To develop and implement a programme to support institutions' engagement with the wider community.
Institutions are engaging with their local communities through Business and Community Engagement (BCE) activities, running alongside and integrated with teaching and research. These include engagement with the business community, the commercial exploitation of world-class research, knowledge transfer, workforce development and involvement with cultural and community activities.
Institutions' work in this area extends the boundaries of their normal business into the community, rather than creating major new areas of activity. Therefore virtually any of their existing activities could incorporate a BCE element, including, but not limited to, provision of research facilities and outputs to start up companies, providing work-based learning through distance education, or providing network connections and services to partner organisations.
As these boundaries are extended, they will create new 'pain points' for the institutions. The role of JISC is to identify where information and communications technologies can ease these problems, and where it is appropriate for us to be engaged in providing solutions.
This stream of work is important to institutions and JISC will commission work and be guided by the institutions in identifying any activities that JISC can provide to HEIs and their business partners that would be of value. Feedback to date suggests that much of what JISC already provides will be of great benefit to institutions' activities with the wider community and additional requirements can be built upon existing services and programme.
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