About the NCIA
The NCIA’s vision is to increase the connectivity, momentum, and effectiveness of the HE sector’s civic activities for local societal, economic, and environmental benefit and maximise the contribution universities can make towards addressing societal challenges and responding to policy priorities. We will do this by:
- rapidly prioritising, generating and mobilising intelligence about place-based working
- unlocking leadership potential and building capacity for more effective civic engagement, within and outside the HE sector
- driving innovative practice, scaling up effective partnership working and developing shared frameworks for practical action.
The programme, funded by Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will create collaboration and policy and practice innovation involving universities, local government and business groups, and the community sector to drive place-based transformations.
New! Debate Stage
Welcome to our new series of blogs amplifying the voices shaping the future of civic universities and the places they call home.
Our new NCIA Debate Stage is the platform for a range of opinions, views and commentary on the UK’s civic university movement, designed to spark dialogues that illuminate the contribution that universities and other anchor institutions can make to the places they call home, and debate solutions to the challenges they face on their journey.
Do you have a civic story to tell, or an idea to maximise the impact of place-based collaboration? Get in touch to contribute to this new series!
Adam Leach, NCIA Programme Director
Balancing global and local roles is a tricky and enduring challenge for UK universities. Increasing pressure to drive income and the competition propelled by excellence frameworks and rankings has pushed international reputation to the fore – arguably to the detriment of universities fully realising their role in their local places. But now…
The NHS and other key health organisations have started the debate on the value that anchor institutions can bring to ‘place’ and the key role they could play in developing successful local communities and social value.
What is lacking from the debate is how a regionally focused, civic approach to the current economic conditions, could help the UK overcome…
The concept of the ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ has gained traction in recent years as a way to describe the behaviours and attitudes needed to drive innovation and change.
We know that universities can and do incubate entrepreneurial ideas, support students and local businesses to grow, and generate economic impact within their place.
But, to deepen the connection between…
Workstreams
Evidence Capture
Learning & Innovating
A dynamic learning and innovation programme to pilot civic approaches and build capacity.
Scaling Up
A sector engagement programme of support, tools, training, and communication to maximise reach
Programme Management
Cross sector governance from an expert panel and robust project leadership and infrastructure.
Icons by Oleksandr Panasovskyi from Noun Project
Developing the Civic University Mission
Lessons from Race Equality Initiatives in Higher Education
The civic university and anti-racist university missions are long-term abstract concepts, representing a sense of purpose, and an appropriate response to wider societal inequalities. In the context of the United Kingdom, these challenges encompass discussions regarding the value of higher education and broader societal disparities.
This paper sets out to understand the factors and systems driving race equality changes in UK universities with the overarching purpose of providing insights to facilitate the development of the civic university mission.
Femi Owolade, Research Associate at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), at Sheffield Hallam University
CiviCast
A new series of podcasts from the National Civic Impact Accelerator, now available wherever you get your podcasts!
Alternatively, you can watch all episodes of CiviCast on our YouTube channel:
CiviCast: John Goddard
In the first ever episode of CiviCast, NCIA Programme Director Adam Leach talks to Professor John Goddard OBE about his career, background, and work with the NCIA programme to date.
Professor John Goddard OBE is Emeritus Professor at Newcastle University, Professor of Universities & Cities at Birmingham University and Visiting Professor at Sheffield Hallam University. Find out more about John here:
In the podcast, we explore the workstreams of the NCIA, how they link together, and the background and context of the UK’s civic university movement.
CiviCast: Paul Manners
NCCPE Co-Director Paul Manners talks about the NCIA programme and how to get involved in the action learning workstream, as well as telling us about the work of the NCCPE and his career background.
To join an action learning project and help to accelerate civic engagement in England, please visit this website to find out more about the Expression of Interest process:
Please note the deadline to submit an Expression of Interest was 30 May 2023. This interview was recorded in April 2023.
CiviCast: Dr Femi Owolade
In this episode, Dr Femi Owolade talks about his research paper “Developing the Civic Mission: Lessons from Race Equality Initiatives in Higher Education”, plus his own experiences and background.
This paper sets out to understand the factors and systems driving race equality changes in UK universities with the overarching purpose of providing insights to facilitate the development of the civic university mission.
Dr Owolade is Research Associate at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), at Sheffield Hallam University, one of the National Civic Impact Accelerator (NCIA) programme delivery partners.
Funded by Research England
Research England shapes healthy, dynamic research and knowledge exchange in England’s universities. It distributes over £2bn to universities in England every year; works to understand their strategies, capabilities and capacity; and supports and challenges universities to create new knowledge, strengthen the economy, and enrich society. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation.
I am delighted that Sheffield Hallam and our partners have been awarded this funding to establish the National Civic Impact Accelerator.
We know through our role in leading the Civic University Network that there is growing civic leadership across the sector, and a desire for more support and collaboration to help realise universities’ civic potential.
Through this programme we aim to deliver impact beyond the sector through strengthened relationships, collaboration and greater alignment between universities and local ecosystems.
Richard Calvert, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam UniversityI am honoured to be invited to join Sheffield Hallam University as visiting professor and to be asked to play a key role in the academic leadership and governance of the NCIA project and to act as a bridge to the ongoing Civic University Network so ably run by my new colleagues.The launch of the NCIA comes at a critical time for local communities across the country as we face major global challenges. I believe NCIA can actively support universities play a key role in helping our communities address these challenges
Professor John Goddard OBE, Visiting Professor, Sheffield Hallam UniversityThe Young Foundation’s Institute for Community Studies is delighted to be working with partners Sheffield Hallam and the NCCPE on the National Civic Impact Accelerator.
This timely investment will support the many organisations working to support thriving civic partnerships and places within the UK, including universities, local government and the charity and community sector, at a point where better-quality evidence, knowledge mobilisation and learning, has never been more needed.
Emily Morrison, Head of the Institute for Community StudiesThe National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement is delighted to be part of the NCIA. Since the early days of the Civic University Network, we have been determined to maximise the synergy between public, community and civic engagement. We look forward to working with the sector to raise our collective game in this vital area, by building the evidence base and to sharing and building on great examples of practice
Paul Manners, Co-Director of the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE)We are delighted to be working with our partners on this ambitious project to enable universities to deliver impactful civic engagement initiatives. At Queen Mary, we were pleased to launch our Civic University Agreement earlier this year, and this programme will ensure we have a strong evidence base on which to build. We know how vital it is to collaborate with local partners and across the sector and are looking forward to contributing to this work
Dr Philippa Lloyd, Vice Principal Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Queen Mary University of LondonThe University welcomes the opportunity to build on its civic foundations as a partner in the National Civic Impact Accelerator. It’s a great opportunity to share across the wider university sector, the partnership research experience and expertise developed through WMREDI and CityREDI in the West Midlands. We look forward to utilising the innovative approaches developed to enhance our own civic agreement as a local anchor institution
Professor Richard Black, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Social Sciences at the University of BirminghamDelivery Partners
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is proudly a university of place, with a long history of civic engagement. SHU has always emphasised the importance of community and plays a leading role in the national civic university movement.
The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research
Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) is a leading UK applied policy research and evaluation centre.
National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement
The NCCPE has a long track record of providing effective support to the sector, and to policy makers, to increase the quality and impact of their public engagement activity.
Institute for Community Studies
The Institute for Community Studies is a new kind of research institute, focused on how end to end evidence production and knowledge exchange with local stakeholders and communities can put people and communities at the heart of finding solutions to the issues that affect them.
West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute
The University of Birmingham’s WMREDI is leading voice in the national civic university movement, focusing on how universities can support inclusive economic growth.
Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Public Engagement conducts sector-leading work, recognised by the award of the first NCCPE Platinum Engage Watermark. CPE’s strategic priorities include building equitable partnerships, championing the value of engaged universities and removing barriers to engagement.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The OECD’s Entrepreneurial Education, Collaboration and Engagement (EECOLE) network aims to strengthen the capacity of HEIs to collaborate with their surrounding communities and networks to promote innovation, sustainability and inclusion, in all regions.