This book addresses the need for a comprehensive reappraisal of what it means to be a ‘civic university’. For two decades the ‘civic’ agenda has been driven by a concern with economic impact and regional economic development. While recognising the importance of these aspects of universities’ civic influence, there is a need to more comprehensively outline how universities can and should make a difference across a wide spectrum of place-based activity, against a background of intensifying global social and environmental challenges. Rooted in collaborative work by the Civic University Network and community-based partners, the book provides a clear logical framework that universities and their partners can use to examine the extent of their civic activities, but also challenges them to use that framework as a starting point for deeper reflection and engagement. It celebrates the actions universities have taken to respond to communities’ needs, and encourages them to think more rigorously about what they can do in the future, and how they can become more accountable to the communities they serve. The book is an essential read for university leaders, academics involved in public engagement, and civic leaders and representatives who wish to develop closer engagement with their local universities.
Author(s): Julian Dobson, Ed Ferrari
Series: Rethinking University-Community Policy Connections
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 183
City: Cham
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Why the Time Is Right for a Civic Turn
Why Now? Higher Education Under Scrutiny
Restoring the Vision: From Anchor Institutions to Civic Mission
Place and Purpose: The Current Challenge and Opportunity
Framing Civic Action
Domains of Civic Action
Overview of Chapters
References
Chapter 2: A Question of Leadership
Introduction
What Are Civic University Agreements and Why Bother?
What Is the Civic University Network and What Does it Advise?
How Did We Find Out What Was Going on in Practice?
What Did We Learn?
So What’s Going on?
Do University Leaders Really Care About Civic?
What Does University Leadership Mean?
What About Sector Leadership?
What About the Government?
References
Chapter 3: How Should Universities Understand Their Social Impact?
Introduction
Public Engagement and Community Partnerships
Civic University Engagement in Liverpool City Region
Case Study 1. The City Conversation: Research with Disadvantaged Communities
Case Study 2. UNICEF Child Friendly City Programme: Place-based Leadership at a City Level
Case Study 3. Covid-19 Mass Testing Pilot: Tackling Complex Global Challenges
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Can Universities be Climate Leaders?
Introduction
Universities, Neoliberalism, and Sustainability
Teaching: Another World Is Possible
Buildings: Signifiers of Place-Based Impacts
Flying for Research and Study: Embedded Behaviours and Practices
Discussion—Escaping Climate Hypocrisy?
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: How Universities Can Help to Build a Healthier Society
Widening Participation
The Civic Impact Framework
Mapping Networks, Data and Assets for Universities’ Civic Role in Health and Wellbeing
Partnering (Where Do We Want to Go and with Whom?)
Agreeing (Who Will Do What and When?)
Resourcing (How Are Activities Supported?)
Evaluation (How Are We Doing?)
Learning (What Will Change and How?)
Health of Students and Staff
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Civic Universities and Culture: A Tilted View
Universities and Culture
The Role of Self-Reflection in Making Change
Experimenting with Different Forms of Sociality in the Cultural Field
The Tilted View: A Reflexive Tool
Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 7: More-Than-Civic: Higher Education and Civil Society in Post-Industrial Localities
Introduction
The Economic Impact of Universities
Stoke-on-Trent’s Economic Context
The Staffordshire University Approach to Civic Impact
From a Place of Abundance, Not Deficit
Reflecting Values Through Priorities
Co-creation
Community Giving
Place-Shaping
Plurality of Impacts
Embedding the Approach
Understanding the Impact
Taking Connected Communities Beyond the Civic
Addressing Hardship and Poverty Work Through Lived Experience
Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: Placemaking for the Civic University: Interface Sites as Spaces of Tension and Translation
The University as Urban Actor
Three Instances of Placemaking for Civic Action
The Refugee Rights Hub: Placemaking for Care and Justice
Live Works: Placemaking for Community Co-design
CSM Rural: Placemaking in Climate Crisis
Spaces of Learning: Tension, Transition, Translation
References
Chapter 9: Bringing Civic Impact to Life
The Relevance of Universities
The Purpose of Universities
A Civic Logic
Beyond Civic Impact
Bringing Civic Impact to Life
References
Index
