This report introduces the Civic 6 Framework, a strategic typology designed to map and understand the diverse ways in which UK universities organise and deliver civic, place-based, and public policy engagement.
Drawing on comparative case studies of selected major UK institutes, including City-REDI, the Heseltine Institute, Insights North East, Y-PERN, the Institute for Collective Place Leadership, the Productivity Institute, Policy@Manchester, the Wales Centre for Public Policy, Public Policy|Southampton, and the Bennett Institute — the framework identifies six core models: Civic-Embedded Regional Development Institutes; Civic Engagement and Public Policy Institutes; Networked Regional Policy Collaboratives; Single Policy Issue Institutes; Interdisciplinary Public Policy Think Tanks; and Translational Policy Communication Platforms.
The report evaluates each model against ten critical success factors for places (Taylor et al., 2024), examines hybrid and adaptive approaches, analyses the risks of institutional failure and closure, and addresses equality, diversity and inclusion in civic engagement.
It also reviews the four LPIP pilots, YPIP, Cymru Wledig Rural Wales, EPIC Futures Northern Ireland, and Forth H2O, against the framework, and provides practical guidance on how to apply the Civic Six Framework for strategic planning, benchmarking, and evaluation, including a step-by-step process for universities starting from scratch.
“The Civic 6 Framework offers a powerful lens through which to understand and support the evolving landscape of university-based civic and policy engagement in the UK.”
Professor Rebecca Riley
The report sets out eight recommendations for universities, funders, and policymakers. These include: adopting the Civic 6 Framework as a strategic tool for mapping, benchmarking, and developing civic engagement initiatives; encouraging model flexibility and evolution as institutes adapt to changing funding, partnerships, and regional needs; supporting hybrid and networked approaches that combine strengths from multiple models; investing in long-term capacity building including staff development, data infrastructure, and civic engagement tools; enhancing national coordination platforms such as UPEN, NCCPE, and the LPIP Hub; promoting inclusive and participatory policy development, especially with underrepresented communities and rural areas; expanding translational policy communication to ensure research reaches policymakers in accessible formats; and encouraging cross-institute learning and evaluation.
The report also provides diagnostic tools and a step-by-step framework for universities at any stage of development, from those starting from scratch to established institutes seeking to benchmark and evolve their approach.
Professor Rebecca Riley
Professor Rebecca (Bec) Riley is Co-Director of City-REDI, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Regional Engagement, Director of the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub, and Professor of Enterprise, Engagement, and Impact at the University of Birmingham’s Business School.
Bec joined the University of Birmingham nine years ago to set up City-REDI, to build a distinctive local, regional, national and international research platform through the development of a Birmingham approach to understanding and facilitating growth in city regions. This systemic approach in identifying and conceptualising the interdependencies within and between regional economies has provided new opportunities for understanding, conceptualising, modelling, evaluating and comparing economic activity and business trends at the city-region level.
As the newly announced Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Regional Engagement, Bec will lead on setting the civic and regional vision for the University, while building on the work she has been doing with the University’s Regional Engagement Group. Alongside her new role, Bec remains the Principal Investigator (PI) and Director of the LPIP Hub, addressing nationwide issues through local partnership and place.
Bec’s research interests focus on regional economic development, including research to develop policy and regional strategies, monitoring frameworks, economic forecasting, skills and labour market analysis, and strategic business cases and project evaluation. She applies a mixed methods approach in her research, with a strong focus and record of impactful policy-relevant applied research and stakeholder engagement. She is an experienced lead on research projects, with over 200 research projects carried out across academia, policy, and consultancy roles.