DIMENSION 1 PROVIDING CAPACITY FOR REGIONAL STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT
Strategies, policies, structures and mechanisms to leverage the UAS institutional knowledge, capacity and resources for local and regional development and to create a culture of engagement between the UAS and its region, including its public, private and third sector actors and the wider population.
The inclusion of UAS in regional development structures is key to maintaining an active long-term role in the region. UAS should ensure that the key regional actors in business, industry, public and civic sectors etc. are invited to participate in UAS’ structures and committees to ensure a direct impact on education and training provision, research, development and innovation, and the third role of UAS. UAS can embed the regional role into its mission, vision and strategies. The UAS leader can support the strong presence of UAS in the region. UAS and its staff can play important role in the regional bodies, structures, alliances and networks. UAS can build partnership with regional actors. UAS management can include, in a structured way, the regional aspects of roles to HR policy (including hiring, rewarding, personal development of staff etc.)
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I.1. Embedding the regional role and dimension in the UAS mission, strategies and leadership
I.1.1. does the UAS mission and strategy/-ies promote regional engagement?
Firstly, regional engagement can be part of UAS mission and its strategies. Secondly, specific persons / departments is / are responsible for the regional role and engagement of the staff (e.g. vice-rector for regional development). The UAS, as distinctive institutions compared to research-intensive universities should seriously consider what kind of roles it would like to play in the surrounding region. It is helpful if UAS explicitly formulates its regional role in its mission and strategical documents.
A mission (statement) is a public declaration that UAS or uses to describe their founding purpose and major organizational commitments—i.e., what they do and why they do it. A mission statement may describe a UAS‘s day-to-day operational objectives, its instructional values, or its public commitments to its students and community (region).
A vision (statement) is a public declaration that UAS or other educational organizations use to describe their high-level goals for the future—what they hope to achieve if they successfully fulfil their organizational purpose or mission. A vision statement may describe a UAS’s loftiest ideals, its core organizational values, its long-term objectives, or what it hopes its students will learn or be capable of doing after graduating.
Strategy is defined as a set of objectives that focuses on the activities of an institution tending to reach medium- or long-term success (vision). The highest level of strategy is not just to have something written in the formal papers but delivering this message.
Example of level 5 achievement: Your UAS explicitly formulates its regional role in its mission, vision and strategies, which are interconnected.
Example of level 3 achievement: Your UAS formulates their regional role in in its mission and/or vision and/or strategies, but the formulation are implicit, or these documents are not interconnected.
I.1.2 is the regional role and engagement of the UAS embedded through specific responsibilities of senior staff?
It is important to clearly distribute the specific responsibilities for goals and actions which are written in the mission, vision and strategies.
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a system, which clearly distributes responsibilities described in mission, vision and strategies.
Example of level 3: Your UAS distributes some responsibilities described in mission, vision and strategies, but the complete system is not established yet or is in place for parts of the UAS.
I.2.Integrating the regional role and dimension in the UAS governance and organisation
The regional engagement of UAS from a strategical point of view should be systematized through different organisational units / structures. The UAS should carefully plan the level of resources which needed for regional engagement and should consider raising the motivation of different stakeholders and has a system for monitoring, evaluating and improvement of regional engagement activities.
I.2.1. are structures in place at the institutional level to plan, coordinate and embed regional engagement?
From the strategic level, UAS must have some structure that can plan, coordinate and embed regional engagement. Under the structures, we mean e.g. high level unit / committee / advisory body / working group, office, dedicated staff etc. Elaborate on the scope of activities, target groups, topics, longevity.
Example of level 5: Your UAS has well-developed structures which are responsible for planning, coordinating regional engagement activities, which cover all 4 dimensions of regional engagement.
Example of level 3: UAS has some structures for regional engagement, but these structures do not cover all 4 dimensions of regional engagement.
I.2.2. do regional actors actively participate in committees / networks / structures of the UAS?
The regional actors (representatives or regional government, business, NGOs etc.) should be involved in / or cooperate with UAS structures that address regional engagement. It helps to see the perspective (needs, experiences) of UAS regional actors. The regional actors can be members of these bodies, or their advisors. In this case look on the situation in the context of the Dimensions I.
Example of level 5: The regional actors are actively and systematically cooperating with UAS structures for regional engagement.
Example of level 3: The regional actors are actively cooperating with some UAS structures for regional engagement.
I.2.3. are supports / incentives in place to encourage engagement with the region by:
a) students
b) staff
c) external stakeholders?
UAS should have developed a system of support / incentives to encourage different stakeholders to act with the region (e.g. system of rewards, grants, allocated time for cooperation for students, staff and external stakeholders).
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a well-developed system of supports / incentives to encourage regional engagement by a), b, c)
Example of level 3: Your UAS has some supports / incentives to encourage regional engagement by (a, b, c), however, there are multiple areas for further improvement.
I.2.4. do the regional role and dimension influence the commitment of resources, whether human, financial, space, infrastructure?
UAS should carefully plan and allocated the resources (human, financial, space, infrastructure), which it needs to fulfil its regional engagement goals.
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a well-developed system of planning and distribution of resources needed to fulfil their regional engagement goals.
Example of level 3: Your UAS has a system of planning and distribution of resources needed to fulfil their regional engagement goals, however there are multiple areas for further improvement.
I.2.5. are systems in place to monitor, report, evaluate and improve progress and achievements in this domain?
UAS should have a well-developed system for monitoring the process of its regional engagement and achieving the goals belonging to its domain. The system should collect data from different internal systems and feedback from internal and external stakeholders. Based on this information, UAS should prepare a report in which UAS assess how well the intended goals are achieved and what next steps will help it to achieve these goals.
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a well-developed system for monitoring the regional engagement actions and achievement of goals in this domain. Your system collects sufficient and reliable data and it has sufficient feedback from all stakeholders.
Example of level 3: Your UAS has some systems for monitoring the regional engagement actions and achievement of goals in this domain, however there are multiple areas for further improvement.
I.3.Valuing the regional role and engagement in the UAS staff policies
UAS staff play a key role in its regional engagement. UAS should consider regional engagement in recruitment, professional development and rewarding of its staff.
I.3.1. does UAS take into consideration regional engagement to influence staffing policies in recruitment, professional development and career progress?
It is good if the institution gives additional weights for related achievements in recruitment and evaluation processes if your staff is focused on regional engagement. If you are not responding the question, explain why in the evidence box.
If you are answer positively to this question, it does not mean that all your staff must focus on regional engagement. The part of this process could be also networking the region with other regions. (The legislation could be limited.)
Example of level 5: Your UAS staff policy explicitly and systematically takes care of regional engagement in recruitment, professional development and career progress.
Example of level 3: Your UAS staff policy takes care of regional engagement in recruitment, professional development and career progress sometimes.
I.3.2. are staff regional activities and engagement known / recognised across the UAS?
UAS should know / recognise that staff are active in regional engagement and what kind of support is needed.
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a well-developed system for monitoring and recognition of activities of staff in regional engagement.
Example of level 3: Your UAS has some systems for monitoring and recognition activities of staff in regional engagement, however, there are multiple areas for further improvement. Or you have a system for monitoring activities of staff in regional engagement, however you do not establish a system for recognition of these activities.
I.3.3. is support available to develop skills and competencies in regional development and engagement for UAS academic and administrative staff?
UAS should know which skills and competencies for regional development and engagement its academic and administrative staff need, and it should have a system for the development of these skills and competences. Do you actively support lifelong learning of staff?
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a well-developed system for monitoring and developing, skills and competencies which your academic and administrative staff need for regional engagement.
Example of level 3: Your UAS has some systems for monitoring and developing, skills and competencies which your academic and administrative staff need for regional engagement, however, there are multiple areas for further improvement.
I.4.Engaging in regional strategies, networks, partnerships, structures and bodies
UAS should be an active partner and / or member of key regional networks and bodies. UAS intellectual capital and experience should play an active role in regional development. UAS can be part of the process (but it could be limited based on national / regional legislation).
I.4.1. is the UAS engaged in the design, development and implementation of regional strategies and plans?
UAS as an institution plays important role in the designing, development and implementation of regional strategies and plans.
Example of level 5: Your UAS actively and regularly participates in the design, development and implementation of regional strategies and plans.
Example of level 3: Your UAS participates in the design, development and implementation of regional strategies and plans sometimes.
I.4.2. is UAS engaged in key regional networks, partnership, structures and bodies?
The UAS should be a member and/or partner of key regional networks, partnership, structures and bodies.
Example of level 5: Your UAS is an active member/or partner of the most of key networks, partnerships, structures and bodies.
Example of level 3: Your UAS is an active member/or partner of some of the key networks, partnerships, structures and bodies, but there are multiple areas for engaging in more key regional networks, bodies.
The UAS should carefully monitor regional needs, opportunities and interests to adapt its policies according to them or to actively shape them according to their possibilities.
I.4.3. are systems (in place or under planning) to help the UAS to understand and analyse the regional needs, opportunities and interests to inform its policies?
Example of level 5: Your UAS has a well-developed system for understanding and analysing the regional needs, opportunities and interests.
Example of level 3: Your UAS monitors and analyses regional needs, opportunities and interests occasionally and plans to develop a well-organised system of monitoring these needs, opportunities and interests.
