Governance

Civic and Regional Committee

1. Purpose

The Civic and Regional Committee is a committee of University Executive Board. The Committee has oversight of the University’s civic and regional engagement and develops strategy to direct our civic and public value contribution.

The oversight remit of the Committee will extend across the full breadth of the University’s current interactions at the civic and regional level, including the City, County, East Midlands and Midlands Engine.

 R&I (Business and Local Partnerships) and External Relationswill be responsible for monitoring progress against our strategy as well as ensuring that civic and regional engagement is effectively aligned with other University core strategies. Updates will be provided to the University’s Executive Board and other relevant Executive Board committees. The Chair will report at least once a year to the Vice-Chancellor’s Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement Forum about the status of relationships at the civic and regional level.

2. Responsibilities

Without limiting the general responsibilities as described above:

  1. To develop and implement strategy that will provide direction and purpose to our civic and regional engagement.
  2. To have oversight and decision-making authority over all elements of our civic and regional engagement activity; ensuring this is effectively aligned with both our core strategies and the value we deliver to the public and our partners.
  3. To set out clearly our institutional position on civic and regional issues, respond to challenges and opportunities and to plan for the future across the local agenda.
  4. To communicate, internally and externally, our institutional values as a University with a clear and compelling civic mission, with a responsibility for improving the lives of those individuals and communities alongside whom we live, learn and work.
  5. To receive and deliver reports and updates to the University Executive Board as required.
  6. To establish such sub-groups as may be required to deliver specific areas of the Committee’s remit.
  7. To receive reports and updates from its sub-committees and where relevant from other University Executive Board committees.
  8. To provide oversight of the civic relationship with the NOVA Education Trust.
  9. The Chair of the Committee is accountable for the decisions of the Committee which includes but is not limited to decisions with a financial impact and will liaise with the chairs of other committees and other budget holders where there is overlap in responsibility.

 3. General

 3.1 Membership

Chair

Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor Arts

Civic Leads

Five Civic Leads, one from each Faculty

Professional Services

Thematic lead for Community: Registrar

CARO: Director of Advancement

External Relations: Deputy Director, Advocacy (Public Affairs)

Research and Innovation: Deputy Director, Research and Innovation

Public Engagement: Director of the University of Nottingham Institute for Policy and Engagement

Careers: Director of Careers and Employability

Student Representative

To be nominated by the Students’ Union

Nominated Members

Four members selected through the Committee Membership Selection Process

 
The Strategic Delivery Lead, Civic Affairs Manager and the Senior Project Manager (Planning, Performance and Strategic Change) will be in attendance at meetings as appropriate but are not members of the Committee.

 Observers (agenda dependent)

  • Representative from CAS
  • Representative from Off Campus Affairs

 The following thematic leads and members are staff are not members of the Committee but shall be invited to attend on an ad hoc basis and will receive reports and papers of the Committee and have the opportunity to feed into the work of the Committee wherever appropriate:

  • Health: Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Medicine and Health Sciences
  • Economic development: Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Engineering
  • Education and society: Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Education and Student Experience
  • Knowledge Exchange: Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Knowledge Exchange
  • Midlands Innovation: Deputy Vice-Chancellor
  • Culture: Director of Lakeside Arts
  • Estates: Director of Sustainability
  • Sports: Director of Sport
  • Widening Participation: Deputy Director, Student Recruitment (Widening Participation)
  • Campus Life: Director of Campus Life

3.2 Chair and support

The Committee will be convened and chaired by the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Arts and the Deputy Director, Advocacy (Public Affairs) will act as Executive Lead. The Secretary will be supplied by the Governance and Executive Support.

3.3 Frequency of meetings

The Committee will meet quarterly, and the Chair shall call additional meetings where necessary. The Committee will delegate activity to task-forces and professional service departments as appropriate.

 3.4 Deputies

Members of the Committee are not able to nominate a deputy to attend the meeting on their behalf.

 3.5 Quorum

A quorum will be half the regular membership plus one. 

 3.6 Term of Office

The term of office for the members selected by the Committee Membership Selection Group is two years. Some of these members may be reappointed for a further year with the agreement of the Chair in order to maintain an appropriate balance between turnover and experience on the Committee. The term of office for the representative nominated by the Students’ Union is one year. Other members are ex officio.

3.7 Reporting and Review

The Committee will report to University Executive Board. The effectiveness and the membership of the Committee will be reviewed annually. The Committee will receive reports from the Civic and Regional Group.

(Terms of Reference ratified at Civic and Regional Committee 26 September 2023)

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