region to realise our ambitions in net-zero emissions and sustainable travel.
Researchers from the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics and the Consumer Data Research Centre worked with Leeds City Council to design climate-friendly school menus by co-creating a Carbon Footprint Calculator to assess food’s environmental impact. Using data from the tool, in combination with information about school meals popularity, the team created fun, educational materials for school-aged children, encouraging them to think about the planet’s future through their food choices. LCC and Catering Leeds are using the tool to deliver knowledge and insights to the city’s food system, as part of the council’s net zero journey, feeding into its climate strategy. LCC is now looking towards further applications of the tool across other council-run food venues.
Priority 4: Ensure that student dissertation, placement and volunteer opportunities are recognised by all partners and are actively encouraged.
More than 3,500 Leeds students volunteer every year, with opportunities including Students into Schools, Intercultural Volunteering, Sustainability Volunteering, Community Litter Picks and Sports Volunteering. Opportunities are collated and advertised via the Leeds Volunteering Hub.
Priority 5: Extend the Leeds Living Lab programme further within the city and region, to provide a research test-bed for a wide range of organisations and communities.
To achieve the University’s Climate Plan principles of delivering net zero by 2030 and supporting a net zero city, Leeds has embraced new, collaborative approaches to accelerating carbon reductions. The Living Lab for Net Zero draws on expertise and partnerships across the University to test real world decarbonisation solutions. It includes projects relating to agricultural emissions, geothermal heat and woodland creation.
Priority 6: Use our outdoor spaces to deliver a programme of events that engage the wider community.
Be Curious is the University of Leeds flagship public engagement event. Following two years of online activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it returned as a one-day, free, in-person programme on Saturday 7th May 2022 and attracted 1,200 visitors and 160 participating staff.
Half of all visitors had no connection to the University of Leeds, 96% were part of a family group, 82% were visiting Be Curious for the first time and 82% had a Leeds postcode. Visitors of all ages rated their experiences of Be Curious very highly: 93% age 16 and older rated it ‘5’ or ‘6’ on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 6 (very good) and 83% aged under 16 enjoyed Be Curious ‘a lot’.
During the pandemic in 2021, Be Curious LATES was launched based on positive feedback from pilot events, who shared that they would like to see more research talks for adult audiences. Be Curious LATES are exclusively online evening events streamed on YouTube, which allow for audience engagement. A live transcript supports accessibility.
Aspect 4: Enhancing practice
Developing an institutional approach to monitoring and evaluation of engagement
To ensure successful delivery of our 10-year strategy, the University Council approved a set of nine outcome-based Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in 2021. A Technical Working Group, with membership from across the academic and professional services community, was convened to evaluate and refine underpinning component measures for these KPIs. University Executive Group sponsors are accountable for each KPI and relevant Business Leads are responsible for its underpinning component measures. Knowledge exchange and civic engagement, as well as cultural impact, are component measures of three institutional KPIs: making a positive difference in the world, sustaining a strong academic reputation, and delivering impactful research and innovation. Assessment of PE forms part of the approach for identifying whether these KPIs have been met.
Providing tools for staff to reflect on their engagement
The General Impact Framework (based on ESRC and NCCPE) supports a Theory of Change approach and is used in proposal surgeries and coaching work; e.g., in the Building Impact Momentum Programme. The framework helps to find a common narrative across different disciplines for the articulation of outcomes.
Highlighting best practice by celebrating successful engagement
By celebrating collaborative ways of working, promoting innovation and high-quality engagement approaches, and sharing challenges and successes, we foster learning and inspire other researchers and professional staff.
Centrally run PE-platforms like Be Curious and the LATES, are accompanied by a mix of in-house and external evaluations. Feedback from attendees is used to shape future iterations.
Aspect 5: Building on success
Increasing the role of PE in achieving wider strategic goals
Our decision in 2020 to embed engagement into all parts of University life has raised the profile of P&CE internally, through the creation of a positive culture that supports and rewards engagement, and externally, in the level of engagement activity undertaken and our ability to communicate about these activities.
Inclusion of P&CE within component measures of multiple University KPIs has emphasised its role in achieving our overall strategic goals, particularly the positive difference the University makes in society, and provided the impetus for capturing this information at a University level. A KPI Implementation Working Group, chaired by the Director of Strategy and Planning, has been established to ensure the coordinated and timely development and implementation of the KPIs. This includes development of baselines, benchmarks and targets. Progress against these KPIs is used by the Strategy and Investment Committee to identify the need for additional support, as was the case in our introduction of a PE Digital Creative Officer in 2021.
Schools and individuals are encouraged to make use of the
‘Professional Activities’ module in Symplectic, our current Research
Information System, to report on their public engagement activities.
This information is then collated and utilised for the public engagement
element of the HE-BCI return. The data on professional activities is
also available to school and institutional management.
The University Impact Group worked to enable the identification of
cross-school and cross-faculty opportunities. This information sharing
enabled effective communication of knowledge exchange and impact
stories, both internally and externally via the Communications and Engagement
team, which brings together media relations, public affairs, digital
communications, design and internal communications expertise.
Covid-19 undoubtedly affected our ability to undertake traditional PE. In our 2019/20 HE-BCI return we reported 1,235 public lectures, 5,347 performance arts events and 1,119 other events. In 2020/21 we radically adapted our approach to PE, as reflected in our running 4,814 other events and only 100 public lectures. Performance arts events were not possible. This included activities such as Be Curious Lates, outlined under Aspect 3 above.
Better monitoring and evaluation to justify enhanced support
Increased capacity for centralised PE services has allowed us to provide greater tailored support to staff, increasing the quality and quantity of engagement, and foster a supportive PE environment.
The creation of an online Engaged Research community transformed our ability to share best practice, increased uptake of training, and mobilised staff to practice engaged research.
The Public Engagement Team surveyed staff throughout 2021 to establish whether it had achieved its objectives. Results showed 83% have used or intended to use information and resources provided by Engaged Research; 70% indicated they had a new or enhanced understanding of engagement; and over half said they would approach the Engaged Research network if they had questions about engagement. Respondents highlighted the most important feature of the Team was to learn of the latest engagement opportunities, hear about specific engagement activity at Leeds and access training opportunities.
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