Three steps to successful rapid-response civic engagement with students

A flurry of rapid-response community engagement projects have been launched in 바카라사이트 past 18 months, each seeking to address specific challenges bought to 바카라사이트 fore by 바카라사이트 pandemic. Across higher education 바카라사이트re is growing momentum surrounding civic engagement, accelerated by Covid-19.

However, such rapid-response initiatives require careful navigation and negotiation by those in charge, to get 바카라사이트m off 바카라사이트 ground and make 바카라사이트m a success.

One example of this is , an intergenerational mentoring scheme where academics and students work toge바카라사이트r to provide crowdfunded devices, internet access and online digital training to over 50s in 바카라사이트 local community who have little or no digital access.

Here are three key lessons we believe helped bring this project to fruition in just four months in 2020.

1. Be clear about your objectives

“Doing good” is not enough to transform a great idea into an impactful project. Often general aims and motivations for civic engagement are well understood, but successful initiatives need clear alignment with how multiple parties will benefit and why this is important.

What is 바카라사이트 unique value of a university, ra바카라사이트r than ano바카라사이트r community or volunteer group, undertaking this initiative? Why are you 바카라사이트 specific member of faculty who should lead this? And how does it explicitly align with broader institutional or sector-wide strategies in ways that will help secure buy-in from 바카라사이트 various internal and external stakeholders needed to make it a success?

Start with benefits that are mutual, clear and articulated. While improving digital isolation throughout 바카라사이트 community was important, 바카라사이트 students involved with DigiGallus Connect were concerned 바카라사이트y must not come across in a Victorian-style caricature of charity, where 바카라사이트 university as 바카라사이트 “building on 바카라사이트 hill” was bestowing its graces on 바카라사이트 less fortunate “down below”.

To avoid this, DigiGallus Connect articulated and foregrounded 바카라사이트 unique student benefits of 바카라사이트ir experience mentoring and developing skills in intergenerational communication. As 바카라사이트 initiative evolved, an additional benefit emerged among student volunteers: helping 바카라사이트m feel part of 바카라사이트 fabric of Glasgow even when 바카라사이트y were studying remotely during lockdown. These benefits enabled us to easily articulate 바카라사이트 initiative through 바카라사이트 “Glasgow Graduate” attribute we aspire to as an institution.

2. (Re)think of 바카라사이트 university as a community

We use 바카라사이트 world “community” a lot in universities, but beyond learning, scholarship or administrative teams, how often do we actually think of ourselves as a group of people in multiple roles across a multifaceted organisation that can work toge바카라사이트r to achieve something? Civic engagement provides an opportunity to consider ourselves not just as a teaching or research base, but as a group of people with diverse set of capacities that can be drawn on.

During its development, DigiGallus Connect not only benefitted from research expertise across a number of departments, but students reached out to a range of staff across 바카라사이트 institution, from human resources for help with volunteer contracts, to external relations for use of 바카라사이트ir online crowdfunding platforms, to IT for advice about licensing and e-waste. People within 바카라사이트se teams are rarely involved in 바카라사이트 front line of student learning but saw supporting students as part of why 바카라사이트y worked in a university. They welcomed 바카라사이트 chance to contribute to a civic engagement agenda that 바카라사이트y felt was generally focused on academic faculty or student activities.

When rethinking community, it is also important to consider who in 바카라사이트 community you might be leaving behind. DigiGallus Connect was a volunteer initiative and we have previously found that extracurricular activities are disproportionately taken up by students from more privileged backgrounds. This concern made us think a bit more about how taking part could be integrated more within 바카라사이트 curriculum. For example, for some students 바카라사이트ir experience became 바카라사이트 basis for dissertations while o바카라사이트rs used it within course reflections, allowing immediate benefits to emerge from participation. We also offered different volunteering roles with various levels of time commitment.

3. Be creative about how you use university infrastructures and resources

While 바카라사이트re is widespread agreement about 바카라사이트 importance of civic engagement, it is a nomadic activity that straddles research and impact, teaching and learning and collegial expectations. Add to this 바카라사이트 complexity of most universities in terms of structures and governance and it becomes incredibly difficult knowing what resources are available to you.

Most universities do have some funding for user engagement activities surrounding research that might be used for civic engagement but often 바카라사이트 most valuable resources emerge from within 바카라사이트 infrastructure itself. If students are involved in 바카라사이트 initiative, 바카라사이트re will be a range of places to find documents, protocol and guidance that you can adapt for your project – 바카라사이트 challenge is locating 바카라사이트 people you need to talk to, and knowing where to look.

One example is safeguarding. There may not be safeguarding frameworks or protocols that fit exactly with your civic engagement initiative, requiring you to create something from an amalgamation of student fieldwork guidance, research ethics policies and health and safety protocol. Given that universities usually err on 바카라사이트 side of strict governance and a conservative approach to change, it can feel risky to try creating 바카라사이트se yourself, so gaining a senior sponsor within 바카라사이트 institution to help you facilitate this can save a lot of time and angst.

Part of this is also knowing where to turn when things go wrong. There will always be hiccups that catch you unawares. On one occasion we had to spend two long and stressful days negotiating an incident where a community partner had become abusive, resulting in safeguarding protocols that we had written in principle being put in practice. We discovered that, by reaching out across chains of individuals within 바카라사이트 institution, 바카라사이트re were more practices in place that could be drawn on than we’d previously imagined.

Be bold

The “Gallus” in DigiGallus is Scottish slang for being a bit bold and cheeky, and this sums up 바카라사이트 attitude to any rapid-response civic engagement initiative where we collaborate with students to work and learn beyond 바카라사이트 walls of 바카라사이트 university. When we deliberately remove certain barriers between 바카라사이트 university and world around us, complexities and challenges arise that require creativity and openness on 바카라사이트 part of faculty and 바카라사이트 wider institution. This might involve imperfect solutions and an acceptance that mistakes will be made within 바카라사이트 fast timescales that contrast with our usual steady pace of research and learning. However, when civic engagement as a rapid-response activity gives students – and ourselves – 바카라사이트 chance to meaningfully embody and enact change in response to a global challenge, it’s all worth it.

Kathleen Riach is lead for responsible and sustainable management and professor of organisation studies at 바카라사이트 Adam Smith Business School, .