USW Partnership and Engagement

The USW Partnership & Engagement Programme opened on the 1st July 2020, and will be operating a rolling application model, meaning that applications can be made at any time and will be reviewed at the earliest opportunity after submission. 

The programme is open to application by any registered business or civic body looking to develop meaningful future collaborative relationships with the University of South Wales. While there is no limit on the size or location of the external partner, the project must demonstrate that it is an effective collaboration and will deliver positive Welsh economic impact. Applications from microbusinesses and recent start-ups are also welcomed.  

The purpose of the application form is to obtain enough information about how you seek to utilise the programme, the expertise you would likely require access to, and how the project aligns with the required outcomes of enabling future collaborative engagement activity or partnership.

To receive a copy of an application form and if you require support with your application, please contact [email protected].  

Applicants are required to seek appropriate authorisation from within their organisation before submitting the application. Approval will also be sought by the internal Academic Subject Manager of any academics involved, to ensure time commitment to delivering their activity.  

Applicants should email completed application forms to [email protected] with the subject line: ‘USW Partnership & Engagement Programme’. You will receive email acknowledgment on receipt of your application.  

Applications will be assessed by the USW Exchange team, on a rolling basis.  Applications will be checked to ensure they are complete and meet eligibility requirements. Compliance with eligibility requirements alone does not guarantee approval. 

Whilst we will endeavour to successfully link your application with a relevant academic for work to begin, unfortunately, we can’t always guarantee that we will have the relevant academic expertise or capacity at the time to carry out the scoping work outlined in your proposal. Once your application is complete, USW Exchange will begin conversations with academics to ensure expertise and capacity is available and if so we will then begin to make introductions.

We anticipate high demand for this programme, and so applications which meet these requirements will go on to be assessed competitively based on the criteria below, and their potential for scientific, economic or societal impacts.  

Assessment Criteria: 

• The need or challenge brought by the external partner is clearly presented 
• The proposed solution (if known) or desired outcomes/deliverables from USW are articulated & align with the defined Strand Theme(s) 
• Anticipated benefits to the business, organisation or region are articulated clearly (note: must demonstrate positive economic impacts for Wales).  
• Anticipated benefits to USW clearly articulated (i.e. future partnership development with USW; development or provision of CPD; opportunity for follow-on collaborative research; contract research or consultancy, or future use/need of USW’s technical facilities or equipment). 

Applications which also have a link to one of USW’s 4 Accelerated Development Areas (Sustainable Environment; Crime, Security and Justice; Health & Wellbeing; Creative) will be of particular interest to assessors.  

If your application is successful you will be notified by email. USW Exchange will allocate an External Engagement Manager to support the development and delivery of strand activity, by facilitating the engagement between the industry partner and our internal expertise.  

A schedule for initial diagnostic or scoping sessions with our staff will be mutually agreed to understand your challenge, and a timeline for any feasibility papers, skills diagnostics, scoping reports or other outcomes agreed as part of the programme activity will be confirmed on a case-by-case basis by the allocated Engagement Manager.  

Once the relevant academic expertise has been identified and secured to work on your request or challenge, we will arrange for a diagnostic and scoping session to bring the academic and industry collaborators together.  This session may be in-person or conducted through virtual meeting software. During this session the challenge will be discussed in detail, including steps taken to date, resource available to work on solutions and any other relevant information.   

Following the diagnostic session, the linked expert will use the remainder of their funded time to consider and research potential next steps for your project resulting in a summary report regarding feasibility, insights and recommendations.  This will also include suggested tangible further collaboration opportunities which will seek to move any proposed solutions forward e.g. Collaborative Research with USW, Contract Research, Commercial Consultancy, CPD or Access to USW Facilities/Equipment. The assigned Engagement Manager will discuss the outcomes of this with the external organisation including the availability of any other funding which could enable this.  

Successful applications are required to submit a short post-award form after the activity has been delivered, the contents of which may be used to case-study impacts of the Partnership & Engagement Programme as well as for reporting and monitoring purposes.  

All applications are considered in competition with each other, and the availability of the required expertise at the time of application. If your application is unsuccessful you will be notified by email. Where possible, the USW Exchange team will support your challenge through other channels.