Social Engagement in London

London Higher conducted a two year project to examine public perceptions of how London's higher education institutions interact with local communities.  

Social Engagement by London's Higher Education Institutions

Background

London Higher is an 'umbrella' body representing over 40 publicly funded universities and higher education (HE) colleges in London, and is the biggest and most varied of the regional university associations in the UK.  London Higher is a membership organisation that promotes and advocates for HE in London.

In 2007 London Higher received a grant from HEFCE to examine how London's higher education institutions (HEIs) interact with local communities.  Articulating and delivering social engagement in London is more complex than in other UK regions due to the large number of HEIs and their different local, national and international priorities in terms of institutional mission, strategic objectives and experiences. The complex social and political environment in London, as a capital city, also shapes a more diffuse set of relationships and partnerships between HEIs, regional development agencies, local authorities, public bodies and voluntary organisations.

The initial aims of the project were to cover social engagement and outreach by HEIs with a focus on children and young people, employment skills and engagement with older people.  The project obtained an overview of "third stream" activities from a sample of 14 HEIs in London and commissioned market research for quantitative and qualitative data on public perceptions of social engagement by HEIs.

It is hoped that bringing together key findings and recommendations from this baseline study will help inform the development of a social agenda by London's HE sector.

Impact or Engagement?

The project was originally titled "Social Impact by London's HEIs" (SILH) and the term "social impact" was used to loosely cover "community outreach" activities by HEIs, but the project did not attempt to measure changes in behaviour or social/non-economic returns from HEI engagement.  Eventually "social engagement" was adopted for the project title, as this seemed more appropriate than other terms such as social contribution or social agenda.  The project evolved from being one measuring "social impact" per se to being a baseline study of engagement as there was no previous pan-London work which could be used for estimating impact.

Methodology

The 18 month project ran from January 2008 to June 2009.  Project management was provided by London Higher and staff time estimated at a total of 150 days.  
A Project Advisory Panel, chaired by Prof George Petts, Vice Chancellor of the University of Westminster, was established with representatives from six HEIs, a regional body (the Greater London Authority) and a third sector organisation (the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers). 

Three phases of research commenced in March 2008.  Detailed reports on the different research phases can be downloaded by clicking on the links below:

1) Mapping: Semi-structured interviews were conducted on a sample of 14 London HEIs to "map" current social engagement activities.  This sample represented a cross-section of mission, size and location of HEIs in London.  A total of 64 meetings were conducted between March and August 2008.  Activities of interest covered a range of "third stream" HE-community interactions, such as engagement with children and young people; lifelong learning (especially extra-mural activities involving older people); skills (unemployed and employed); disadvantaged communities, and the use of HEIs as public space.

2) Online Surveys: An online opinion poll survey of 1,576 Londoners was conducted in October 2008 by YouGov plc.  The survey provided quantitative data on:

• Level of awareness among respondents about HEIs in general, about the services they provide, what they do and their key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• Level of usage and interaction of HEIs among children and young people (18 to 24); the workforce (employment/ entrepreneurship); the elderly (60+); ethnic minorities; parents and different social groups.
• The strengths and weaknesses of the services provided by HEIs including why they were or were not used as service provider.
• Distinguishing in a broad sense 'users' and 'non?users' of HEIs services and how their level of knowledge and opinions may vary.
• Identifying potential gaps that may exist in the services provided by HEIs.

3) Focus Groups: Public perceptions of HEI social engagement were obtained through focus groups.  Ten sets of in-depth interviews were conducted in March 2009 with 65 members of the public by Ipsos MORI.  Groups were selected by factors such as age, HE experience and socioeconomic class.  Findings included:

• Three types of HEIs were differentiated - research focused, course focused and locally focused.
• A London difference with outer London HEIs considered to be more community focused.
• Eight audiences for HE engagement were distinguished, such as "outcome" students, career changers and 2nd generation parents.

London Higher's project report, Social Engagement by London's Higher Education Institutions (2009) summarises the research findings and recommendations.

Conclusions

The study found that London's universities and HE colleges carry out work with social and community benefits which is largely unknown by the general public.  There was recognition of certain aspects of social engagement by London's HEIs but little awareness of the complete range of activities.  London has the most diverse group of universities and HE colleges in the UK but these are largely seen as autonomous bodies by those in the wider community.  Also, there is little awareness of the scale of public funding provided to the HE sector or that many of the services and facilities used by local communities are directly or indirectly provided by HEIs.  "Universities as institutions offering more than education" is a view held by few people in London.

Widening Opportunities

There is considerable potential to increase awareness of the contributions universities and HE colleges are making to communities across London, with the added aim of promoting London's HE sector as open and flexible.  Communication strategies need to increase awareness and provide better information at local and pan-London levels.  Dissemination activities (summer/autumn 2009) to take forward some of the key recommendations of this study include the compilation of community engagement case studies from London's HEIs, focussing on physical and mental well-being, social inclusion and research for society.  Case study booklets will be distributed across London and at public events such as lectures and exhibitions.  

The report recommends tailored communications should be developed for:

• Families, the unemployed and C2DE social groups - currently the least likely to use HE services but would like to find out more;
• Older people and disabled people - interested in HE and opportunities could be promoted by HEIs in partnership with local authorities;
• Parents of ethnic minority school children - demographic projections indicate there will be large increases in London's BAME population by 2026.

"In societies where education is of a high standard the whole society benefits from that standard"
 

"The physical presence of a university could raise aspirations in the area"

As a follow-on activity from this baseline study, we hope to develop a project on measuring social impact involving small, specialist HEIs.

Highlights

It has been a learning process for all of the project panel members.  Several academic panel members commented on how enjoyable the project was and how much they learnt in the various discussions and meetings.

Top Tips

• Plan to have more time (and funding) to test and re-evaluate findings from the initial surveys and focus groups, especially in different geographical areas (e.g. different parts of London). 
• Market research companies have specialists in further and higher education who can conduct rapid, informed studies on HE activities.

Contact

For more information, please contact Paresh Shah (tel. 020 7664 4841) or visit the London Higher website.