Sheffield Hallam and partners awarded £3.7m to support universities to maximise their local impact

Sheffield Hallam and its partners have been awarded £3.7m to support universities across the country to develop their civic leadership, maximising their local social and economic impact and helping to address national and global challenges.

The National Civic Impact Accelerator (NCIA) is an ambitious three-year programme to gather evidence and intelligence of what works, share civic innovations, and provide universities with the framework and tools to deliver meaningful, measurable civic strategies and activities.

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.

The NCIA will be led by Sheffield Hallam University in close partnership with the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), the Institute for Community Studies, West Midlands Regional Development Institute at the University of Birmingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the OECD. The programme is also backed by the wider resources and partners of the Civic University Network.

Sheffield Hallam University was chosen to lead the programme in recognition of its role as a leader in the civic university movement. In 2020, it was chosen to host the UPP Foundation’s Civic University Network, a group of institutions working with government and strategic partners to ensure that the HE sector’s geographic role and responsibility is used more effectively as an agent to drive positive societal change.

The University’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research will lead the development and operationalisation of a Civic Impact Framework to provide the tools for universities to measure civic impact.

Richard Calvert, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University, said: “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.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily