This initiative aims to create a culture within UK
Higher Education where public engagement is
formalised and embedded as a valued and
recognised activity for staff at all levels, and for
students.
• The NCCPE’s vision is of a higher education sector making a vital, strategic
and valued contribution to 21st-century society through its public
engagement activity.
• Our mission is to support universities to increase the quantity and quality
of their public engagement activity.
• Our three strategic aims are:
1. To inspire a shift in
culture
2. To increase capacity
for public engagement
3. To build effective
partnerships
- Support universities in
bringing about strategic
change that embeds public
engagement
- Identify, develop and
disseminate evidenceinformed practice
- Broker and encourage the
sharing of effective practice
- Capture learning from the
Beacons and beyond and
share it widely
- Encourage partners to
embed public engagement
in their work
- Inform, influence and
interpret policy
- Raise the status of
public engagement
Public engagement in practice
Public awareness
and understanding
Service and social
responsibility
Engaged teaching
and learning
- Festivals
- Volunteering and
charitable activities
- Service learning (linking
student study to community
needs)
- Public lectures
- Outreach events
- Providing access to
University facilities
- Lifelong learning provision
- Exhibitions etc
Engaged research
Knowledge exchange
- Collaborative research, with end users actively
involved in the work and its eventual application
- Contribution of expertise to policy
development
- Co-production of knowledge, with end-users
involved in defining research programme and
directing its execution
- Brokerage service for external enquirers
- ‘Experts directory’ to open up access to
university expertise
Aims of the programme:
1. To inspire a
shift in culture
encouraging
universities to recognise
the value of student
volunteering as part of
their core strategy.
2. To build capacity
pooling the expertise of the
student volunteering
community, and working
together strategically to
galvanise a step change in the
quality, quantity and diversity
of student volunteering.
3. To deliver high
quality engagement
activity
enriching universities,
their communities and
the lives of the students
involved.
Student Volunteering – What are the issues?
•
Student Volunteering covers broad and diverse range of activities – with
different institutional arrangements and objectives, and different
funding sources.
•
As a result:
o
Hard to capture full impact of the work
o
Hard to ‘align’ activity, as it happens in pockets within institutions
o
Vulnerable to shifts in funding
o
Prevents a coherent ‘narrative’ emerging that captures its full
strategic importance
•
We need a framework that clarifies the scope of student volunteering
and its connections, and shows how it adds value to key strategic
purposes of universities (teaching and learning, research, student
experience, etc).
•
What is the unique contribution that universities can make through
strategic management of volunteering ?
2008
2009
2010
Project set up
Phase 1: Listen and learn
-Appoint team
- Research
-Initiate research
- Online consultation
-Evaluation
- Developing partnerships
2011
- Consultation events
-Advisory group
Phase 2: Development and testing
- Pilot projects (Sept 09)
- Website and resources development
- Development of Charter/ Manifesto
- Toolkits / frameworks
- National campaigns
Phase 3: Dissemination/
advocacy
- Website and
communications
- Manifesto/ Charter launch
- Embrace approach into
overall strategy and
communications
How will we do it?
•
•
Research and evidence gathering
o
Benchmark of current activity
o
Framework of different approaches
Engage and involve
o
•
Framework
o
•
Enhance good practice, tackle barriers, promote innovation
National campaigns
o
•
Impact; recognition; funding
Pilot projects
o
•
Dynamic and extensive consultation process, involving all key
stakeholders
Connect universities with external partners to deliver large scale
volunteering activities
Advocacy and influence
o
Strategic endorsement from VCs, funders
What have we done so far?
Research
•
Completed and published Phase 1 research and mapping exercise,
describing current activity and impact
Consultation
•
WiSCV regional meetings
•
Student consultation events
National Campaigns
•
Launched new student engagement programme with National Trust
Wider engagement
•
Established programme Advisory Board
•
Appointed external evaluator
What next?
Research
• Commission major Phase 2 research programme, focussing on
student perspectives, community engagement, and impact
evaluation
Pilot Project fund
• Launch pilot project fund
Student Advisory Board
• Recruit and establish Student Advisory Board, with themes
including: programme direction, research, pilot projects, national
campaigns, skills hubs
vinspiredstudents Grant Programme
•
•
•
Pilot project fund to test and trial new ideas around student
volunteering
- Enhancing good practice
- Tackling gaps and barriers
- Promoting innovation and growth
£125k for up to 15 projects
Open to HEIs and Students’ Unions
Key criteria:
• Advance learning about student volunteering
• Innovative
• Engage students in design and delivery
• Embed equality and diversity
• Promote engagement with wider community
for more information:
www.publicengagement.ac.uk
nccpe.studentvol@uwe.ac.uk