Transcript Ethics in engineering and product design

D A V I D W O L F F,
DIRECTOR
Cupp Aims
“to become recognised as a leading UK university
for the quality and range of its work in economic and social
engagement and productive partnerships”. Aim 3. Corporate Plan
– Ensure that the University's resources (intellectual and physical)
are available to, informed by and used by its local and sub-regional
communities
– Enhance the community's and University's capacity for
engagement for mutual benefit
– Ensure that Cupp’s resources are prioritised towards addressing
inequalities within our local communities
Snapshot before 2003
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University formed from a combination of local trade colleges. Historical emphasis on
vocational and applied work
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A number of committed, engaged academics working individually with the community
and without explicit support from the institution
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No central and formalised links with community groups although pockets of activity
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Minimal reference to community engaged scholarship in the corporate plan
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No committed central funding for community engagement
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No coherent community engagement philosophy
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Scepticism from community and university about the worth of investing in communityuniversity relations
Snapshot Dec 2009
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Expanded Helpdesk - 1000 plus enquiries from community organisations
400 plus students annually involved in community engagement projects
100 plus knowledge exchange partnership projects initiated
Over 120 academics actively involved with Cupp, including a strong crossinstitution senior researchers group (including 6 professors)
A dozen active communities of practice (for example: older people, children
and families, lesbian and gay community)
A dedicated and centrally funded infrastructure supporting community
engagement
Structured links with community organisations through co-ownership of
governance, co-ownership of projects, strong involvement in communities of
practice, co-delivery of research seminars and fora
Extensive dissemination: Book, papers, films, conferences
Winner Times Higher Education award for outstanding contribution to local
community 2008
How we organise
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Cupp development team - 4 development managers, 2 administrators and a
Director
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Academic directorship - 2 senior academics located in academic departments
20 senior researchers from Brighton and Sussex
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Helpdesk – access point to university and responsive service to enquirers
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Student community engagement – curriculum development that enable
students to work on community projects
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Knowledge Exchange -significant projects that involve community university
partnership
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Communities of practice – clusters of projects centred around a key theme
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Research and Development – support and consultancy to community university
partnerships nationally and globally
Learning points
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Win-wins: Mutually beneficial outputs
Define it ‘in the doing’
Play to the community’s and university’s strengths: Programme designed
with local picture in mind
Court community and academic practitioners: We invested a lot of time and
energy in relationship building and offering things
Bi-cameral structure works for us
Use short term projects as base for long term relationship building
Use community-university brokers: we need people who understand both
environments and speak both languages
Emphasise ‘practice’ and relationships rather than organisational form or
structure: ‘Communities of practice
Manage change within the university
Top down and bottom up support required
Centrally owned and locally hosted within a school
Stop moaning and get on with it
Institutional development at Brighton
 2003 Cupp initiated as expiremental development
 2004 Hefce funds community knowledge exchange
 2007 Corporate plan and core funding for Cupp
 2008 Hefce funds Coastal Communities Programme
 2008 Audit of commmunity engagement completed
 2009 Social engagement strategy agreed
 2009 New department of economic and social
engagement
Academic debates
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Purpose of higher education institutions
Contribution to locality
Widening participation
Student experience
Applied research and research assessment - impact
Funding models
Social capital
Partnership working in complex environments
Communities of practice
Audit and evaluation
7 dimensions model
Piloting Bradford REAP evaluation model
Cupp network on the web
www.cuppcop.ning.com
Cupp news
Sign up for email updates
www.cupp.org.uk
“Community university partnerships in practice”
Edited by Angie Hart, Elizabeth Maddison and David Wolff
www.niace.org.uk/publications/C/comm-university.asp