Purpose through data

From 2022 to 2025, the Institute for Community Studies at The Young Foundation carried out primary and secondary research in support of the National Civic Impact Accelerator (NCIA) programme. This included exploring, with a range of academic and NCIA partners, how to create practical resources and guidance to help universities use data to understand their civic impact and contribution to their local place. This work led to the design and development of the Civic Impact Dashboard, a data solution supporting HEI staff to better understand, evaluate and showcase their institution’s civic contributions to the communities and places in which they are based. Feedback from an expert user testing group of Higher Education Institute (HEI) staff highlighted a need to more deeply understand their lived and learnt experiences. This guide is the product of this deeper, qualitative exploration. It sits alongside the Civic Impact Dashboard and wider NCIA resources.