Focus Groups – CPD Framework for Business and Community Engagement
15 04 2011The project is holding a series of focus groups to shape the development of a new national framework to support continuing professional development for Business and Community Engagement (BCE).
The impact of organisations on the wider business and community is increasingly important. These activities are also known as Third Stream, Third Mission, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Technology Transfer, Academic Enterprise, Enterprise, Innovation or Engagement. These events use the term ‘Business and Community Engagement’ (BCE).
Your help is needed to ensure these resources will meet your needs: we need to know what you do, why you do it and how your development is currently being supported. Your input will conrtibute to an important national initiative.
Whether BCE activities form your whole role or only part of it, whether these activities are formally recognised or not, we welcome your input at these events.
These focus groups are being run by AURIL (Association of University Research and Industry Links) and JISC in conjunction with all organisations involved with BCE in its widest form. The events are open to all staff involved in BCE activities in higher and further education, Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) including Research Councils and Beacons for Public Engagement.
Dates and Locations
Click on the links below for further information and booking
- 18 May – London
- 25 May – Bristol
- 26 May – Birmingham
- 1 June – Newcastle
- 6 June – Edinburgh
- 15 June – Manchester
Topics
- What makes a successful BCE practitioner? What skills knowledge and attributes are required?
- How best should CPD supported?
- What type of framework would be most useful?
- How are your CPD needs currently supported?
Categories : Events, News, Uncategorized
Pioneering project in professional development for BCE
21 01 2011JISC Netskills is co-ordinating an exciting joint project leading to the launch of a new national framework for professional development.
Focusing specifically on the needs of staff in education and research involved in external engagement activities, the project is part of JISC’s Business and Community Engagement (BCE) programme.
Titled Supporting & Embedding CPD for Business & Community Engagement, the sector-wide project is set to review the continuing professional development framework developed over the past 10 years by the Association for University Research and Industry Links (AURIL).
Meeting the users’ needs
The project, led by Netskills Consultant Trainer Helen Blanchett and AURIL’s Secretary Linda Baines, is now through the initial planning stage and the team is “ready to get their hands dirty”. Helen is excited to get started with the information gathering stage. “One thing we really want from this project is to meet the needs of the users”, she said.
“During the spring we’re set to run surveys, organise events and interview people from a range of different roles to make sure all the relevant activities, skills, attributes and barriers to effectiveness are captured, and to find out how their skills development is supported by their organisations.”
“We’ll also be talking with senior management staff, finance officers and people in HR and staff development to see how their roles are changing in order to better support the staff working in BCE.”
To enhance support for BCE practitioners, the project is set to develop a new online tool for self evaluation. Building on the pilot tool developed by Netskills last year, the aim is to offer an easy way to identify needs in skills development and point users towards relevant resources.
Collaboration is the key
One of the strengths of the project is the way it brings together key stakeholders in the sector. This is also a key factor in its success. Linda said that AURIL is delighted to be involved in a project which sees numerous organisations voluntarily giving their time to define the needs of knowledge exchange professionals.
“It’s a golden opportunity to gain agreement for the future needs of the profession, especially in the current economic climate when it’s critical to raise awareness of the benefits and impact of their work”, she said.
Through a Working Group, chaired by AURIL, the project involves experienced CPD specialists and some of the leading professional organisations including JISC, the Licensing Executives Society (LES), and other Knowledge Transfer organisations.
A wider Advisory Group is also being consulted as part of the project. This includes representatives from Institute of Knowledge Transfer (IKT), Higher Education Academy, National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) and Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS).
Find out more at www.netskills.ac.uk/content/projects/2010/jisc-bce-cpd2/index.html
Categories : News
BCE skills evaluation tool launches
15 10 2010An online self-evaluation tool, set to help universities and colleges identify development needs and point users towards relevant resources, was launched last Friday.
Focusing on the skills needed especially for successful external engagement, the tool is an output from the Netskills-led project Supporting Training, CPD and Staff Exchange for BCE Practitioners under the JISC Business and Community Engagement (BCE) programme.
It has been developed in collaboration with AURIL (Association for University Research and Industry Links) and is based on their existing CPD framework for Knowledge Transfer. The project leader, Netskills Consultant Trainer Helen Blanchett, was pleased with initial feedback from its launch at the AURIL conference, held in Newcastle last week.
“The tool is still in a pilot stage, but we’ve already had some positive feedback from users telling us they’re finding it useful”, she said.
“Our next step is to improve the targeting of resources, but we hope the tool, even in its pilot form, will help users identify their skills to deliver effective business and community engagement. We welcome all feedback and suggestions for improvement.”
The launch also marks a start to a follow-on project which involves working in collaboration with AURIL to support the review of their CPD framework, further development of the online tool and exploring how the framework and tool can become embedded within organisations.
You can access the tool at www.netskills.ac.uk/bcecpd/
Categories : Events, News
