A partnership from Bath, including the University of Bath, Bath Spa University and Bath and North East Somerset Council, has been selected to join the National Civic Impact Accelerator programme, an ambitious three-year initiative to generate and mobilise intelligence of what works, for whom and in what contexts; catalyse and share civic innovations; and provide universities with the framework and tools to deliver meaningful, measurable civic strategies and activities.
The vision of the project is to increase the connectivity, momentum, and effectiveness of the university sector’s civic activities for local societal, economic, and environmental benefit and maximise the contribution universities can make towards addressing societal challenges and responding to policy priorities.
The Bath partnership has focused to date on themes of climate change, the creation of equitable partnerships, and the work required to embed civic engagement in the boardroom of major civic anchor institutions. Involvement in the project has helped to advance the creation of Bath’s Civic Agreement, and looking to the future the Bath partnership hopes to focus on some of the Civic Agreement themes through the National Civic Impact Accelerator programme.
Katrina Kelly, Head of Community Engagement at the University of Bath, said: “Involvement in this programme has allowed us to trail new approaches to civic engagement and to generating civic impact here in Bath, sharing what works and what doesn’t and getting ideas from other partnerships from across Britain. The programme has resulted in us creating some very valuable connections with other universities and local authorities – for example, we are hosting a delegation from York in the summer to explore our shared experiences and challenges around achieving carbon neutrality in a World Heritage City.”
More about the National Civic Impact Accelerator can be found here.