University of Derby Civic Roadshow: Share your views on how it can support the city and county

The University of Derby is hosting a ‘Civic Roadshow’ at its Buxton and Chesterfield campuses, as part of a series of free events to provide the wider community with the opportunity to share their thoughts on how the University can help to deliver long-term positive impact for Derby and Derbyshire.

The roadshow events, which will be held on 24 July at the University’s St Helena campus in Chesterfield and 14 August at the Devonshire Dome in Buxton, are an opportunity for external stakeholders to find out more about the University of Derby’s civic ambitions. The University is keen to understand what the biggest challenges are facing the local community, businesses and organisations within the city and county, and how it can focus its civic endeavours.

All are welcome to attend the roadshows to help shape the University’s future civic direction. There is also an online survey to provide feedback for anyone unable to attend the events.

As part of the University’s commitment to becoming a true Civic University, it signed up to developing a Civic University Agreement, a document that will reaffirm its ongoing commitment to playing its part in the city and county’s prosperity and wellbeing.  

Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “We are committed to becoming a true ‘Civic University’, responsible not only to our students and our staff, but also to the places around us. To ensure the impact we make is long-term and sustainable, we first need to understand what the real needs of our city and county are.

“The Civic University Agreement is an opportunity to set out clearly, coherently and creatively how we will fulfil our responsibilities. It will see us working closely with our partners to help deliver positive change across Derby and Derbyshire that makes a significant impact on the county’s local communities, businesses, organisations and overall prosperity.”

Under the Agreement, the University will be driven by the following principles:

1. As a place-based institution, it is committed to attaching a high priority to the economic, social, environmental and cultural life of its local communities.
2. Its civic role will be informed by an evidence-based analysis of the needs of its place, developed collaboratively with local partners and informed by the needs of its local community.
3. It will collaborate with other anchor institutions and form partnerships to overcome the challenges facing local communities.
4. With its partners, it will be clear about what it does and how this is measured, so it can say with confidence what it has achieved – and how it might do better in the future.

The University of Derby Civic Roadshow is a free event taking place from 1pm-4pm on Wednesday 24 July at St Helena, 2 Sheffield Rd, Chesterfield S41 7LL, and 10-2pm on Wednesday 14 August at the Devonshire Dome, Devonshire Road, Buxton, SK17 6RY.

If you would like to contribute towards helping the University achieve its ambition of becoming a true Civic University, drop into one of the roadshows and have your say or complete the online survey at www.derby.ac.uk/civic . For further information call 01332 591942.