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He policy update for the w/e 13th March 2020

HEIF, Industry collaboration, innovation

The first budget of the new Government was delivered on Wednesday. Overall a quieter week as most focussed on the nation’s health.  We can do no better than refer you to the BU website and for staff, the BU intranet pages.

The Budget

There was very little specifically relating to HE in the budget. Of most relevance is the increase in the research and development investment:

1.220 The Budget sets out ambitious plans to increase public R&D investment to £22 billion per year by 2024-25. This landmark investment is the largest and fastest ever expansion of support for basic research and innovation, taking direct support for R&D to 0.8% of GDP and placing the UK among the top quarter of OECD nations – ahead of the USA, Japan, France and China. This unprecedented increase in investment will support a range of objectives, including:

  • supporting world-leading research in all regions and nations of the UK, including by cutting bureaucracy, experimenting with new funding models, and establishing a new funding agency to focus on high-risk, high-reward research
  • meeting the great challenges facing society, including climate change and an ageing population, and providing funding to pursue ‘moonshot’ scientific missions
  • investing in the government’s own strategic science capability and improving public services
  • backing businesses to invest and innovate so that they can compete in the global technology-driven economy

1.221 Details of how this funding will support these and other objectives will be set out  at the forthcoming CSR, but the Budget announces a set of measures that will have an  immediate impact.

And

  • The government is providing an immediate funding boost of up to £400 million in 2020-21 for world-leading research, infrastructure and equipment. This will help build excellence in research institutes and universities right across the UK, particularly in basic research and physical sciences.  The government will also provide £300 million for experimental mathematical research to attract the very best global talent over the next five years. This will double funding for new PhDs and boost the number of maths fellowships and research projects.
  • The government will invest at least £800 million in a new blue-skies funding agency here in the UK, modelled on the extraordinary ‘ARPA’ in the US.65 This agency will fund high-risk, high-reward science.
  • In recognition of their excellence and global reach, the government will increase funding for the UK’s foremost specialist institutions by £80 million over the next five years. This will support world-leading organisations such as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Royal College of Art and the Institute of Cancer Research among others. At the CSR, the government will examine how R&D funding as a whole can best be distributed across the country to help level up every region and nation of the country.
  • The government is committed to ensuring that the UK’s fast-growing and innovative businesses continue to have access to the finance they need to invest and grow. The Life Sciences Investment Programme will provide the British Business Bank with additional resources to make up to £200 million in equity commitments to support the UK’s most innovative health and life sciences firms over the next five years. Invested alongside private sector capital, this is expected to enable £600 million of finance to create high-quality jobs and help UK patients benefit from more ground-breaking treatments and care. This funding will build on the £350 million of finance to life sciences firms currently supported by the British Business Bank by supporting large-scale venture growth funds. The programme will launch within a year.

Other HE matters

  • Freezing the maximum fee cap – As announced in July 2019, the government has frozen the maximum fee cap in England for the 2020-21 academic year at £9,250 for regular full-time undergraduate courses and at £11,100 for accelerated degree courses.
  • Removing the student finance three-year residence requirement for victims of domestic abuse – From academic year 2020-21, the government is removing the three-year ordinary residence requirement for student finance for those granted Indefinite Leave to Remain as victims of domestic abuse.
  • Entitlement to part-time Maintenance Loans – The Budget takes into account the fiscal impacts of part-time Maintenance Loans not being extended to sub-degree (level 4/5 courses) and distance learners, as announced in June 2019 and March 2019 respectively.
  • Institutes of Technology – The government will provide £120 million to bring further education and higher education providers in England together with employers to open up to eight new Institutes of Technology. These institutions will be used to deliver high-quality higher level technical education and to help close skills gaps in their local areas.

On FE

  • Further education capital funding – The government will provide £1.5 billion over five years (£1.8 billion inclusive of indicative Barnett consequentials), supported by funding from further education colleges themselves, to bring the facilities of colleges everywhere in England up to a good level, and to support improvements to colleges to raise the quality and efficiency of vocational education provision.
  • Facilities and equipment to support T levels – The government will provide £95 million for providers in England to invest in high quality facilities and industry-standard equipment to support the rollout of T levels. Funding will support T level routes being delivered from autumn 2021, including construction, digital, and health and science.
  • National Skills Fund – The government will consult widely in the spring on how to use the new National Skills Fund.
  • Apprenticeship Levy – The government will look at how to improve the working of the Apprenticeship Levy, to support large and small employers in meeting the long-term skills needs of the economy.
  • Apprenticeships – The government will ensure that sufficient funding is made available in 2020-21 to support an increase in the number of new high-quality apprenticeships in small-and medium-sized businesses.

Dods summarise and speculate on the main educational elements within the budget:

  • The spending review could represent a more pivotal moment for education funding generally, with the government set to issue their response to the Augar Review. In the interim, debates about value in HE could predominate, with the outcomes of the TEF review anticipated. The Government’s R&D ambitions and commitment on “world leading, research infrastructure and support” are interesting in this context. HEPI have urged the Government to recognise the interdependence of teaching and research, as well as prevent Augar and TEF conclusions circumscribing universities role in underpinning R&D objectives.
  • Augar will also have major implications for an FE sector desperate for investment to match the rhetoric in both 16-19 and adult education. A spring consultation on the £3bn National Skills Fund will likely elicit contrasting responses across the sector, with some demanding devolution to elected mayors and LEPs and others advocating providers be allowed to compete for funds. Colleges may also query whether today’s commitments can ensure preparedness for forthcoming T-level qualifications.
  • It was arguably education funding pledges that introduced “levelling up” to parliamentary parlance last September, with steps to harden the formula for per-pupil funding allocations presented as emblematic of government resolve to tackle regional disparities. As a result, the budget contained few surprises for compulsory education, with school budgets set to increase by £4.3bn in real terms by 2022/23. From 2010, this represents an historically unprecedented funding squeeze (IfS), with schools also required to absorb a government increases to teaching salaries.

A series of regional factsheets have been published on the 2020 budget. Here is the one for the South West, it includes:

  • £79 million for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole including funding for new cycle freeways and bus priority schemes through the Transforming Cities Fund.
  • The South West will benefit from a share of the next £5.2 billion flood and coastal defence investment programme starting in 2021. These locations will benefit from at least the following levels of funding as a result of this programme: £114 million for Bridgwater, £34 million for Poole, and £1.4 million for Gloucester to better protect over 7,000 properties.
  • The Government will support the Western Gateway, a strategic economic partnership across south Wales and the West of England, to oversee an independent economic review to identify long-term economic opportunities and challenges for the region.

And sharing the national pot to access:

  • £100 million of seed funding for 21 schemes from the Health Infrastructure Plan, seven of which are in the South West.
  • £640 million as part of the Nature for Climate Fund.
  • Over £500 million to cement our world-leading position in cutting edge technologies including space, electric vehicles and life sciences

The budget also launched the long-awaited Comprehensive Spending Review (2020). This will conclude in July when the Chancellor will set out the detailed spending plans for public services and investment, including the resource budgets from 2021-22 to 2023-24 and capital budgets up to 2024-25. It will be a key time for HE as many of the delayed big decisions such as Augar Review, student fee levels, and TEF are set to be tackled as part of the CSR.

Cross subsidisation – Teaching & Research

Cross subsidisation – whereby HE institutions fund aspects of research activity from student fee income  – has been a contentious point which bothered Government in the recent past. It was overshadowed as the value for money discussion rose; however, quiet rumblings about whether cross subsidisation is ‘right’ have continued in the background. On Monday, prior to the budget, HEPI published a report on cross subsidisation within the post-Augar context and exploring the Government’s 2.4% R&D target.

The report argues that the debate about value for money in higher education alongside parts of the Augar Review (the £7,500 tuition fee recommendation) fails to acknowledge the interdependence between teaching and research. It argues that adopting the Augar recommendations would circumscribe university investment in new programmes such as artificial intelligence and machine learning – contradictory to the Government aim to strengthen research in these areas.

  • University research is underfunded against its true costs – the latest figures show a gap amounting to £4.3 billion across the UK and £3.7 billion in England and Northern Ireland.
  • The shortfall in research funding has been partially filled by cross-subsidies from international students’ fees – each international student in the UK pays an average of £5,100 more than it costs to educate them.
  • Depending on how the Government opt to respond to the Augar review’s recommendations on tuition fees, then the shortfall on teaching home undergraduates could increase by between £0.7 billion and £2.3 billion above its current level of £0.2 billion.
  • A larger gap will need to be covered by increases in productivity, a lower quality student experience, or redirecting the cross-subsidy arising from international student fee income.
  • If international student fees are used to fill in – or merely reduce – a bigger gap in the funding of home students, they will no longer be available to cross-subsidise research, meaning the annual research deficit in England and Northern Ireland alone could rise to £4.9 billion. Teaching and research could suffer; and:
  • This will make it very challenging to reach the Government’s R&D spend target .
  • The splitting of teaching from research in Whitehall – a different Minister and Department for each hampers the joined-up approach to the two activities undertaken by HEIs.
  • An increase in overseas students could relieve some of the financial pressures but is not inevitable, given international competition, changing geopolitics and the Home Office’s general approach in recent years to international students. Dare I also mention COVID-19?!
  • If policymakers want to hold down – or reduce – tuition fees, preside over further improvements to the student experience and ensure much greater R&D spending, they are likely to need to spend more than planned.

The paper concludes:

  • The Government want to see an increase in education export earnings to £35 billion a year by 2030, up from £20 billion in 2016, with 600,000 students hosted in the UK, up from 470,000 in 2017/18. If such targets are to be achieved then it might be possible to continue cross subsidising research from international student fees while also substantially increasing the cross-subsidies for teaching home students.
  • However, this would make the university sector even more reliant on other countries at a time when there are already fears of over-exposure to fluctuations in geopolitics. Moreover, relying more on international student fees to bolster the teaching of home students will always make it harder to realise the R&D target than if all the available cross-subsidies were spent on research

Nick Hillman, the Director of HEPI and the author of the report, said:

  • If the UK university sector is to continue thriving, then it is crucial that the Chancellor recognises the interdependencies between teaching and research in the budget and subsequent spending review.
  • Universities roughly break even on teaching home students but make a big loss on research. They fill in part of that gap from the surplus on teaching international students. But they now face a looming large loss on teaching home students, for example because of tweaks to tuition fees in England. If that happens, they will have to use international student fees to subsidise home students and there will be less money for covering gaps in research funding.
  • We need to redouble our efforts to ensure a better understanding of the interdependencies between teaching and research in the face of the latest Whitehall changes, which mean we now have one Minister for Universities and a different Minister for Science.

A change of heart from the OfS

Nicola Dandridge has set out her plans to improve the relationship that the OfS has with HE providers in an interesting blog on Wonkhe.

It sets out plans such as:

  • …a review that will help us assess the impact of our regulatory activity on individual providers.
  • …new guidance on an area that I know has caused frustration to some universities and colleges – reportable events. The guidance will set out in clear terms the things providers need to tell the OfS about, and explain how we will deal with those reports.
  • We are improving how we correspond with universities and colleges in response to their feedback. Some providers have found our engagement with them too impersonal. In future, letters and emails will normally be sent from named individuals so it is clear who has dealt with individual queries. We have added specific contact details to our website, so that providers can quickly reach the most relevant teams with questions, with a dedicated phone number for regulation and monitoring queries. We also plan to move to two release dates per month for letters and consultations we send to vice chancellors and principals, when possible, so that the pace of communications feels more ordered.
  • We have taken steps internally to improve the clarity and tone of our communications to individual providers, and to make them feel less bureaucratic. We have started to share calendars of key activities, updating them regularly on our website. We will also improve our communications on data requirements, ensuring clearer understanding of how to use our templates, making sure our deadlines allow sufficient time for engagement with both management and with governing bodies/councils where that is expected. We will actively seek feedback as we develop our processes for data collection and presentation
  • Later this spring, we will be hosting both a national event and a number of regional events for universities and colleges on our approach to regulation…

In the meantime the requirement to make daily reports to the OfS of numbers of staff or students with the corona virus appear to have been bypassed by advice to stay at home and not seek to get tested if you are showing symptoms – making the numbers essentially meaningless.  Universities up and down the country will be hoping that this particular requirement will be relaxed.

 The graduate premium

HESA have issued a report that says that “Research shows decline in ‘graduate premium’ less pronounced for 1st and 2:1 degrees”.

From the HESA website;

  • Researchers from HESA and the Department of Economics at Warwick University compared the pay of graduates with non-graduates. Given the growth in the proportion of graduates with a first or upper second class award, they looked for changes in the returns to a first or upper second class degree compared with lower grades. They found graduates born in 1970 who had a first or upper second class degree earned 20% more than non-graduates at age 26, compared to a graduate premium of 14% for those with a lower second class degree or below.
  • The researchers had previously found that the graduate premium has reduced over time. The same comparison for people born in 1990 found that graduates with a first or 2:1 earned 14% more than non-graduates at age 26, while the return to a 2:2 or lower class degree was only 3%.
  • The study found that the overall reduction in the return to a degree was largely explained by stronger pay growth in non-professional occupations than in professional jobs. They suggest that the accompanying increase in the gap between the returns to higher and lower degree classifications, from 6 percentage points to 11 percentage points, may relate to workplace recruitment focussing on graduates with at least an upper second class degree.
  • The research also compared the returns to a first with the returns to a 2:1, and the returns to a 2:1 compared to a 2:2. The tentative results, based on a small number of first-class degree holders born in 1970, found that the relative benefit of having a first over having a 2:1 has decreased by up to 3 percentage points. The study’s authors note that this may be due the long-term trend of more graduates being awarded a first class degree. Meanwhile the relative benefit of a 2:1 over a 2:2 has increased by up to 8 percentage points.

Inquiries and Consultations

Click here to view the updated inquiries and consultation tracker. Email us on policy@bournemouth.ac.uk if you’d like to contribute to any of the current consultations.

Other news

DfE has published new figures on apprenticeships in England.

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COVID-19 guidance for clinical researchers

NHS, Research Ethics

The Health Research Authority have released guidance for clinical researchers, sponsors and sites with regard to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – please read this guidance if you are currently conducting your project or are in the planning stages/set-up of the study (so you are aware of the current situation).

This guidance is subject to change and will be updated as and when required by the HRA.

You can read the guidance in the link provided above, but for convenience, these are the most likely situations BU clinical researchers may face. Please ensure that in planning amendments that these do not create additional burden to NHS staff or resources.

Amendments to existing studies impacted by wider COVID-19 response 

  • Example – Where changes to administrative arrangements are required to reduce burden or physical contact with sites – for example, changes to monitoring arrangements.

How this should be handled – these are non-substantial amendments that do not require HRA/HCRW approval or NHS R&D agreement. Where the study involves the NHS, they will be marked by the sponsor as a category C amendment not requiring assessment, and sent directly to the sites. The site should implement the amendment on the date specified by the sponsor.

  • Example – Where changes are made to how or when patients are seen to avoid exposing patients or to reduce burden on clinical services – for example, changing site visits to phone calls or postal questionnaires.

How this should be handled – these are non-substantial amendments that do not require HRA/HCRW approval or NHS R&D agreement. The same procedure as the first example should be followed.

  • Example – Where a temporary halt needs to be placed on some or all of the study, or the duration of the study needs to be extended.

How this should be handled – these are non-substantial amendments that do not require HRA/HCRW approval or NHS R&D agreement. The same procedure as above should be followed.

  • Example – studies that need to be closed.

How this should be handled – for studies not involving provision of treatment to participants, a notification to the REC or study-wide review (for non-REC studies) should be provided, and an end of study report should subsequently be provided.
For any studies involving provision of treatment to participants, careful consideration should be given to post-study care. If this cannot be in line with the information provided in the participant-information sheet, a substantial amendment should be submitted.

To support sites in implementing the amendments it is important that:

  • The changes and local implications are made clear
  • Any changes to documentation are provided in tracked changes
  • In England and Wales All correspondence to sites should be copied to R&D/I department and the PI and delivery teams
  • Where indicated above, the sponsor should include the category and confirm that no assessment is required.

There may be some instances in which the site may raise issues or changes that need to be made. If they do, please inform the Sponsor as soon as possible.

What to do next

If you think that you may need to implement any changes or amendments to your study due to COVID-19 please get in touch with us as soon as possible. If you have any concerns or queries then please also get in touch to discuss these.

Panel member recruitment: shaping the future of knowledge exchange at BU – deadline extended

Knowledge Exchange

In 2020, universities across England will be submitting to the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) for the first time.  The KEF will measure performance in seven different areas, including working with businesses, local growth and regeneration and skills, enterprise and entrepreneurship.  Research England (who will administer the KEF) intends for it to be a tool that will increase effectiveness in the use of public funding for KE, create a culture of continuous improvement in universities and increase awareness of the types of support universities can provide.

During the course of this year, universities will also be considering their responses to the new Knowledge Exchange Concordat; a joint initiative by Universities UK and GuildHE to help guide universities in making informed decisions in shaping their KE strategies.  The Concordat sets out eight guiding principles of themes for institutions to consider when creating/shaping/changing their KE provision.

To help BU prepare for these changes and to develop its knowledge exchange activities, a Knowledge Exchange Working Group is being established.  The group is being led by Ian Jones, Head of External Engagement and Professor Wen Tang, in her capacity as Chair of the HEIF Funding Panel.  We are currently recruiting for academic members of the group.

Role of working group members

We are looking make four academic appointments to the group, who will help to shape the future direction of knowledge exchange at Bournemouth University.  We are interested in recruiting staff who, between them, have taken part in a variety of knowledge exchange activities and who have worked with a wide range of non-academic organisations.

Members of the working group will be expected to work as part of team in order to review BU’s strengths and weaknesses in knowledge exchange and make recommendations for change.

The working group will meet c. 4 times per year.  Terms of reference for the working group can be downloaded here.

Application criteria

To apply for the role, please submit a short expression of interest (no more than 1 page) to the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Working Group (via knowledgeexchange@bournemouth.ac.uk), outlining how you meet the following criteria:

  • Experience of developing or leading a range of knowledge exchange activities (scored out of 5: Working group members are expected to have taken part in or led on a range of knowledge exchange activities as part of their research. Please give examples of these activities, outlining your role and what happened as a result of these activities.
  • Experience of working with a variety of different non-academic organisations (scored out of 5): We are looking to appoint academics who, between them, have worked with a variety of different types of organisations and with a wide range of different industries.  Please outline your experience and what it would bring to the working group.
  • Demonstrable interest in developing knowledge exchange at BU (scored out of 5): Working group members will be expected to work together to review BU’s strengths and weaknesses in knowledge exchange and make recommendations for change. Please state why you would like to be part of the group and how you would work to make it a success.

Application deadline

Please submit your application to knowledgeexchange@bournemouth.ac.uk by 5pm on Wednesday 18 March.

Review process

Applications will be reviewed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Panel after 18 March.  Applicants will be contacted about the outcome during the week of 23 March.

RKEDF – Research Ethics @ BU workshop

Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Training

On Tuesday 19 May (11 am – 1 pm), RDS are running a practical 2 hour workshop on research ethics focusing on navigating the online ethics checklist and the review and approval process.  So if you’re in the process of putting together an ethics application or in need of a refresher, this workshop is for you.

The workshop is open to Researchers (staff).  Details of workshops available to Postgraduate Research Students can be accessed via Brightspace.

Workshop Aims:

How to navigate the online ethics checklsit and the review and approval process will be discussed, including how risk is identified.  By the end of this workshop you will have an understanding about:

  • How to complete an online ethics checklist
  • The process for gaining ethics approval
  • What makes a good application

If you’re interested in attending then reserve your place via Organisational Development.

PalaeoGo and Dino Doodle: a few quid short!

Fusion, HEIF

Funding is tough in higher education and many great ideas fall short of just a little bit of money to makes something cool a reality. This could be one of them. 

PalaeoGo is a concluding HEIF project that puts extinct animals into your smart phone using Augmented Reality.  The idea was to enhance visitor experience at museums and science outreach in general.  We have generic Apps in the app stores (App Store, Google Play) as well as a couple of bespoke ones specific to museums, The Etches Collection (App Store, Google Play) and Winchester Science Centre (App Store, Google Play) as well as a BU Campus version (App Store, Google Play). They bring dinosaurs to life and are hugely popular with children. 

Perhaps the work we are most of proud of is that with Kingsleigh Primary School. In December 2019 we ran an outreach event which saw us take our PalaeoGo apps into school and we ran a dinosaur colouring competition alongside. This saw Year Two children compete for the prize of having their drawing come to life in a video. The community response was huge, and the school were happy with the outcome.   

So, impressed with the idea and aware that once the project was over, and we had lost our talented digital artist Cameron Kerr (something which has now happened), such interventions would no longer be possible we began to plan a solution.  We put our minds to trying to create the pipeline which would take a scanned piece of artwork from a child and produce their own video as the end product. In this way a school where ever they are in the World could run their own dino colouring competition. We now have that code all primed and ready as illustrated in this video, and we are looking for a talented web developer to package it all into a neat school/child friendly website, preferably pro bono.

So, ideas and/or offers of help are needed on how we move this brilliant idea into something that kids across the World can interact with.  Answers on a postcode to the frustrated PalaeoGo team. 

Employing Researchers at BU

Notice for those who currently employ or who need to employ researchers on projects.

There is a new Code of Practice for the Employment of Researchers available on the staff intranet.

This document provides guidance on the University’s expectations for the recruitment, support, management and development of research staff in line with the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

If you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Expressions of Interest invited from senior academics to join the BU REF Appeals Panel

Research assessment

Our BU REF 2021 Code of Practice states that in the event of an appeal the Vice-Chancellor will convene and chair the BU REF Appeals Panel to undertake a review of each case. The role of the Panel is to:

• Review and consider all appeals submitted by appraising all documentation pertaining to the REF Steering Group decision and the case for appeal.

• Decide on whether or not an individual should be referred back to the REF Steering Group and/or the REF Circumstances Board for further consideration.

• Ensure final decisions are communicated to the Head of RDS who will report to the REF Steering Group and notify the individual of the outcome of the appeal.

The Panel is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor with support from a member of Research Development & Support (RDS). Membership will include at least three senior academics.

We are now seeking expressions of interest from senior academic colleagues (G10+) who are interested in joining the REF Appeals Panel. Successful applicants will be required to attend one or more meetings of the REF Appeals Panel (to be held in late September 2020), have a thorough knowledge of the REF guidance and the BU REF Code of Practice, and undertake REF-focussed equality and diversity training. We therefore ask for your commitment, active contribution and, most importantly, confidentiality due to the sensitive work of the Panel. In return you will be involved in an important cross-University committee, gain an insight into the REF and equality and diversity (both highly topical issues in the sector), and be engaged in academic citizenship.

Nomination procedure:

We are seeking to recruit a diverse group of at least six senior academics to potentially be called upon in the event of an appeal. Colleagues who are interested should submit an expression of interest stating your interest in being a member of the BU REF Appeals Panel and summarising the experience, skills and attributes you could bring to the Panel (max 250 words).  Your nomination should state your name, job title, Faculty and Department.

The deadline for expressions of interest is Friday 27th March 2020. Nominations should be emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Expressions of interest will be reviewed by a panel of reviewers who are responsible for agreeing on which applicants to invite to serve on the BU REF Appeals Panel.

Eligibility:

Applications are invited from senior BU academic staff (Grade 10+). You must be independent from REF preparations (for example, applicants cannot be UOA Leaders, impact champions or output champions and cannot be members of the REF Steering Group, REF Committee or REF Circumstances Board).

If you have any queries, please speak with Julie Northam (Head of RDS)  in the first instance.

NIHR Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Training opportunities

NIHR are pleased to offer five practical and interactive 2h sessions focussed on different aspects of PPI delivery. Each session can be attended as a stand-alone event or as part of a course.

Learn how to:
• Identify how the public can meaningfully contribute to your work
• Manage group discussions and get the most out of the conversations
• Work successfully with members of the public
• Communicate in plain English

These sessions are open to all researchers working in health and social care across Wessex. These events are not designed for public members although some may benefit from sessions where there is clear overlap with their role. Public members will apply and be prioritised using the same criteria and should be supported by their research team and/or PPI lead in their application. Travel and time reimbursement for their attendance would need to be met by the research team.

Programme

All sessions take place in Room LC51, Level C, South Academic Block, Southampton General Hospital

Wednesday 6th May 2020,  10:30-12:30
Session 1: What is the right way to involve people

Where the public influence your research
Ways in which you can work together

Thursday 21st May 2020,  12:30-14:30
Session 2: Working with the public – managing group discussions

Strategies to get the most out of group discussions
Tips to manage more challenging personalities

Tuesday 2nd June 2020, 10:30-12:30
Session 3: Working with the public – recruiting and keeping members

Who you should be involving in your research
How to maintain positive relationships with those you involve

Monday 22nd June 2020, 13:30-15:30
Session 4: Working with the public – getting the most out of your PPI activities

How to ensure that people are able to contribute
The importance of planning to ensure your activity is effective and successful

Tuesday 30th June 2020,  13:30-15:30
Session 5: Communicating in lay language

How to write and talk in a lay language, and working with jargon.

To register, follow this link: https://forms.gle/UayCBY8WBfhRhLux7

Application closing date: Tuesday, 24th March 2020 at 23hrs

Successful applicant will be notified by: Tuesday, 7th April 2020

Places are limited. Places are free but there will be a charge for anyone who does not attend.

Panel member recruitment: shaping the future of knowledge exchange at BU

Knowledge Exchange

In 2020, universities across England will be submitting to the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) for the first time.  The KEF will measure performance in seven different areas, including working with businesses, local growth and regeneration and skills, enterprise and entrepreneurship.  Research England (who will administer the KEF) intends for it to be a tool that will increase effectiveness in the use of public funding for KE, create a culture of continuous improvement in universities and increase awareness of the types of support universities can provide.

During the course of this year, universities will also be considering their responses to the new Knowledge Exchange Concordat; a joint initiative by Universities UK and GuildHE to help guide universities in making informed decisions in shaping their KE strategies.  The Concordat sets out eight guiding principles of themes for institutions to consider when creating/shaping/changing their KE provision.

To help BU prepare for these changes and to develop its knowledge exchange activities, a Knowledge Exchange Working Group is being established.  The group is being led by Ian Jones, Head of External Engagement and Professor Wen Tang, in her capacity as Chair of the HEIF Funding Panel.  We are currently recruiting for academic members of the group.

Role of working group members

We are looking make four academic appointments to the group, who will help to shape the future direction of knowledge exchange at Bournemouth University.  We are interested in recruiting staff who, between them, have taken part in a variety of knowledge exchange activities and who have worked with a wide range of non-academic organisations.

Members of the working group will be expected to work as part of team in order to review BU’s strengths and weaknesses in knowledge exchange and make recommendations for change.

The working group will meet c. 4 times per year.  Terms of reference for the working group can be downloaded here.

Application criteria

To apply for the role, please submit a short expression of interest (no more than 1 page) to the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Working Group (via knowledgeexchange@bournemouth.ac.uk), outlining how you meet the following criteria:

  • Experience of developing or leading a range of knowledge exchange activities (scored out of 5: Working group members are expected to have taken part in or led on a range of knowledge exchange activities as part of their research. Please give examples of these activities, outlining your role and what happened as a result of these activities.
  • Experience of working with a variety of different non-academic organisations (scored out of 5): We are looking to appoint academics who, between them, have worked with a variety of different types of organisations and with a wide range of different industries.  Please outline your experience and what it would bring to the working group.
  • Demonstrable interest in developing knowledge exchange at BU (scored out of 5): Working group members will be expected to work together to review BU’s strengths and weaknesses in knowledge exchange and make recommendations for change. Please state why you would like to be part of the group and how you would work to make it a success.

Application deadline

Please submit your application to knowledgeexchange@bournemouth.ac.uk by 5pm on Wednesday 11 March.

Review process

Applications will be reviewed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Panel during the week of 16 March.  Applicants will be contacted about the outcome during the week of 23 March.

Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework – survey closes in 5 days!

BU Challenges, Knowledge Exchange

The Research & Knowledge Exchange Framework (RKEDF) is now into its fourth year.  It offers training and development opportunities to academics at all stages of their career, supporting staff to increase their skills, knowledge and capabilities.

The RKEDF offers a range of support including sessions for those who are new to research or to BU, for staff who want to further develop their research careers and for people who want to disseminate their research findings or create an impact plan.

The Research Development & Support team are currently planning activities and sessions for the 2020/21 programme of events and would like to hear your ideas and suggestions.  What’s worked well?  What would you changed?  Are there any other sessions or training materials you’d like to see included?  We’d like to hear both from people who have engaged with the RKEDF and those who haven’t.

Tell us what you think via our survey and be in with a chance of winning one of three £20 Amazon vouchers.  The deadline date is Sunday 15 March.