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JISC Circular 3/08
Business and Community Engagement (BCE) is the strategic management of interactions, partnerships and transactions with partners, clients and intermediaries external to the university, across the commercial sector, public sector, cultural landscape and the social and civic arena. Also known as ‘knowledge transfer and exchange’ and ‘third stream’ (refers to the third stream of funding for HEIs after teaching and research).
The objective is to deliver benefits to the economy and society - and the institutions itself – which result in a more highly skilled workforce, a more efficient, dynamic and sustainable economy and a more cohesive, knowledge-enabled society. BCE typically constitutes knowledge and expertise-based services such as consultancy, CPD, regeneration or commercialisation of research and includes employer engagement. BCE includes both research-based and education-based services and is fundamentally about solving problems and providing opportunities. In the ‘knowledge economy’ this makes a key contribution to UKcompetitive advantage, skills enhancement and social cohesion.
JISC staged a think tank to explore ideas on how best to support institutions’ BCE activities. An initial study was undertaken to examine the awareness, accessibility and potential need for JISC’s services and information resources among the disparate BCE communities. A second study examined the needs of these communities. As a result, JISC is undertaking some initial pilot activities, through both its Development and its Services functions. These include social software to facilitate collaboration, investigation into CRM and IPR issues, and specialist advice and guidance from JISC Advisory services:
JISC Advisory services
The BCE strategic theme is a new agenda for JISC (2007-09 strategy strategic aim 5 - developing and implementing a programme to support institutions' engagement with the wider community). BCE is a cross-cutting agenda, sponsored by the JOS sub-committee; many JISC programmes contribute towards BCE strategic objectives. The JISC Executive is consulting further, through the committee and a linked working group, on the potential elements of a more substantial, structured BCE programme.
View publications related to Business and community engagement