Civic Engagement Strategy

Executive summary

Abertay University is an anchor institution for Dundee and the Tay Cities Region, producing educational, social, economic and cultural impact through our activities and collaborations. We are proud of the role that we play in our area and are committed to working with our partners towards creating a sustainable and inclusive future for people who live here.

Using our research strengths, the expertise and talent of our staff, students and alumni, and our campus facilities, we will make a positive contribution to the communities we serve. We believe in the value of strong partnerships and will work with community groups, industry, our local authorities, regional stakeholders and key partner organisations, to achieve shared goals with a focus on tackling poverty and inequality, growing the economy, supporting health and wellbeing, promoting cultural opportunities and taking action to support sustainable development priorities.

The University's Strategy 2025-30, which this strategy supports, confirms our commitment to having a positive impact on the communities we are part of, and to enabling and supporting our staff and students to interact through a range of academic and other activities. Our University values – Inclusive, Caring, Innovative and Collaborative – will guide our approach to civic activity, with opportunities for participation and volunteering spread across the institution and embedded within our wider work.

Strategy

Introduction and civic context

Abertay University, and the predecessor institutions we have evolved from, have supported the needs of our local communities since 1888. With an emphasis on using education, research and technology to provide transformational opportunities, Abertay is interwoven with the region through a relationship which has grown steadily over our three decades of university status. At the core of our work is our role as a civic anchor and although the University has a global brand and a growing number of overseas partnerships, our strategic regional focus is at the heart of our identity. This is a source of strength and great pride, with historically around half of our on-campus students coming to us from the Tay Cities Region and a quarter from the City of Dundee, alongside a diverse and growing international student population.

The University is located in the city centre of Dundee and our staff and student population accounts for around 3% of the total population in a city that has more students per head of population than anywhere else in Scotland.

Abertay has played an important role in the success of Dundee, both in its historical context and its more recent growth as a cosmopolitan city known for creativity, design and innovation. As the UK's first and only UNESCO City of Design, Dundee has a rich heritage and many key industries from the digital and creative sectors through to life sciences and renewables and is home to Scotland's first Design Museum, V&A Dundee, of which Abertay is a founding partner.

In everything that we do, we are mindful of our responsibility as a civic university to be open in our approach, sustainable in our operations and forward thinking in driving progress for the region.

Policy landscape

The University has a well-established partnership working approach with all four of the local authorities in the Tay Cities Region (Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross) and participates in a range of joint projects, boards and steering groups, including work linked to the Tay Cities Region Deal.

The Tay Cities Region Prospectus for Regional Growth (2025–2035) and Tay Cities Region Economic Strategy (2019-2039) outline a shared ambition to become one of the most desirable areas in Europe to live, work, invest, and visit. Regional partners prioritise inclusive economic growth, clean energy transition, and collaborative innovation, with our universities recognised as key drivers of transformation and civic impact. Both through its core operations and funded projects, the University will seek to continue to support ambitions for regional growth, recognising this work as essential to tackling the most acute societal issues.

Both the UK Government's modern industrial strategy (Invest 2035) and the Scottish Government's National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET), with its focus on Community Wealth Building, Fair Work, and a Just Transition to Net Zero, recognise the importance of place-based growth opportunities and the roles that universities have to play. Through research and innovation projects, preparing graduates for work, buying from local suppliers where possible, and by employing around 700 staff, Abertay makes a significant impact on the city and the region. We will achieve collective success by working with our partners both individually and through relevant partnerships.

By taking a pragmatic and prudent approach to our civic work, we will seek to ensure that maximum value can be achieved in all the activities that we engage with and support.

Links to Strategy 2025-30

The University's Strategy 2025-30 details our core purpose; providing transformational educational opportunities and equipping our students with the skills and knowledge to excel in a rapidly changing world.

We believe in creating strong civic partnerships, not only to benefit our staff and students, but also business, the community, and other institutions. The University's Strategy 2025-30 sets out our purpose below, while also defining 'continuing to make a positive contribution to the communities around us' as a key civic outcome.

Strategy 2025-30, our purpose

• To offer transformational opportunities to everyone who has the potential to benefit from Abertay's approach to university education.

• To inspire and empower our students, staff, and graduates to achieve their full potential, thrive in a digital world, and make a positive difference to the world around them.

• To innovate in all aspects of our work, fostering a culture of creativity, and engaging in research and knowledge exchange which has real impact.

• To work with our partners to prepare students for the world of work and a lifelong journey of learning and growth, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and global engagement.

Each of the University's supporting strategies link to civic engagement and the priorities within these have contributed to shaping strategic objectives and the associated implementation plan, which will be refreshed annually. Through our Student Success Strategy, we ensure students have the opportunity to be part of civic life, be that through their academic studies, engagement with industry, or the work placements that provide reciprocal benefit for them and the employers and organisations with whom we connect.

Our Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Strategy commits to encouraging staff to maintain close links with business, industry and professional disciplines and to following the principles of the UKRI Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research. Importantly, in the civic context, our approach allows researchers to work within and across research disciplines to devise innovative approaches and solutions which address complex challenges with a local or community focus and global relevance. Our researchers engage with schools, colleges, clubs, museums and local events in their public engagement and use the University's expertise for the benefit of the community.

Through our Estates Strategy, we are working towards an ambitious future vision to redevelop campus for greater community benefit, while remaining committed to providing opportunities using the current capabilities of our built environment.

Building on our approach

The original version of this strategy laid foundations for the University's approach to engaging with its many stakeholder groups in the region and has supported staff and students to make an impact in the community. We will now go further to build on that work, with an enhanced emphasis on capturing and reporting on a wide range of engagement activity and supporting our colleagues and students to have a positive impact on both our institutional objectives and the goals of our partners. All civic engagement work will either link to or complement our own existing frameworks and business approaches.

The strategy's underpinning activities will be informed by the Civic University Network's seven domains of civic commitment and map to relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Civic University Network's seven domains of civic commitment

• Social impact

• Environment, climate and biodiversity

• Health and wellbeing

• Cultural contribution

• Economic impact

• Estates, facilities and placemaking

• Institutional strategy and leadership

The nature of the University and our wide-ranging academic and professional services expertise means that our touchpoints for civic engagement are varied and spread across the institution. Our activities will be recorded consistently and an internal community of practice created where those engaging in civic engagement can choose to share learning and successful approaches. We will capture defined staff engagement data relating to our five mechanisms for engagement.

Mechanisms for engagement

• Public engagement with research: public lectures, research showcases, workshops, school outreach, exhibitions, media contributions, citizen science, and community collaborations.

• Volunteering: staff working with local organisations through our volunteering scheme and student volunteering opportunities.

• Community, partner and cultural engagement: joint projects or working with local community groups, schools, colleges, third sector, health boards, cultural organisations and any other non-industry groups. Includes use of campus facilities.

• Policy and advocacy: political engagement with elected members, local authorities and Scottish and UK government stakeholders.

• Industry engagement: student placements, research, knowledge exchange and innovation projects, and community ecosystem support.

The data gained from our activities will be collated together with existing additional data sources from relevant University departments linked to student and staff impact. Staff will continue to enjoy the freedom to manage their own professional relationships while taking advantage of a more joined-up system, a fuller picture of institutional interactions and additional opportunities to share our work and best practice.

Our campus will continue to be open for use and/or hire by community and stakeholder groups aligned to the University. Policies and procedures around speakers and events will be updated as part of a strategy implementation plan to ensure consistency in how we engage, while our Estates Strategy will also have a bearing on the spaces available now and into the future as we continue to upgrade our campus.

Relationships with Abertay Students' Association and our local elected representatives will continue to be crucial and we will go further to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the local area and how the University can help tackle these. Providing opportunities for our international students to engage in local cultural experiences and participate in community groups will be a priority and high-level engagement with elected representatives, at both local authority and parliamentary level, will continue to be central to our civic work. We will also continue to support our partner organisations in the Armed Forces through engagement opportunities aligned with our People Strategy and civic mission.

Our Staff Volunteering Scheme, which allows each colleague one day per year to support community groups, will continue alongside a refreshed communications plan celebrating previous work and encouraging uptake, as well as the promotion of volunteering opportunities for students. Similarly, we will do more to communicate and celebrate the contribution that our students make to local businesses, health boards and third sector organisations through placements and volunteering.

Civic engagement is a shared responsibility across the University and the majority of our academic and professional services departments will have an opportunity to contribute at appropriate levels aligned to expertise and capacity. The Strategy, Governance and External Relations team holds responsibility for supporting and monitoring progress, with reviews carried out through the University's wider monitoring and evaluation processes.

Strategic objectives

Support community priorities through our expertise, facilities and people

We will achieve this by:

• Engaging in research and knowledge exchange projects designed to support and develop businesses and organisations, with linked opportunities for public engagement.

• Bringing value to schools, community groups, charities or workplaces through student and staff engagement.

• Opening our campus to events aligned to community need and our strategic goals.

• Supporting local projects and activities linked to sustainable development and climate action.

• Working with local schools and colleges to create opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to engage with the University and the community.

Strengthen our relationships with key regional partners

We will achieve this by:

• Continuing engagement at senior level between the University and representatives from the Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross local authorities to progress shared ambitions.

• Collaborating with educational institutions and regional partners in areas of agreed alignment and civic benefit.

• Engaging with elected representatives and local community groups in Dundee and surrounding areas to ensure an institutional understanding of local issues and potential supporting actions.

• Continuing to play an active role in the Tay Cities Region including input to city deal projects and associated groups/projects.

• Conducting external stakeholder mapping/perception studies to gauge impact and inform future development of strategic priorities.

Communicate with our communities and share our impact

We will achieve this by:

• Enhancing the programme of University-organised events open to the public including new and continuing speaker sessions and enhanced alumni engagement opportunities.

• Building on external communication and reporting of our engagement activities through digital channels, print materials and in-person activity.

• Delivering our annual Public Engagement Event to a wider audience of community stakeholders.

• Creating a forum for staff interested in supporting civic engagement to share best practice.

• Continuing to support and promote cultural engagement opportunities offered by our city partners.

Alignment with University Strategy

Strategy 2025-30

Values

The University's values – Inclusive, Caring, Innovative, Collaborative – will guide all activities linked to the strategy. We will take an inclusive approach by making our expertise, facilities, and people accessible to our communities. We will encourage our staff and students to get involved in civic engagement and, where resources permit, projects will be open to all who can benefit from participation. We will demonstrate care through the way in which we work with partners and through implementation by supporting staff and students to engage. Innovation will shape how we take on civic challenges, from research and knowledge exchange to the creative use of our campus and digital estate. Collaboration is at the heart of the strategy and is vital to establishing and maintaining strong and effective partnerships. Through clear communication and shared learning, we will build trust, celebrate our collective achievements, and strengthen our role as a civic university.

Milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs)

Milestones and KPIs will be reviewed annually.

Initial milestones 2025/26 and 2026/27

• Structure for data capture, governance and reporting and linked policies finalised by end of March 2026.

• Annual Public Engagement Event in April 2026.

• Implementation plan progress review July 2026.

• First Civic Engagement Report in September 2026.

KPIs

Please note: A broader set of KPIs underpins this strategy. These indicators are reviewed through internal governance processes and are therefore not included here

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