Effective relationships with stakeholders are the bedrock on which the opportunities for students, pupils and communities are built, and how NTU’s Centre for Student and Community Engagement (CenSCE) manage these relationships, is critical to delivering meaningful change.

The Stakeholder Engagement Project (SEP) uses a research-informed approach to intentionally assess and develop a way of measuring relationships held with local schools and voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. The goal was to develop an understanding of the current relationship, whilst also identifying opportunities to develop and move the relationship into a more transformational space (rather than simply transactional) for both parties.

One of the fundamental elements of the project was to engage with our stakeholders and ensure they were represented throughout, as we’re developing a survey which both partners complete, signifying the importance of their role in our work. Sharing the survey results, as well as engagement data, and discussing them openly, is fundamental to our approach. Most evaluations are one way feedback, with information held by one partner and simply analysed and assessed, reinforcing a power imbalance. The SEP is a different approach attempting to ensure any imbalance is acknowledged and addressed, with joint solutions identified. It recognises the value of shared knowledge and moves towards a collective endeavour. This way of assessing and viewing relationships pushes normal university/community partnerships beyond a transactional view of what partners can individually gain from the relationship, to working together to understand the relationship better and so realise joint ambitions.

Andy Coppins
Community Engagement and Volunteering Manager
Centre for Student and Community Engagement ,  Nottingham Trent University



Harriet Raby
Operations and Stakeholder Engagement Manager
Centre for Student and Community Engagement,  Nottingham Trent University



Deborah Hinds
Operations and Stakeholder Coordinator
Centre for Student and Community Engagement,  Nottingham Trent University



Carol Wilby
Community Engagement and Volunteering Coordinator
Centre for Student and Community Engagement,  Nottingham Trent University



Stephen Barton
Community Engagement and Volunteering Coordinator
Centre for Student and Community Engagement,  Nottingham Trent University



Caroline Day
Community Engagement and Volunteering Coordinator
Centre for Student and Community Engagement,  Nottingham Trent University



Chris Smith
Operations and Stakeholder Coordinator
Centre for Student and Community Engagement,  Nottingham Trent University

We would like to thank all of the community partners, schools and colleges we work with for taking part in the different elements of this project, and to continue to work collaboratively with us to make a difference in our local communities.

We would like to acknowledge the critical friendship of Becca Berkey, Chelsea Lauder and Madison Leverich of Northeastern University, Boston, USA, who helped us to reflect on our own stakeholder relationships, and with whom we developed some of the resulting toolkit.

We would also like to acknowledge the TRES team (Transformational Relationships Evaluation Scale) whose literature was the launch pad and guiding work for the SEP, and so thanks especially to Patti Clayton, but also the rest of the team - Robert Bringle, Laura Kniffin et al.