Call for expressions of interest to participate in:
Embedding Business and Community Engagement
This project, led by JISC infoNet, will look at ways in which institutions are changing their business processes in order to improve their engagement with business and/or their local community.
Background
Under the BCE Programme JISC infoNet are happy to announce 2 calls for expressions of interest.
Business and Community Engagement (BCE) is the strategic management of interactions, partnerships and transactions with partners and clients external to the institution. The scope of engagement includes the commercial sector, the public sector (including charities and trusts), the cultural landscape and the social and civic arena.
The objective of BCE is to transfer and exchange knowledge and expertise to deliver benefits to the economy at large and the institutions themselves. Both knowledge transfer and employer engagement are strategic government priorities and many institutions are undergoing significant cultural and organisational changes in order to be able to deliver effectively to this agenda.
The JISC Business & Community Engagement (BCE) Programme is providing £50,000 funding to support JISC infoNet working with five partner institutions to identify different models of BCE and good practice in embedding BCE activity within the business processes of FE and HE institutions. The outcomes of the project will inform a JISC infoNet resource for institutions looking to improve their BCE.
What Are We Looking For?
We are looking for partner institutions with an open and proactive outlook willing to undertake a facilitated review of BCE strategy, plans and processes to identify examples of good practice and the identification of challenges, issues, considerations and lessons learned by institutions in the implementation of different models of BCE engagement.
We are looking for partners that can demonstrate some effective practice in BCE. This may be small pockets of good practice that you wish to build upon rather than practice which is embedded cohesive cross-institutionally at present. We are interested in the effective use of information systems to support BCE activity and the range of issues relating to people, business processes and change that embedding BCE generates within the organisation.
What Benefits Will Participants Get From The Project?
BCE is an issue of increasing strategic importance to FE and HE institutions. Effective and sustainable knowledge transfer/exchange and employer engagement requires a distinct set of business processes and skills which need to be integrated into existing structures and systems. This project will support participants to examine their BCE strategy and operational processes and facilitate the identification of ideas for development and improvement. Each partner will receive a detailed process analysis and case study, and will have the opportunity to build a development and change plan to reinforce and enhance their existing model of activity.
Participants will have the opportunity to meet and share views with the other partner institutions and provide important input to a major new resource for the sector. Funding of £10,000 is available for each partner institution to contribute towards the cost of involvement. You will also achieve recognition for your contribution to the key national debate concerning employer and community engagement and development of the UK workforce.
Will Our Processes Be Publicised?
No. The detailed analysis in the form of process maps and a report and the details of the development plans will be made available only to the partner institution in which the processes originate. From the five institutions JISC infoNet will identify anonymised examples of good practice, models of embedding BCE and issues or considerations to be included within the online resource being created.
What is the timescale for the project?
We will be arranging a start-up meeting in the Midlands in early November, at which we will confirm the range of processes potentially involved, agree the format of the review visits and introduce a self-evaluation tool being developed for use by institutions.
Process Review visits will take place between November 2008 and April 2009. The JISC infoNet resource will be created between May and October 2009 with an open dissemination event planned for the end of October 2009.
What are the Selection Criteria?
We encourage potential participants to interpret the brief in its broadest sense so if you can answer "Yes" to most of the following questions, we would be keen to hear from you:
- Is engagement with employers and other business and community sector organisations a key feature of your strategic plan or something that you aim to build upon in future strategy?
- Can you show how activities in this area integrate with your core business processes?
- Are you committed to continuous improvement and looking for ideas for development and improvement?
- Are you interested in sharing good practice and participating in a sector-wide development project?
What Do I Do Next?
If you would like to take part in the project all you need to do is send an email to jiscinfonet@northumbria.ac.uk and include your responses to the following questions:
- Tell us a little bit about your institution and your approach to BCE e.g.
- is it a core or emerging part of your strategy
- is the management of BCE activity centralised, decentralised or the responsibility of a separate unit?
- Do you have any existing BCE performance measures?
- How you think you meet the criteria.
- Your role in the institution. N.B. If you aren't a senior manager in your institution we require confirmation from a member of your senior management team that the institution is willing to commit to the project.
- An indicative list of the job titles and roles of the staff whom you expect to take part in the project one of whom should be clearly identified as the institution's lead contact.
- Confirmation that you are available to attend the launch event on 4th November in Aston Business School, Birmingham.
For an effective start we are looking for a response by Monday 6th October 2008. We'll let you know the outcome by 10th October or soon thereafter.
