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.
The NCIA Debate Stage features insights from a diverse range of thought leaders and change-makers at the forefront of the civic university movement. While the views expressed are those of the authors and may not necessarily reflect the official position of the Civic University Network or National Civic Impact Accelerator programme, they are intended to stimulate meaningful discussions and inspire fresh perspectives on how universities can deepen their civic impact.
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
Community Listening and Reverse Volunteering: Creating Civic Pathways for Inclusion
In many instances, community voices with the most to offer especially in terms of lived experiences and local knowledge are least likely to be heard. Therefore, inclusion as a practice should begin with listening. Community ...
Reflections from the NCIA Action Learning Programme
From September 2023 to April 2025 the NCCPE brought together 14 university-led civic partnerships from across England to take part in an action learning programme for the National Civic Impact Accelerator. The programme explored how ...
What Does Civic Look Like in Lancaster? – A Community Dialogue Story
When we talk about being a civic university, it can sound a bit abstract. In Lancaster, it’s anything but. Civic work is woven into the fabric of what we do, from supporting health partnerships to ...
“We just don’t know where to start”: Why We Built the Place Navigator
It was a comment we heard more than once in our early Action Learning Group sessions. University staff, passionate about their civic activity, eager to connect with their communities, were coming up against a familiar ...
Beyond ‘what works’, who works, how and at what scales for the civic university: reflections from the Regional Studies Association Conference, Porto May 2025
Building on from the backdrop of a renewed interest in the civic role that universities play in their local areas, members of the National Civic Impact Accelerator (NCIA) team co-led a special session at the ...
Social Ventures and the Civic University: A Delivery Model for Place-based Impact
A s universities across the UK embrace their growing civic responsibilities, their role as anchor institutions is being redefined. No longer just centres of learning and research, they are now expected to drive inclusive, place-based ...
NCIA Action Learning Event: Reflecting, Learning, and Looking Ahead
T he NCIA Action Learning Programme came together for its final in-person event in Birmingham in March. It was a day designed not just to mark the end of a journey but to serve as ...
Beyond Boroughs: Universities Collaborating for a Thriving Capital
The capital, a vibrant and complex ecosystem, is home to over 100 universities, a diverse array of institutions ranging from specialist colleges to large, multi-faculty universities, private institutions and International outposts, spread across 33 local ...
Launching the Civic Impact Dashboard Prototype
After a User-Centred Design (UCD) process conducted over the last half of 2024, documented in previous blogs in this series, we are pleased to launch the first working prototype of the NCIA Civic Impact Dashboard.The ...