Community of Practice for Outreach and WP Practitioners > Adopter Universities - Strengthening Community Links

Adopter Universities - Strengthening Community Links

Due to the success of the Community of Practice for Outreach and WP Practitioners' project, the project leaders (Dr Barrie Cooper and Chloe Cunningham of the University of Exeter) gained additional funding from the National HE STEM Programme's Practice Transfer Adopters scheme to support the strengthening of other universities' community links.

Three institutions were successful in their bids to adopt support from the project, as follows:

The Adoption Process

The adoption process looked to support the adopter universities to strengthen their links with local community organisations through approaches such as peer review and shadowing. The aim of forging such relationships was to enhance cross-organisational learning with regards STEM outreach.

Earlier in the Community of Practice for Outreach and WP Practitioners' project, success had been had from a learning officer at the University of Bristol observing a learning programme developer at the Natural History Museum delivering some outreach. The learning officer captured their thoughts and reflections on their visit, as in the document below. It was this kind of activity that the adopter institutions were encouraged to undertake.

Peer Review Reflections - Example

On 14th February 2012, an initial meeting was held at the University of Birmingham and focused on how universities can develop closer links with FE Colleges, schools, museums, STEMNET ambassadors, Science Learning Centres etc. It also identified and developed participants’ understandings of effective outreach and how to complete peer reviews and shadowing activities. The meeting also provided guidance to adopter universities on how to organise a cross-sector dissemination event with local community partners and how to set up an online presence.

The below support documents were distributed on the day:

Peer Review and Shadowing Scheme

Benefits and Challenges to Communities of Practice

Following the meeting, the adopter universities were challenged, over the coming months, to:

Develop new, or improve existing, community engagement activities
Visit another adopter university to witness how community engagement is done elsewhere
Develop a working relationship with a new community partner
Capture their experiences and learning in a case study booklet
Hold a dissemination event with local community partners to outline findings

A meeting closing the adoption process was held on 7th June 2012 at the University of Exeter. At this meeting, the adopter universities presented their outputs and learning from the project and shared good practice.

The project leads have written a meta-evaluation which captures the adoption process and which draws out the key learning from, and impact at, the adopter universities. This meta-evaluation can be downloaded below:

Community of Practice Adopters - Meta-evaluation