In Spring 2007 the AHRC reviewed how it organised visits to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This was partly through a survey of our colleagues in HEIs, and also through an internal assessment. The aim of the survey was to find out which institutions AHRC was visiting, what was being achieved by the visits, and whether expectations were being met.

The main conclusion of the survey was that HEI visits are viewed by the AHRC and the academic community as a useful and constructive way to interact, but that the meetings must be clear, focused and engage with the right people in HEIs. It was also apparent that coverage of institutions was patchy, with some receiving several visits a year from various AHRC staff members and others none at all.

Regional Events Strategy

In May 2007 the regional events strategy was developed to:

• Share AHRC vision and purpose and hear about HEI research strategies
• Encourage and support high-quality applications
• Spread word about International, Knowledge Transfer and other activities
• Learn about research - context and outputs
• Build stronger networks with the community

Regional events were not viewed as a replacement for all aspects of contact between AHRC staff, HEIs and award holders or as a means of engaging with every piece of AHRC-funded research in any given region.

The events were designed to give every HEI in the UK an opportunity to hear about AHRC strategic priorities; to share their strategic vision with the AHRC; to attend focused workshops and join discussions on a range a subjects; for award holders to informally meet each other and AHRC staff; for every Vice Chancellor to meet the CEO and Director of Research and to develop stronger links between AHRC staff and award holders.

A total of 13 events were planned between November 2007 and October 2008. The new events model was widely embraced by the academic community and many institutions kindly offered support in terms of providing venues to host the events.

Measuring success and capturing information

Feedback has been gathered from participants at all events held so far and has been largely positive, indicating that the broad aims of the regional strategy have been met successfully.

We have also requested that AHRC staff report back on key issues arising from breakout groups and conversations they have had with academics and other guests at the events in order to build up a picture of how useful the events have been for different audiences and how to progress the regional strategy.

This feedback has contributed to the continuing development of the events over the past year and we have made several changes to the programme content to ensure information is current and that we are meeting the needs of our community.

With three more events planned before the first year of the initiative comes to an end we are already looking to how we will continue to engage with HEIs and other key stakeholders going forward.

In 2009, with four events centred around the AHRC’s new regionally-focused teams, the programme will highlight strategic issues such as collaborative research and will showcase the diverse range of AHRC-funded research and its social and economic impact on the wider world. Breakout sessions and workshops will remain an important part of the programme, as a more informal and interactive space for our colleagues in HEIs to interact with AHRC staff.