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Institutional Context
Summary
Knowledge exchange (KE) is integral to the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) mission of being a world leading university at the heart of local, national and global networks.
UEA has a wide range of disciplines organised into four Faculties (Arts and Humanities, Medicine and Health, Science, and Social Science), with around 17,000 students, and over 3,600 academic and professional staff.
UEA is a proud member of the Norwich Research Park and the Civic University Network, with a major role in the economy of Norwich and the wider Norfolk and Suffolk region.
UEA’s KE maps to its research strengths and is undertaken at an appropriate scale from influencing international climate change policy to local initiatives around health, social, and economic wellbeing.
Institutional context
Since its foundation in 1963, UEA has reflected its motto “Do Different” and led the way in shaping and creating disciplines such as environmental sciences, international development studies and creative writing. Our interdisciplinary ethos is reflected in diverse KE activity which is recognised as the natural end result of high-quality research. A Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation, a member of UEA’s Executive Team, ensures research and KE remain aligned and central to UEA’s activity. The UEA Plan 2016-2020 focused activity around six broad interdisciplinary themes spanning global challenges and UN development goals and contained two key KE objectives: to be a leader in regional economic and cultural development and to further develop an enterprising campus. External consultants have verified that UEA contributes around £1 billion to the economy.
UEA strives to make outputs widely available, informing policy makers, engaging with stakeholder communities, and undertaking commercial activity through subsidiary companies. Support for evidence based policy decision making is provided at a regional, national or international level where UEA’s contribution to the understanding of climate change has involved the Climate Research Unit, the Tyndall Centre and support for the establishment of the World Energy and Meteorology Centre. UEA’s active intellectual property management for societal and economic benefit encourages exploitation of outputs through consultancy, CPD, licencing and spin out companies, leading to one of the highest levels of licencing activity in the country.
UEA provides extensive access to facilities with added value, based on its position as a research-intensive institution. The amenity value of UEA’s open campus is enhanced by sculpture and conservation trails, highlighting environmental features, world-leading art and architecture, and sustainable management practices. Similarly the Sports Park, attracting 1.3 million visits a year, provides a focus point for health and wellbeing activities. UEA also plays a key role in the local and regional cultural sector with programmes and projects including creative writing and literary festivals, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (SCVA), and support for local music through the University Orchestra and Choir. The SCVA is an excellent example of the relationship between research and KE as an art gallery of international significance, which enables the public display of collections gifted by Sir Robert and Lady Lisa Sainsbury, and provides dedicated space for research, specialist exhibitions, and family activities. Nationally UEA support lectures and exhibitions, including one on antibiotic resistance at the Science Museum, linked to our research and that of our partner institutions on the Norwich Research Park.
UEA’s ambition to be a locally relevant international institution is reflected in activity to support the regional economy. For example, UEA established the Low Carbon Innovation Fund, that has already facilitated over £68.5 million of investment into innovative regional companies. A new initiative, Productivity East, brings together academics and key stakeholders to ensure that research and CPD is collaboratively designed and delivered to support the growth of manufacturing and engineering businesses and to support broader regional economic development.
For further information, please send queries to KEF@uea.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
UEA’s 2016-2020 plan targets being a leader in regional economic development and further developing its enterprising campus. To achieve this, UEA partners with local authorities, key sectoral groups, and the New Anglia LEP to identify how its expertise can address issues and implement solutions to support local and regional growth and regeneration. UEA participates at all levels from strategy development to the delivery of targeted programmes addressing commonly identified economic needs. Building on the success of programmes promoting the low carbon economy, UEA’s contribution has diversified to addressing other local challenges including low skill levels and low GVA within parts of the economy, improving access to finance, raising aspirations, and supporting enterprise on campus and the wider Norwich Research Park.
Aspect 1: Strategy
UEA concentrates its economic growth and regeneration activity locally (Norwich and its immediate surroundings), and regionally (the New Anglia LEP area covering Norfolk and Suffolk). Where there is economic justification, this geographical area can be extended across the wider East of England.
UEA’s strategy is based on partnering with other stakeholders, including the New Anglia LEP and local authorities, to deliver economic growth and regeneration within its selected geography. This allows UEA to map its strengths against unmet needs in the regional economy, using the evidence base collated by New Anglia LEP. UEA identifies industry needs through its membership of the local Chamber of Commerce, CBI, and other business groups such as Norwich Business Improvement District, Norwich Financial Industries Group, Norfolk Network, TechEast and the New Anglia Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Group (NAAME).
UEA’s partnership with the New Anglia LEP extends from senior management representation on boards, participation in the development of local strategies and plans, to joint applications and delivery of programmes that address local economic issues. UEA contributed to the development of the Local Industrial Strategy. Several key LEP boards and councils, including those representing the three industry sectors (Digital Technology, Energy, and Agri-Food) identified within the Local Industrial Strategy, the Innovation Board, and the Growth Through Innovation Fund Board benefit from UEA representation.
UEA also partners with local authorities, for example the Invest East investment readiness programme described below is a collaboration between UEA, Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council.
Aspect 2: Activity
A number of larger projects have been selected to illustrate some of the activity undertaken by UEA. All have been active in the past three years, although some were initiated before this period and some will continue to operate and deliver outputs during the next reporting period. The geographical focus, strategic focus, associated partners, and outputs and outcomes are described for each project. The projects have been selected to demonstrate UEA addressing three key challenges within the regional economy: access to finance, access to skills and access to facilities. By addressing these key areas it is anticipated that some of the constraints on the regional economy identified in the New Anglia LEP Economic Strategy Evidence Report, particularly the lower than national average GVA, skills shortfall and the lower than national average new company start-up rates, can be removed. UEA has had particular interest in using its expertise to help New Anglia LEP deliver as the Government’s Green Economic Growth Pathfinder.
The Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF) is one of UEA’s longest running regional initiatives. UEA established the first phase of the ERDF supported LCIF in 2010 as a follow on from the successful HEIF II funded Carbon Connections programme that helped companies adjust and benefit from the requirement to lower greenhouse gas emissions through innovation. LCIF is a venture capital fund providing equity finance supporting East of England companies to develop and commercialise technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Carbon Connections and LCIF programmes, together with input into the New Anglia LEP Green Economy Pathfinder and the NERC funded Blue Futures project are examples of UEA using its expertise in the environmental sciences and innovation to influence and support the sustainable and clean growth of the regional economy.
UEA’s partnership based approach has also been effective in running successful programmes targeted at skills gap and inclusivity with the regional economy problems identified in the New Anglia LEP Cross-Cutting Skills Report. One key challenge has been in raising aspirations within some communities and this has been addressed by participating in The Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (NEACO) which in three years (2017-2019) engaged with 28,000 target school pupils.
The Gateway to Growth programme is a further example of UEA’s partnership based approach, focused on addressing the regional skills gap. It is a regional collaboration between UEA, local authorities, New Anglia LEP, Chamber of Commerce and regional innovation hubs designed to address the dual problems of skills gaps within the Norfolk workforce and retention of graduates within the region in graduate level employment. Supported by the OfS Challenge Competition, the programme addresses skills gaps by ensuring interventions respond to and reflect local labour market demands. This aim is achieved through three interlinked and interdependent schemes, an SME recruitment service to enable SMEs to access graduate talent, support for students to identify opportunities associated with working for an SME, and the creation of a hub of interns available to work with SMEs on specific projects. The three year programme will support over 224 SMEs, 800 students and graduates, providing over 1,700 opportunities and recruiting 18 graduate innovation interns. This programme has been reviewed in light of the COVID-19 crisis and adapted as part of UEA’s response to supporting the recovery of the regional economy. 
To achieve UEA’s aim of developing its enterprising campus and to support the creation of new companies as part of local economic growth, we have helped to create and maintain a range of facilities across the UEA campus and the wider Norwich Research Park. For example, The Enterprise Centre, opened in 2015, is a regional business, knowledge and innovation hub specialising in SME workspace provision that currently supports over 80 businesses who work alongside UEA staff and students in a dynamic and vibrant entrepreneurial community. There are two additional dedicated innovation spaces on the Norwich Research Park: The Innovation Centre and the Centrum Building, (which opened in 2014 at a cost of £11.5M), which together provide laboratory and office space for growing companies.
Economic growth and regeneration is an area of KE where UEA has been able to combine its strength in research, teaching and KE to deliver solutions. An example of this is Productivity East that targets the skills gap and will provide access to facilities through a combination of teaching, CPD, consultancy and access to facilities. The programme will drive up productivity and growth within the region and includes establishing a new School of Engineering in response to local business demand. Productivity East is a collaboration between the Schools of Engineering, Computing and Norwich Business School, together with New Anglia Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Group (NAAME) and TechEast. This £7.5 million initiative is co-funded by New Anglia LEP. With an initial focus on the advanced engineering and manufacturing sector, activities within Productivity East will also support the growing digital technology, agri-food and energy sectors. Productivity East will provide new state of the art facilities on UEA’s campus to deliver a new regional hub for engineering, technology and management. Working in partnership, UEA students, academics and businesses will be able to discover practical solutions to current and future challenges, explore new ideas, develop prototype designs and create innovative products and services. Within the first five years, the initiative will provide 1,500 professional development opportunities for individuals from engineering and related sectors as well as enrolling an additional 1,268 new engineering students and learners to meet regional demand. To achieve this, sixteen new academic posts will be created, supported by thirteen research posts and eight skilled staff jobs. The ability to design, raise funding and deliver complex partnership based programmes such as Productivity East is greatly enhanced by the HEIF supported Business Development Team.
Aspect 3: Results
The first phase of LCIF supported 70 companies with the LCIF investment of £20.5 million enabling a further £48 million of private sector investment to be leveraged into the investee companies. Returns from this first phase continue to support East of England businesses. In addition to the financial impact, it has also been independently forecast that LCIF supported interventions could save the equivalent of 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by the end of 2020. In collaboration with Norfolk County Council and the support of New Anglia LEP, Hertfordshire LEP and the Greater Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, an additional £10.9 million of ERDF funding was raised in 2019, which has enabled the launch of a second phase (LCIF2) which will leverage at least a further £11 million private sector co-investment between 2020 and 2024.
The Invest East investment readiness programme has already assisted 80 companies, and nine have raised funding, the total of which exceeds the £0.6 million allocated to this part of the programme.
The UEA Enterprise Fund is now able to invest in a growing number of start-ups and has allocated nearly £0.5 million in grants and funding to student and graduate enterprises in the last 4 years. The fund also provided emergency grants to student enterprises that had already received grants from the fund, to enable them to weather the COVID-19 lockdown and pivot their business models to take into account the new economic environment. An example of a student start-up, is Coral Eyewear, created by UEA student George Bailey, which has been working with EnterpriseCentral since 2018. The business regenerates ocean waste plastic to create stylish and sustainable eyewear. The company has recently received backing and support from Norfolk entrepreneur and TV personality Jake Humphrey.
Building on this enterprising spirit, UEA partners with SyncNorwich, a vibrant tech network, to deliver ‘Sync The City’, bringing together budding entrepreneurs and expert mentors to build and launch a start-up in a 54 hour hackathon-style event. Since 2014, over 660 participants including 330 students have participated, supported by 60 experienced tech and business mentors. Funded by local government, businesses and charities, Sync The City has provided entrepreneurial skill development for students; supported networking opportunities with local businesses; generated work experience, internships and job opportunities; and produced successful business collaborations. A notable success was the launch of Safepoint which provides organisations with a powerful online dashboard enabling supervisors to support remote based staff. Safepoint went on to win the InvestEast Accelerator programme and had investment from the Enterprise Fund. Sync The City was also awarded a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence by AdvanceHE in 2020.
For further information, please send queries to KEF@uea.ac.uk
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
Public and community engagement is integral to UEA’s knowledge exchange activity. UEA’s reputation and expertise in translating research into impact influences global policies, including climate change mitigation, and our civic approach resulted in UEA becoming the new host for the Institute of Volunteering Research. We provide accessible expertise and public health information through media channels and direct to policy makers. UEA’s publicly accessible campus spaces and facilities are widely used by our local community and our cultural impact is nationwide and international.
We support our community through local networks, for example as School Governors in our local schools and providing support to our local hospitals and health care partners as part of our rapid COVID-19 response.
Aspect 1: Strategy
As a signatory of the Engaged University Manifesto, public and community engagement was key to the UEA 2030 vision document and 2016-2020 Plan committing UEA to:
‘play an important civic role in our local community. We’ll support enterprise and cultural literacy. We’ll also work with our partners to help Norwich grow and develop as a vibrant and welcoming student city.’
UEA’s engagement strategy is co-developed with alumni, staff, and external partners - including Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnership, businesses, cultural sector groups, and charities. Strategic responsibility rests with the Executive Team (chaired by the Vice-Chancellor), reporting to UEA Council. UEA Innovation Executive, with four Faculty Associate Deans for Innovation, has oversight supporting and reporting activity.
UEA’s engagement activities are supported by:
Internal funding - including allocations from HEIF, ESRC IAA and GCRF.
External funding - including the Wellcome Trust, GCRF, The Gatsby Charitable Foundation, The Sainsbury Centre Endowment Fund, Research Councils and UKERC.
UEA’s campus on the edge of Norwich supports the health and wellbeing of its local community, with:
expansive open spaces including Wildlife and Sculpture Park Trails
Sports Park linked to Sport England, Active Norfolk, local authorities, schools and colleges, and a number of sport’s National Governing Bodies.
The UEA Gig History project recounts how music performances have been integral to the fabric of life locally for decades. UEA supports a wide range of other regional public events, often in response to requests from community organisations, including the Norwich Science Festival, the Dragon Hall Debates in Norwich, The Cut Science Café in Suffolk, and Latitude Festival. During 2017-18, UEA offered 1,783 free and 322 chargeable events to nearly two million attendees.
Aspect 2: Support
Through membership of over 30 local, regional and national networks including the Chambers of Commerce and the Great Yarmouth City Council and Norwich City Council Town Deal Boards, UEA supports:
Culture
Health and Wellbeing
Climate and Environment
Regional Social Support
UEA has catalysed and invigorated new partnership organisations including Norfolk Network, TechEast, the Financial Industry Group Norwich, UEA Health and Social Care Partners, The Anglian Centre for Water Studies and the World Energy & Meteorology Council.
UEA provides in house training, including evaluation methodologies, to facilitate effective public engagement and additional specialist training for specific projects and programmes drawing on NCCPE and external consultants, including Eric Jensen, to provide additional expertise when required. Training is available to our student community, including an undergraduate module “Science Communication”, and well-attended sessions on Public Engagement within all Postgraduate Research training programmes.
Partners have access to UEA’s CPD programmes, ranging from accredited management programmes like the Executive MBA to bespoke training to meet company or group specific needs. The School of International Development provides training on topics such as Impact Evaluation and Climate Change, regularly attended by a wide range of public, private and governmental organisations.
UEA undertakes pro-active external communications, including extensive use of social media and our website, supported by our sector specific Relationship Managers, whose full contact details are published online.
The Vice-Chancellor reports to UEA Council, with an independent Chair and other independent lay members including representation from the local authorities and hospital. UEA Schools and specific projects and programmes, for example the ESRC Impact Accelerator Account and Productivity East, have their own External Advisory Boards, including external chairs, enabling public and community members to take an active role in UEA governance.
The UEA Award framework for students (approx. 1000 participate annually) captures and articulates their achievements (many engage with local voluntary organisations) in a way that employers value.
Engagement is:
factored into workload models;
embedded in academic promotions criteria for staff and with new Professorial roles that acknowledge Public and Community Engagement;
rewarded through annual Public Engagement Awards, Impact and Innovation Awards and Global Research Translational Award;
facilitated by key roles, including Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Academic Director for Innovation, Director of Research and Innovation Services, Relationship Managers, Impact Officers, and Marketing and Events team
Aspect 3: Activity
The following are recent exemplars, underpinned by UEA research expertise, from each of the four areas identified earlier:
Culture
Home to the British Centre for Literary Translation, UEA identified a need for an outlet that would enable new, and newly translated, works of literature and literary criticism to gain a wider readership. In 2016 UEA Publishing Project Ltd, was established, now has over 75 titles and funding from Europe, Japan and Korea. Other engagement activities developed around creative writing success include the UEA Literary Festival, attracting 18,614 attendees and generating over 300 recordings since 2012.
The Noirwich Crime Writing Festival has attracted 5,545 attendees since 2014 and contributed an estimated £400k to the local economy. In 2020, UEA established the interdisciplinary CreativeUEA theme to recognise and further develop research and engagement activities in this area.
Health & Wellbeing
Hand sanitiser, using alcohol from Adnams (a beverage and hospitality company and UEA partner), was manufactured by UEA Technicians in UEA laboratories for local health and social care settings. Other COVID-19 related activity included COVID-19 diagnostics, the supply of PPE, and the development of products to support infection prevention.
Co-ordinated with Norwich Research Park partners, UEA’s COVID-19 response was interdisciplinary, led by HSCP, with contributions from the Schools of Computing, Biological Sciences, Pharmacy and the Norwich Business School in areas such as database and app construction, loan of equipment and staff, design of equipment, and supply chain management. Researchers at UEA expanded coronavirus testing capacity and supplied essential advice to media outlets, members of the public and WHO on the pandemic.
Climate UEA
The interdisciplinary ClimateUEA theme was launched in 2019, building on UEA’s worldwide reputation for climate change science. Academics from all four Faculties are involved to maximise public and community engagement with climate issues. UEA academics provide key evidence to the United Nations IPCC, influencing national and international policy responses to climate change. UEA’s climate research is co-produced with wide community engagement from public, private and governmental organisations and decision-makers. At a regional level, the Marine Knowledge Exchange Network collaborates with costal managers, local councillors and businesses to influence decisions and design long-term strategies to manage the local coastline in response to climate change. Professor Waters’ play “The Contingency Plan” was described by Time Out as “the first and best play about climate change”.
Regional Social Support
UEA’s Law Clinic is a collaboration between staff, students, external advice agencies and volunteers from the local legal profession. UEA Law School undergraduate students established the Welfare Rights Advocacy and Representation Service (WRARS), working in partnership with the Norwich Community Law Services. WRARS has supported 1,400 members of the public, often the most vulnerable individuals within the community, providing advice on discrimination, family matters, housing and rent, and immigration; and recovering £7million in benefits that had been wrongly denied. UEA Law students are also involved in The Justice Project, reviewing cases where individuals convicted of a serious crime maintain that they are innocent. UEA has also worked to improve support to young careers and addressed problems associated with fathers who are serving prison sentences.
Aspect 4: Results and learning
In 2018, the European Union published ‘Monitoring the Evolution and Benefits of Responsible Research and Innovation – the Indicators’ with Key Performance Indicators to assess progress in:
Science (encompassing all disciplines) Literacy and Education,
Public Engagement
Several KPIs are appropriate for UEA’s diverse activity:
UEA’s Connecting People and Places report details flagship public and community engagement events including, the Law Clinic, SCVA, UEA Gigs and Literary Festival as well as work with schools.
A systematic approach to gathering testimony from local communities has not yet been implemented.
KPI
Science Literacy and EducationSLSE1Importance of societal aspects of science in science curricula for 15 to 18-year-old students in local regionFunding received and research undertaken in this area. √
Papers published. √
Supports School Governor Network for local schools. √
Training for staff, students and public with attendance monitored. √
Evaluate role of training in RRI related research activity. √
Support Volunteering practice through Institute of Volunteering Research hosted at UEA. √
Projects funded and undertaken at UEA across different faculties. √
Papers published. √
Use different models of Public engagement within research projects and university initiatives. √
Provide advice on different models of pubic engagement to stakeholders. √
Science and arts festivals and events supported. √
Research projects in partnership with non-academic organisations; monitored at institutional level. √
Collaboration with NGO's and local government bodies; monitored at institutional levels.√
Participation in EU projects/networks about Public Engagement. √
Community representatives on Boards or Committees. √
Specific activities involving school children visiting. √
Meetings / conferences addressed primarily to the public. √
Implementation of specific action plans targeting Public Engagement; √
Salary incentives for public outreach activities. X
Award and reward for science communication. √
Availability of a press and/or Public Relations office. √
Public Engagement as a criterion for promotion. √
Public availability of information regarding completed and ongoing research. √
Publications addressed primarily at the public. √
Organisation of outreach incentives such as 'open days' 'university festivals'. √
Dedicated staff, funding, space and time.√
Aspect 5: Acting on results
UEA reports engagement activity within its weekly newsletter, regular School Bulletins, School Boards and Faculty and University Executives, its external publication Ziggurat (circulation circa 100,000) and webpages. External stakeholders engage with UEA’s plans and activities by attending annual UEA Court, Engagement, and Impact and Innovation Awards. Individual projects produce websites, newsletters and reports, often distributed through external organisations. The Invisible Innovator report, exploring the holdings of women amateur filmmakers in Film Archives, was commissioned and distributed by Film Archives UK.
UEA promotes activities and findings through traditional press releases, media interviews and social media accounts. Staff present TV programmes, including Professor Ben Garrod presenting Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur, Baby Chimp Rescue, Springwatch, Secrets of Bones and Secrets of Skin; write books for non-academic audiences and regularly contribute to The Conversation sharing research insights and expertise.
In 2017, UEA used the NCCPE EDGE tool to establish that UEA was Developing its Public Engagement across most categories except for recognition (embedded PE). Subsequently in 2019 a digital platform and workshops facilitated feedback on engagement from staff and students, enabling co-creation of the UEA Plan 2020–2025 .
In 2021, similar stakeholder and partner engagement platforms, including the EDGE tool, will be used to co-develop UEA’s Civic University Agreement.
UEA assesses activity using the KPIs outlined in Section 4 and collects feedback from event organisers, collaborators and attendees. External consultants assessed UEA economic, social and cultural impact, as reported in Connecting People and Places. The Public First UPP-Universities report and other publicly available data, such as HEBCIS, provide useful insights and enable benchmarking of activity against sector best practice.
For further information, please send queries to KEF@uea.ac.uk