The Universities for Nottingham initiative is a pioneering collaboration which brings together the strength and civic missions of Nottingham's two world-class universities. Over the next few years it will improve the way we work with each other and with our local partners to help change the lives of local people for the better.
The Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement
The Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement sets out an action plan for how our two universities, together with our partners, will further improve the lives of the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to pull together like never before to ensure our communities and economy recover and thrive. The Agreement has therefore been brought together at pace, with pragmatism and realism. It follows extensive consultation, including over 400 hours of conversation between over 150 local partners and colleagues across both universities.
Read the very first Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement here
“As the Vice-Chancellors of Nottingham’s Universities, we agreed to commence the Universities for Nottingham project because, while both of our institutions were making a significant individual contribution to our region, we recognised the potential for further collaboration.
Once we started investigating the potential to deliver projects in the local area, the sheer scale and number of opportunities was striking.”
Professor Edward Peck, President and Vice-Chancellor, Nottingham Trent University and Professor Shearer West, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Nottingham.
How we got here
The two Universities began work on this initiative in 2019. The aim was to explore whether, by working together, we could be more effective at helping our partners address the major challenges facing our local area.
Individually, we know that our institutions are actively engaged in thousands of projects that are aimed at supporting our local communities (read more here). But, we suspected that much of this activity was complementary. We recognised that where our actions could be better joined-up, the added value would be felt— not just by our institutions— but by Nottingham’s businesses, people and society.
We mapped these overlapping areas and investigated the economic, social and cultural contribution we jointly make to our local area – the results of which can be seen on these pages and in the impact full report.
Download our Impact ReportOur ambition
Drawing from the recommendations of the UPP Foundation Civic University Commission, we used this analysis as the foundation for a programme of renewed, focused and impactful collaborative working with local partners.
We developed the first Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement through a process of co-curation and consultation, which took on an increased sense of urgency in light of the need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It sets out an action plan, across five themes where all partners agreed we could add most value. These are:
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01. Economic prosperity
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02. Educational opportunity
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03. Environmental sustainability
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04. Health, wellbeing and culture
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05. Unlocking the universities
More information about the consultation process and development of the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement can be found in the Consultation Synthesis Document.
Download the Consultation Synthesis Document
Download the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement
See some of the work we do
