• Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
  • Accessibility options
University of Brighton
  • About us
  • Business and
    employers
  • Alumni and
    supporters
  • For
    students
  • For
    staff
  • Accessibility
    options
Open menu
Home
Home
  • Close
  • Study
    • Courses and subjects
    • Find a course
    • A-Z course list
    • Explore our subjects
    • Academic departments
    • Visiting the university
    • Explore: get to know us
    • Upcoming events
    • Virtual tours
    • Chat to our students and staff
    • Open days
    • Applicant days
    • Order a prospectus
    • Ask a question
    • Studying here
    • Accommodation and locations
    • Applying
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate
    • Transferring from another university
    • The Student Contract
    • Clearing
    • International students
    • Fees and finance
    • Advice and help
    • Advice for students
    • Advice for parents and carers
    • Advice for schools and teachers
    • Managing your application
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate
    • Apprenticeships
  • Research
    • Research and knowledge exchange
    • Research and knowledge exchange organisation
    • The Global Challenges
    • Centres of Research Excellence (COREs)
    • Research Excellence Groups (REGs)
    • Our research database
    • Information for business
    • Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP)
    • Postgraduate research degrees
    • PhD research disciplines and programmes
    • PhD funding opportunities and studentships
    • How to apply for your PhD
    • Research environment
    • Investing in research careers
    • Strategic plan
    • Research concordat
    • News, events, publications and films
    • Research and knowledge exchange news
    • Inaugural lectures
    • Research and knowledge exchange publications and films
    • Academic staff search
  • About us
  • Business and employers
  • Alumni, supporters and giving
  • Current students
  • Staff
  • Accessibility
Search our site
Ignite partnerships - Oyster Dredge
Community University Partnership Programme
  • Story
  • Partnerships
  • Resources
  • Films
  • News
  • Students in the community
  • Contact
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships
    • Ignite partnerships
  • Ignite partnerships
    • Ignite partnerships
    • Clothes on our back – Diversifying the curriculum
    • Community solutions to the housing crisis
    • Ignite: one partnership programme
    • Improving children and young people's mental health
    • Making the arts more accessible
    • Microplastics and Chichester Harbour
    • Moulsecoomb and Bevendean – Our voice
    • Tackling loneliness through a Living Lab
  • Ignite: one partnership programme

Ignite: one partnership programme

Over the years, CUPP has run many different community-university partnership programmes. However, none had the explicit focus of initiating a suite of new partnerships through a range of support for partners including a knowledge exchange development programme. Nor have they set out to achieved this all within a few months.

Explore our Ignite partnerships

Notify when IGNITE publication is available

A significant feature of the programme was the breadth of partnership interests addressing issues of deprivation and marginalisation – from improving children’s mental health to finding solutions to the local housing crisis and exploring why people do not trust local services. Despite only having a few months to develop the partnerships, collaborators were creative in co-producing projects that brought mutual benefits for both communities and the university. In fact, the 12-month time limit, alongside a focused support programme, was seen as an important factor for success, given how busy the partners were individually and together. Learning from Ignite will be included in a forthcoming CUPP publication. 

My advice to other groups would be - do get involved in a university project. It will add credibility and respect to the community organisation by opening new doors and opportunities to various stakeholders around a common community issue.

Grainne Saunders, West Sussex Parent Carer Forum

UK Research and Innovation

The Ignite programme to initiate a set of community-university knowledge partnerships was designed, developed and delivered by CUPP. However, it would not have been possible without the support of the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) including funding from their Strategic Support to Expedite Embedding Public Engagement with Research (SEE-PER) initiative.

At the heart of Ignite is an incubator model for developing a suite of partnerships based on a framework for supporting community and research partners, including those new to co-production. This framework was designed around five clear steps achievable within a year: 

Step 1. Embarking

Establishing a community-university advisory group and launching an open competition to find a set of new partnerships to take part in Ignite.

Step 2. Exploring

Encouraging exploration of potential partnerships that prioritise mutual benefits for community partners and researchers. Where possible, supporting potential partners in their bids to the Ignite programme. 

Ignite reportIgnite final evaluation (PDF)

Step 3. Experimenting 

Supporting partnerships to experiment with their partnership with seed funding. Importantly, this enables the partnership to contribute to the time community partners dedicate to the project. Plus support a range of co-designed and co-produced community-focused research activities.

Step 4. Exchanging 

Prioritising knowledge exchange by capturing and sharing of activity and learning. This is not only between partners but also across the partnerships though meeting a three plenary events that included a social learning space. Also ensure that the learning is captured for the partnership but also to share more widely through films, case studies, reports and guides.

Step 5. Evaluating 

Ensuring that evaluation is both helpful for the individual partnerships but also for the overall Ignite programme. Being as creative as possible by using mixed research methods to enable the development of rich data - for example, interviews, self-evaluation and participant observations. Evaluation of the Ignite programme demonstrates that it is possible to develop a set of new knowledge partnerships that can start to have positive outcomes and impacts in just a few months. Click on the above PDF report to read our final evaluation. 

Back to top
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn icon

Contact us

University of Brighton
Mithras House
Lewes Road
Brighton
BN2 4AT

Main switchboard 01273 600900

Course enquiries

Sign up for updates

University contacts

Report a problem with this page

Quick links Quick links

  • Courses
  • Open days
  • Order a prospectus
  • Academic departments
  • Academic staff
  • Professional services departments
  • Jobs
  • Privacy and cookie policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Libraries
  • Term dates
  • Maps
  • Graduation
  • Site information
  • Online shop
  • COVID-19

Information for Information for

  • Current students
  • International students
  • Media/press
  • Careers advisers/teachers
  • Parents/carers
  • Business/employers
  • Alumni/supporters
  • Suppliers
  • Local residents