Background
What is BCE?
Business and Community Engagement (BCE) is a term increasingly being used to describe the relationships between further and higher education institutions and external organisations and individuals.
Why is BCE important to my university or college?
The current and future climate for further and higher education means that external engagement and partnerships with commercial, public sector, cultural, social and civic organisations are going to be increasingly important to the success of both individual institutions and the sector as a whole. Indeed, knowledge exchange, innovation and employer engagement are high on the Government's agenda and are seen as an important funding stream for further and higher education. These relationships can take many forms; examples taken from trial projects are given here.
Working with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
This type of collaboration is not new but, in recent years, has become more central to institutional strategy. This is exemplified by the University of Glamorgan and its relationships with local SMEs
'Building relationships with local growing businesses is an important part of the University's business development strategy to promote the opportunities for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, student and graduate enterprise, consultancy, training and postgraduate recruitment'
Knowledge exchange can greatly enhance the opportunities for local and national businesses as New College Swindon found when working with a new business partner to help them create advertising and training materials to assist with the growth of sales and expansion of their market share.
Business Involvement in Curricula Design and Delivery
Increasingly, employers are involved in the design and delivery of curricula ensuring that it meets their needs and the needs of the community. Further and higher education needs to be agile in its response to these requirements by developing relationships, having procedures and policies, and using tools that support the collaboration. An example of this type of partnership is the Midlands Health Academy (MHA) which includes higher education Institutions (HEIs), further education Colleges (FECs) and NHS organisations in the Birmingham and Black Country areas. The MHA consists of 9 partners who are working together to establish a closer relationship with local communities that will manifest itself in more people entering NHS employment.
The Response project was a response to the changing needs of the local NHS
'...use online collaborative tools to share knowledge and documents to ensure that the voice of the employer, the NHS, is heard when developing course materials. Because of changes in the NHS, academic institutions need to be able to respond to a different environment. It is critical that training programmes are available and linked to existing and emerging models of care...
The Response project has been innovative in that it has provided a platform for the NHS together with HEIs and FECs to discuss workforce planning and development.'
In the School of Design at Northumbria University, large multinational businesses are involved in the delivery of a collaborative design project for some second year undergraduates. The students not only gain an understanding of team working within such organisations but develop skills that they will require as product designers working in a global market place.
Collaboration between institutions
The nature of knowledge transfer (KT) is changing due in part to the economic climate of reduced resource but also due to technology supported collaboration together with new thinking emerging from social capital, organisational and individual motivation, and innovation theories. The new models of knowledge transfer also need to take into account cross-disciplinary together with inter-institution collaboration. Leeds University has piloted a new type of knowledge transfer - KT2.0 - by creating a virtual KT office in which a greater range of expertise is available beyond the host institution. The Leeds Innovation Forum is now integral to the Leeds University commercialisation team's activities and working with Manchester University on a common platform there are now opportunities for direct knowledge sharing between the two institutions.
Knowledge House has developed a web-based collaborative Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and project management system to help companies access the combined expertise, skills and specialist resources available from the five universities in the north-east of England. The system was developed to meet the very specific requirements of the universities and the interactions between them.
Communities of Practice
Developing a community of practice can have benefits for both sides of the partnership (Etienne Wenger). The practitioners gain the support and knowledge of academics, and students and staff of the institution gain from the knowledge and skills of the practitioners. Post-graduate students on the photojournalism course at the University of the Arts London benefit from such a community of practice that was created for professional photojournalists worldwide to share practice and enable discussion on topical questions.
Slide from BCE Awareness Project - Chris Young
Knowledge exchange, innovation and employer engagement are high on the Government's agenda for economic prosperity and are now becoming major drivers for institutional strategy. Within individual universities and colleges, the strategic management of the processes and relationships this creates will be crucial to future impact and success - BCE must become 'business as usual'.
