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Institutional Context
Summary
The University of Hertfordshire is an enterprising and agile institution, which is renowned as a business-facing university, and passionate about supporting the growth of our local and national economy. Recognised as a University Enterprise Zone, we align our research, innovation and teaching activities to meet the demands of business and society. Our extensive engagement with businesses reflects our institutional history and the entrepreneurial approach we apply to our commercial endeavours and interactions with industry.
Our research and development, knowledge exchange activity and targeted consultancy empower companies across sectors to achieve their goals and drive productivity. Fundamental to this is the originality and quality of our ideas, which through a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach tackle the key global challenges of our time.
Institutional context
Our vision is to transforms lives. We aim to create translational benefits for the economy and our communities through world-class expertise in business, innovation and skills provision (Herts Strategic Plan 2020-25).
Working in collaboration with other businesses and organisations, we utilise our creative and enterprising approach to research (Research Themes), which drives interdisciplinary/ multidisciplinary research in major global challenge areas and to address the four Grand Challenges identified by the Government; artificial intelligence and data, clean growth, an ageing society and the future of mobility. Our response to the Industrial Strategy demonstrates how we have turned the ideas and innovations of our research community into the products and services for industry. For example, we have developed research excellence in the following multidisciplinary areas:
Pharmaceutical and Health Care
Partnering with industry alongside regional and national organisations, such as Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) and Chambers of Commerce, has enabled us to connect our research and business development experts to solve challenges for businesses across a range of sectors. This approach stems from our roots as a Polytechnic and forms the basis of our enterprise and business development strategy that drives knowledge exchange endeavours (Herts Strategic Plan 2015 - 2020 & 2020-25)
In line with our primary mission statement our target ‘communities’ are focussed on businesses within our local, regional and international eco-system. However, the University of Hertfordshire plays a vital and unique role in the Hertfordshire economy; this was recognised in our 2019 award from Research England as a University Enterprise Zone. Through the Enterprise Zone we are strengthening the Hertfordshire business-support ecosystem, supporting business start-ups, business resilience and growth within our locality.
Examples of our approach in action include:
our response to major socio-economic and political shocks to the local economy – leveraging our resources and expertise to support key economic actors to respond to rapid change and business critical issues. E.g. Volunteer Business Support Scheme and Covid-19 response programmes in research and business support.
the creation of knowledge exchange initiatives directly driven by business issues – leveraging funding to connect our resources to live commercial developments through active PhD level applied research. E.g. Hertfordshire Science Partnership. This complements our existing Professional Doctorate Programmes across a range of our Schools.
the opening of our campus to new entrepreneurs, student, graduate and external start-up businesses and spin-outs – stimulating active ‘communities of practice’ to make knowledge, facilities and equipment accessible to boost enterprise and support business growth. E.g. All-Campus Business Incubator
the development of specialist subsidiary companies and strategic partnerships that extend our reach into key target industries and allow us to leverage specialist public and private sector funding to work with impact in those communities. E.g. Exemplas Ltd & Hertfordshire Growth Hub
the delivery of major campaigns to promote public interaction across key areas of interest – making research findings and academic expertise more relevant and accessible and engaging local people in their ongoing development and application. E.g. Festival of Ideas Reimagined
For further information, please send queries to be@herts.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
As a modern, entrepreneurial University, evolved from engineering Polytechnic roots, our whole ethos is based on working effectively with industry. Knowledge Exchange is fundamental to our operation. Results demonstrate our extensive record of putting our expertise, resources and facilities to work for the benefit of our local economy, delivering on the UK government’s industrial strategy and building on our strategic goal of ‘transforming lives’. As a major anchor institution, we actively engage with our Local Enterprise Partnership. Through collaborative research initiatives (Herts Science Partnership), University Enterprise Zone activities, opening our campus facilities as a business incubator and leverage of specialist funds through our subsidiary Exemplas, we annually engage with over 5,000 businesses to power their potential and drive local growth.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Following an extensive and inclusive process of consultation, in 2015 The University of Hertfordshire (Herts) published its strategic plan 2015-2020, which laid out our vision to be ‘Internationally renowned as the UK’s leading business-facing university’.
For us, the term business-facing embraces the attitude and ethos of Herts, which for:
our students - means enhancing their career aspirations, conferring high employability, entrepreneurial spirit and engaging them with practitioners to ensure they can add value to the economies they work in.
our staff - means exploiting our research discoveries, engaging with businesses and enhancing Herts’ business portfolio.
our business partners - means supporting their evolving strategies, supplying graduates with the attributes they need, offering quality consultancy and translating applicable research into efficient processes and marketable products.
This strategy is embedded into department operational planning alongside staff appraisals and has driven actions that are strongly rooted in effective knowledge exchange, exemplified by three, consecutively commended institutional HEIF strategies.
Our focus lies locally in Hertfordshire, our geographical home, and where our resources and presence can have the most direct impact on prosperity, well-being and advancement. As a lead partner in Hertfordshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership (Herts LEP), we actively supported development of the Local Growth Strategy, which articulates the needs and development potential of the local economy - (see also Towards a Local Industrial Strategy). Supporting local growth is a fundamental pillar of our commitment to meeting the challenges set out in the government’s Industrial Strategy and has led to our pivotal role in delivering the Hertfordshire Growth Hub (HGH) to support local SMEs to access grant funding, leading edge services and network connections that will drive their growth.
On a national and regional level we proactively partner with businesses and other institutions to enhance research and build communities of interest; these include BRE, Rothamsted Research, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) and the Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult (CGTC). In 2019, Herts partnered with SBC, CGTC and GSK in the successful Stevenage Advanced Therapies Campus application as one of the six new Life Sciences Opportunity Zones. Through our specialist subsidiary company, Exemplas, we deliver international trade support to SMEs in Yorkshire & Humber (Y&H) and East of England (EoE) and leverage Innovate UK funding to support SME innovation in the EoE.
Local growth and regeneration continue to be fundamental to our institutional objectives and following a recent review, our new strategic plan 2020-2025 has built on these to encompass a new vision and commitment to ‘powering potential’ and ‘transforming lives’. Furthermore, Herts is integral to Herts LEP’s Recovery Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aspect 2: Activity
The following examples illustrate some of the extensive range of diverse activities undertaken across our Schools and business units. Through these we have realised £25m of regeneration income over the last three reporting years, the highest in our KEF (E) Cluster.
Hertfordshire Science Partnership
In response to Priority 1 of the Hertfordshire Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), Herts partnered with RoCRE Rothamsted, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst and HertsLEP to deliver a powerful new programme to stimulate ground-breaking applied research partnerships with ambitious local agri-tech and life science sector businesses.
The £6.3m programme comprises three action strands: -
Hertfordshire Knowledge Exchange Partnerships Hertfordshire Knowledge Exchange Partnerships - enabling companies to establish new capabilities and expand capacity and markets through research support.
Research Hotel and Science Concierge Service Research Hotel & Science Concierge - providing SMEs with access to Herts’ world-class facilities and expertise through low cost rental of specialist research facilities and equipment or commissioning short-term R&D projects through our dedicated research and innovation fellows.
Therapy Accelerator Competition Therapy Accelerator Competition – a £700,000 competition for academic research centres or new start-ups wishing to undertake collaborative research with UH researchers for new therapeutic developments in the life sciences. The first three grants awarded were:
a new treatment for pancreatic cancer (Cambridge University)
preventing damage in multiple sclerosis (University College London)
safer therapies for asthma and lung disease (King’s College London)
All three of the above projects involve IP generated at Herts.
Developing, financing and delivering Hertfordshire Growth Hub (HGH)
HGH is the county’s free and impartial business support service. In its Industrial Strategy white paper, the government committed to continued growth hub funding to further support scale up of high growth potential businesses by bringing private and public sector partners together.
Working with HertsLEP, MHCLG and central government, we have been instrumental in identifying and negotiating funding packages to secure and expand HGH’s future. From April 2020 a £0.5m, two-year delivery programme, led by Exemplas in partnership with Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, has been extending HGH’s reach and co-ordinating business support providers to connect SMEs to targeted support.
Set up in 2014, HGH has provided expert advice to over 5,500 local SMEs, achieving a combined customer satisfaction excellence rating of 97%.
University Enterprise Zone
The University Enterprise Zone (UEZ) directly addresses ‘productivity of businesses’ within the region.
UEZ makes our researchers, resources and facilities accessible to enterprises, leveraging the value of our infrastructure for the benefit of our local economy.
The UEZ programme offers:
‘meet the expert’, a one-day free consultancy from our network of academics and external advisers
low cost rental access to our rapid prototyping, internet of things and food laboratories with technician support
market intelligence services to scope, research and evaluate early stage commercial and/or social enterprise concepts
IP and commercial law clinics with free advice for start-ups, SMEs and graduate entrepreneurs
low cost hire of high-specification camera equipment and drones with technicians, to produce high-impact digital media content
All Campus Business Incubator
Many start-ups, particularly digital and hi-tech, have moved away from classic, capital intensive offices toward using ‘co-working’ spaces. These developments closely mirrored the introduction of connected, open, cooperative meeting spaces within our campus. In line with the Hertfordshire’s SEP priority 4 ‘Foundations for Growth’, in 2018 we secured £668k ERDF match funding to open our campus facilities as an ‘open incubator’ to Hertfordshire entrepreneurs.
By offering businesses a unique ecosystem of resources, inspiration and collaboration opportunities, Herts has created a community of practice designed to connect innovative entrepreneurs, who can feed off each other’s ideas and expertise to drive their own ventures forward. Members can make use of a dynamic open working environment and have direct access to workshops, practical advice from Herts staff and networking opportunities. They sit alongside, and share best practice with, our students and graduates, fostering positive two-way knowledge exchange.
Regional SME support programmes
Through Exemplas we have leveraged £33.7m since 2016 (funded by DIT and ERDF) to support 19,000 SMEs across the EoE and Y&H with advice, grants and connections to build capacity to trade internationally and win new export business. Exemplas also manages a £3.5m Innovate 2 Succeed (I2S) programme Innovate 2 Succeed (I2S) programme (funded by Innovate UK and ERDF) combining expert advisory inputs and active international networking to support 320 regional SMEs/year to secure future growth through developing their innovation capacity.
COVID-19 response programmes
Our researchers have taken up the challenges posed by COVID-19. The resulting programme covers assessing effectiveness of different personal protective equipment and investigating the connection between the chemical senses and COVID-19, to developing a social distancing game for children and conducting research into attitudes towards fitness, body image and physical activity at home.
Through Exemplas, the Get Growing 2 initiative offers a grant of £5k alongside in-depth advice to support SMEs affected by COVID-19 restrictions to stabilise, adjust, restart and get back to profitable growth. Exemplas has also secured £1.95m BEIS/MHCLG funding to support the Visitor and Wider Economy in the Herts and South East Growth Hub areas.
Over the summer of 2020 the University has been working with the HertsLEP to put together additional business support, namely:
Launch, in August, of the University of Hertfordshire Recovery Resilience and Accelerator package –comprised of 9 tailored business support services to meet business-critical needs and to sustain business growth and productivity.
Launch of SME peer-networks; at present 2 cohorts for the creative arts/fashion industry, including its supply chain. These will be launched between October-End February with each cohort comprising of 8-11 business participants.
Recognising our role as an anchor institution in our local economy.
Whilst the volume of all these activities shows in our HEBCI returns, the qualitative value and leverage our leadership and partnership has stimulated, however, goes well beyond this in helping our economic community to thrive, grow and transform.
Our Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and International Development) sits on the HertsLEP business board and our Vice Chancellor chairs the Hatfield 2030+ regeneration initiative.
Aspect 3: Results
The following table summarises the results of the above headline initiatives:
| Initiative | Period | Investment | Outcomes | Impacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSP | 2017 – 2022 | ERDF £1.44M Local Growth Fund £1.44M Private Sector £800k Herts £800k |
20 HKEP Partnerships 15 Research Hotel contracts 20 PhDs allocated (at the end of the programme) 31 Businesses supported |
8 new Products to market 25 new research collaborations 19 jobs created in supported businesses 5 new businesses supported Nominated for a THES Award 2020 |
| HGH | 2018 to ongoing | ERDF £544k Herts LEP £502k SMEs £123k Herts £450k |
5,585 SMEs supported 708 SMEs received high intensity support |
£3.5m Net GVA £122m Additional turnover 74 Net additional jobs |
| UEZ | Sep 19 - August 21 | Research England £1.1M UH £4M (Institutional match - Capital and Revenue) |
24 Hiring specialist equipment 60 Business/Individuals supported through Meet the expert 50 Companies supported through hire of physical space 25 companies/individual supported through IP and law consultations 12 companies supported through market intelligence projects 12 social enterprise/pre-starts supported 4 Bootcamps for PG/PhD students |
4 new ‘products’ to market 4 new jobs (including apprenticeships) 5 start-ups |
| All Campus Incubator | 2017 - 2020 | ERDF £680k Herts LEP £2.5M UH £680k Garfield Weston Foundation £150k |
84 enterprises receiving support 49 new enterprises supported |
4 new jobs created 12 New to the market products 111 Entrepreneurs assisted to be enterprise ready |
| Covid19 Response | Herts LEP £60k UH £60k |
Volunteer Business Support Scheme 147 referrals from businesses |
101 businesses directly supported 20 referrals made to other support provisions |
|
International Trade support Y&H International Trade support EoE |
2016 – 2019 2016 - 2020 |
DIT and ERDF £14.7m DIT and ERDF £19m |
Ca. 3,200 SMEs 15,679 SMEs supported to date |
Ca. £2.5bn of export wins Ca. £132bn of expected export sales 396 jobs created 101 new products to market |
| IUK – I2S | 2017 – 2019 | ERDF £961k IUK £961k |
320 SMEs supported | £18.1m net GVA 220 New Products to market 623 gross jobs created |
As an enterprising university we support regeneration of our local economy across a wide range of our day to day operations as well – through specific School level initiatives to the provision of ‘employment ready’ graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills needed by local businesses to thrive and grow. At a strategic level, our teaching, research and business interaction strategies have been strongly influenced by the Government’s Industrial Strategy and, most recently, the Research & Development Roadmap. To evaluate performance against these objectives, we commissioned and recently published a comprehensive review titled ‘Delivering the Industrial Strategy’ 'Delivering the Industrial Strategy' , which highlights our achievements in responding to ‘foundations for productivity’ and the ‘Grand Challenges’.
We also carry out objective reviews of our activities in our annual Strategic Report and Financial statement, which is disseminated widely to all stakeholders (2018/19, 2017/18, 2016/17).
We are currently supporting the HertsLEP’s review of its Local Industrial Strategy with a first draft proposal for consultation issued in September 2019 – publication of the final revised draft due autumn 2020
We also use our web and social media platforms to publish and promote what our stakeholders say themselves about interacting with us. The following examples show the direct impact our work has had on businesses and stakeholders:
Herts Science Partnerships Current Projects Hertfordshire Science Partnership Current Projects
Better healthcare in care homes
Robots for health and social care
Institutional Impact
In addition to our pro-active activities, Herts has a profound effect on the local economy as a major employer and procurer of locally sourced goods and services (ca. £38m or 26% of total expenditure in 2019/20) as the illustration, below, evidences.
For further information, please send queries to be@herts.ac.uk
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
To date, our Public and Community Engagement hasn’t been an institutional KPI, but it is embedded into operations from School/Department level up. Driven through staff appraisals & development and supported by comprehensive interactive digital platforms, accessible facilities, topical and engaging research initiatives and effective media relations, our results demonstrate the overall extent of our public engagement activity.
Our approach combines low-profile, everyday interactions within research and teaching activities and high-profile initiatives aimed at mass audiences through events, broadcasts and interactive streaming. Our latest Strategic Plan strengthens our commitment to “engage as a Civic University in our region, supporting schools, colleges and students” and “we will share our knowledge, culture, research and resources with businesses, the professions and the wider community”.
Aspect 1: Strategy
In line with our primary mission statement (UH 2015-20 and UH 2020-25) our target ‘communities’ are focussed on businesses within our local and regional eco-system. The ‘public’ we seek to engage prioritises Hertfordshire entrepreneurs, businesses and residents, alongside local and regional communities of interest such as prospective students and graduate alumni, subject specific interest groups and cultural & heritage audiences.
‘Public Engagement’ (PE) is deeply embedded into the philosophy of the University of Hertfordshire (Herts). Whilst the term itself may not be explicitly articulated; our practice evidences our strong commitment to engaging our target communities in what we do. To support this, we have built community engagement objectives into our staff appraisal and development framework and ensure that investment in PE is managed through our Schools’ business planning processes.
From our roots as a Polytechnic to the diverse, entrepreneurial University we now are, our actions and achievements and our recognition as a University Enterprise Zone, are testament to our commitment to ensuring the knowledge we generate is based on:
the effective exchange of fundamental ideas
the commercial needs, imperatives and priorities of the communities we serve
the interests and concerns of the public we engage with
The impact Herts has within our community was published in a Report and was used as the basis for embedding improvement and development of our engagement into our guiding strategy - UH Strategic Plan 2015-2020. This specifically committed us to be:
‘internationally renowned for supporting our communities, raising aspirations and enriching lives by:
Demonstrating and promoting our positive social, cultural and economic impact
Sharing our knowledge, facilities and resources
Providing local leadership in education, culture and innovation
Investing resources to develop a vibrant university town’
Aspect 2: Support
Our students (25,000) and staff (2,425) are powerful ‘ambassadors’ for knowledge exchange and public engagement and are actively encouraged to share the knowledge they’ve developed through their personal and professional networks, outside of the University environment.
Engaging with wider communities is an embedded part of our mission as a civic university. Staff are required to identify actions and evidence their achievements against the strategic aim of “positively impacting the world by sharing knowledge, research and resources”. Managers are encouraged to celebrate achievements and share best practice to motivate and inspire others.
Powerful examples of how we have supported staff to deliver significant local engagement are:
The Heritage Hub – where we have invested £90k opening up archives and research to actively engage people in local history and heritage understanding
Festival of Ideas Reimagined – £25k support stimulated over 6,000 web-delivered interactions engaging local communities in emerging ways of thinking.
Our volunteering initiative – a staff time release programme resulting in 72 staff filling school governor positions across Hertfordshire.
Our Schools promote and publicise their research results but are particularly adept at active public involvement in those elements of research that have the relevance and resonance to inspire and engage wider audiences. Examples include; Professor of Public Understanding of Psychology radio, TV and social media interactions, ‘Dr Dance’ mass media activities, the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care (CRIPACC) and the Public Involvement in Research Group producing interactive research that changes public lives by improving the quality of health and social care services, promoting health and wellbeing.
Aspect 3: Activity
A Public and Community Engagement (P&CE) working group (2018) mapped in excess of 150 individual initiatives meeting the National Coordinating Centre for Community and Public Engagement’s (NCCPE) definition of providing ‘a two-way process, involving interaction and listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit’. In the period 2016/17- 2018/19 the total number of attendees at Public Lectures, Performance Arts, Exhibitions and Museum Education was 43,000 and 85,000 for free and chargeable events, respectively.
Activities include:
Heritage Hub, bringing together community interests in history and heritage across the region. Providing a unified, outward-facing identity for our heritage engagement activities, pooling our academic expertise to run collaborative initiatives with the public, social enterprises, housing associations, libraries, local authorities and museums.
Co-production of health studies with external stakeholders and members of the public in partnership with the NIHR’s Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) in the East of England. Our Patient Experience and Public Involvement Unit has led evaluations of the impact of patient and public involvement in research, and shared best practice. Over 23 projects (£2.6m) some 700 people were involved in their development and implementation.
Bayfordbury Observatory’s programme to inspire the next generation of astrophysicists and astronomers; involving open evenings, school visits, inflatable planetarium for roadshow events and stargazing projects in local primary schools.
Our award-winning Oral History team has brought together experienced researchers and students with local communities and tell stories of retirement, emigration to Australia, Stevenage Football Club and the Hertford Choral Society.
First World War engagement centre supports community and local history groups to develop their research skills and explore lesser known stories from the conflict.
Our computer scientists are transforming a suburban residential home into a real-life testing facility for human-robot interaction that is open to researchers, industry and the public.
Our Sparks Might Fly initiative invites theatre companies to work with our academics to interpret their research in new ways and to use the power of theatre to make academic research accessible to all
The Festival of Ideas Re-imagined, originally planned as a physical 2-day event to engage the public with leading thinkers and top researchers from across the UK as part of the Hertfordshire year of culture 2020, this event was re-imagined to fit with COVID-19 restrictions and moved on-line as an interactive series available to all.
Can You Save The World is an on-line interactive game developed by Herts professor Richard Wiseman and developer Martin Jacob to help young people understand how to minimise COVID-19 transmission in a fun and engaging format.
The Food in Later Life Game , created by Focus Games and CRIPACC, launched in 2018. The game aims to help retailers, professionals, volunteers and other members of the community who work with and live alongside older people to understand how to help the older generation remain 'food secure'.
Our Widening Access & Student Success (WASS) programme. Through developing relationships with local schools and listening to feedback from students and teachers our programme has evolved to include more focus on academic skills, attainment and enrichment.
Aspect 4: Results and learning
P&CE results are monitored and managed against planned objectives. In-line with our quality management procedures, feedback from participants is sought as part of the engagement process and results reviewed by managers. Learning points are used to drive continuous improvements through staff development plans, team practice and development of ongoing investments. Quantitative measures include numbers of target community members engaged, engagement duration and satisfaction levels reported. Qualitative assessments are based on two-way discourse during engagements and post-engagement feedback, commonly resulting in case studies published via our website. Major initiatives undergo formal evaluations to establish achievement levels, learning points and value for money, to inform future developments, strategies and investments.
A summary of some of the results achieved:
| Initiative | Results | Influence on future activity |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Hub – oral histories programmes | A total of 18 projects have been published with an average of 20 participant interviews each (total c.400) resulting in a publicly available archive receiving over 5,000 page-views. The Heritage Hub and UH Arts worked in partnership with St Albans Museum & Gallery over a 5-year period to deliver a world class local history museum in 2018. | Popularity of locally connected topics driving high engagement will influence ongoing work. UH Arts, is continuing to work with the St Albans Museum to deliver immersive art installations and displays, bringing art and culture into the heart of St Albans |
| Can you save the world computer game | Launched in May 2020, the game was aimed primarily at children. It was played over 30,000 times by June and attracted extensive media coverage. | When presented in a fun to use way, academic work can be powerfully engaging. Associated on-line platforms also allow instant feedback, which will influence design of future work |
| Public Involvement in Research Group (PIRG) | PIRG assisted our Public Health research team to engage a total of 651 adults and young people in their study. | User perspectives were embedded in research and the resulting ‘toolkit’ developed from the findings is being used by schools and local policy makers to enhance understanding. |
| Bayfordbury Observatory | 9,217 visitors to Bayfordbury - 4,326 private group visits (schools and youth groups) and 4,981 at public open evenings. A total of 14,404 individuals have also visited our inflatable mobile planetarium, Cosmodrome, the UK’s largest, through school visits, science festivals (WOMAD and Noisily) and other events. | This activity is coordinated by our Director of Outreach and Public Engagement, Centre for Astrophysics Research. |
| Big Bang Fair Eastern, Primary Engineer and Hertfordshire Maths Masterclasses | Big Bang Fair for secondary school students aged 11-18 years and aims to inspire our future scientists and engineers at a regional and local level Primary Engineer in association with IMechE The annual Hertfordshire Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses is our longest-running public engagement programme (27 years). We run a masterclass series each autumn term on Saturday mornings, and have 70 year 9 pupils from 36 Hertfordshire secondary schools attending each time – 1,900 in total to date. |
Through our School of Physics, Engineering & Computer Science we engage with local and primary school children to inspire STEM careers. |
| WASS | The 2019 Big STEAM event drew 400 primary school-aged children from across the county onto campus to share in science and arts-themed activities. These sessions were bookended by in-school activities that introduced the concepts of higher education. | Our current programme has grown to tackle the challenges faced by COVID-19 and its impact on face-to-face teaching and community activities. In collaboration with the Universities of Bedfordshire and Northampton, we have developed a dedicated programme of online resources and events ensuring young people of secondary school age can access the relevant support regardless of their geographical location |
| Festival of Ideas Re-imagined | Total of 65 You tube videos published totalling 4.6 hours of content resulting in 5,911 views and 567 hours watching time for 1 week’s streaming. PR coverage reached over 29,000 people |
Feedback survey was vastly positive and partner support offered for repeat activities. The social media response will be used to enhance interaction and reach |
| The Food in Later Life Game | 100 people contributed to its development. Through our 25 Lives exhibition we engaged with 3,000+ people; this was part of our Food for Later Life research project. | The University has licensed the research to Focus Games Ltd |
Aspect 5: Acting on results
At institutional level we commission quinquennial reviews (Vision, Value and Vitality Published 2014 - next report due to be published autumn 2020). We compile and publish annual strategic and financial statements, which include assessments of engagement results and our impact in target communities – (2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19). These reports provide an institutional level review of the extensive engagement activity our bottom-up organic approach has delivered.
In 2018 we signed up to the NCCPE’s manifesto, committing us to ‘sharing our knowledge, resources and skills with the public, and to listening to and learning from the expertise and insight of the different communities with which we engage’. Using the NCCPE’s EDGE audit tool, our P&CE working group conducted an internal assessment. Whilst this found that the volume and extent of the ‘organic’ activity is impressive, it also highlighted significant potential for improvement through making P&CE an institutional metric to be actively reported on and managed as a governance KPI.
Our annual and quinquennial review reports are disseminated widely amongst our key community partners and proactively published and promoted through our on-line media channels. Feedback is sought and used to inform and develop our strategic approach.
A good example of how this approach has led to effective public engagement is our volunteering initiative, where staff keen to share their knowledge and experience have been supported through personal development and appraisal plans to apply for school/college governor posts. This resulted in 72 appointments across Hertfordshire and has been widely commended by our local education community partners.
For further information, please send queries to be@herts.ac.uk