South East Coastal Communities
Nine higher education institutions in Sussex, Kent and Hampshire, were successful in winning 3 years of funding from the Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE) for a new and innovative programme of community-university engagement. The South East Coastal Communities (SECC) project is an important demonstration of how the intellectual and other resources of universities can be put to good use by disadvantaged communities. Information about the whole project can be found on the main South East Coastal Communities site.
In Sussex, South East Coastal Communities funds and match funds were used to ensure effective access for community organisations into the universities of Brighton, Sussex and Chichester. The three universities developed six significant and practical projects with shared learning and dissemination. It also enabled the Community University Partnership Programme (Cupp) at the University of Brighton to extend its helpdesk to Hastings and Eastbourne. These projects brought together academics, community practitioners, students, service users and community members to address areas of local and national concern in relation to enhancing health and wellbeing.
Brighton and Sussex focused on developing a ‘Communities of Practice’ approach in four specific areas of activity:
- Older people;
- Young people and families;
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) communities;
- The Deaf community.
The University of Chichester developed a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model of community engagement with Third Sector and Voluntary Organisations to present two projects:
- Lifemusic;
- Training Older People as Researchers.