We are thrilled to announce that the Civic Agreement for Bath and North East Somerset has been announced as a finalist in the ‘Civic’ category of the 2025 Bath Life Awards.
The Civic Agreement, titled ‘Future Ambition’, was launched in May 2024 as an agreement between the key anchor institutions in Banes to collaborate together on both tackling key local issues and on ensuring that as large employers, each organisation would behave in civically responsible ways.
The agreement was signed by the University of Bath, Bath Spa University, Bath and North East Somerset Council and the Royal United Hospitals Bath, with Curo heavily supporting in its delivery and set to sign the agreement in Spring 2025.
This was a significant move for each organisation and for the region as a whole as it marks a change in approach to addressing the ‘wicked problems’ of the 21st century and their impacts on our area. We can’t address issues such as healthcare, climate change or education in silos, and only by combining research, policy and leadership will progress be made.
The agreement has already made a difference in our community, with active collaborations in digital connectivity, opportunity creation and attainment raising, ED&I best practice, procurement, and even a regional housing strategy in development. There are also collaborations in healthcare, social care, education, waste management, food security and more, and all are supported by leadership that is committed to working in partnership.
Fundamentally, the agreement has ensured that commitment has remained strong despite multiple leadership changes across the signatory organisations. Since its launch, there have been two new university Vice Chancellors, changes to organisational structures, and significant changes from central government, but the Civic Agreement has been effective in maintaining a focus on our local area and on collaboration.
What’s next? Both universities would like to engage their students more with the civic agreement – a civic student is a valuable asset to a place and supporting students to volunteer, vote, engage with local politics, support local charities and be good citizens will benefit everyone. Additionally, working on the co-development of plans to address local challenges is a core objective of the agreement, and we’re only at the start of what is possible in that space. And importantly, facilitating opportunities to share knowledge, facilities and skills across organisations and our region is much easier when each organisation is prioritising collaboration.
We congratulate all of the shortlisted organisations in this years Bath Life Awards, and are excited to see the winners revealed later this month.