Professor Fred Robinson was a keynote speaker at a national conference on university-community relationships which took place at the University of the West of England, Bristol on 23rd January 2014. His presentation looked at what a university can offer disadvantaged communities – especially those communities close to their campus. He said that universities should be regarded as community assets and should recognise their wider roles and responsibilities. They need to do more to ensure that disadvantaged groups have fair access to educational opportunities; and they need to do more to open up their social and cultural facilities to local people.
Universities should also seek to maximise the beneficial impacts they can have on the local economy as big employers and as purchasers of goods and services. And Fred stressed that it has to be a two-way partnership: universities can gain a lot from their involvement with local communities. The educational experience of students is enhanced by community placements and volunteering, and research is enriched and developed through co-production and collaboration.
The presentation drew on a major research study produced by Fred, Ian Zass-Ogilvie and Ray Hudson for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2012 (see it here). The conference was organised by NIACE and its partner agencies, and the other keynote speakers were the Vice Chancellor of UWE, the Director of the National Centre for Public Engagement and the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education.