At UCS collaboration is at the heart of all we do. In fact, UCS itself was a joint collaboration between a number of key stakeholders determined to bring a university campus to Suffolk.
We strive to continue this collaboration throughout all of our work. We aim to be seamlessly embedded with all other civic organisations, public, private and voluntary across Suffolk, working in partnership to deliver our common ambitions.
UCS is involved in a number of key collaborations across Suffolk including:
Leap
The Leap Project was formed in 2007 by UCS, Suffolk Learning and Skills Council, Suffolk County Council and the EEDA.
The aim of Leap is to make access to education and skills as local as possible in response to the rural nature of the county and recognising the problems of transport to education provision.
Leap delivers free and impartial, high quality information, advice and guidance to everyone seeking education or training opportunities. Leap also works with businesses wanting to improve the skills of their workforce.
The Leap Project is unique to Suffolk and has Centres and Points across the county. Leap Centres have expert advisors who can provide up-to-date information, advice and guidance on all aspects of education. They can also help with CV writing and offer tips on interview and presentation skills. The Centres have teaching rooms and state-of-the-art IT suites. Leap Points are micro versions of the Centres and based mainly in Libraries and Children's Centres. The Points offer information, advice and sign-posting to local learning opportunities.
Suffolk Collaborative
Faced with a difficult economic climate, more people needing services and the prospect of wide-ranging public sector spending cuts, 22 chief executives from the public, private and voluntary sectors across Suffolk joined forces to see how working more effectively together could transform services.
The result was an innovative culture-change programme; coming together in challenging environments, going direct to public groups and individuals, changing ways of working across public, private and third sector organisations in Suffolk. Designed to create new perceptions of the issues facing Suffolk, greater trust and stronger, mutually supportive working relationships, it is leading to new ways to achieve better outcomes for the county.
Now a slightly broader group of leaders, the Suffolk Collaborative, has taken on the mantle of this work to ensure that as many people as possible work together to implement collaborative projects across Suffolk.
Eastern Enterprise Hub
The Eastern Enterprise Hub is based within the James Hehir Building at UCS. The Enterprise Hub enables communities in the East to have a central focus for enterprise learning, while aiming to broaden the area’s economic base, particularly in support of new sectors. The new hub will also seek to overcome the twin challenges of youth unemployment and low skills while stimulating and supporting new business start-ups in the region.
The Eastern Enterprise Hub is managed through four programme strands: The Enterprise Academy, The School for Social Entrepreneurs Suffolk, The Business Club, and Wider Enterprise Support.
The project is led by UCS and Suffolk County Council, working with a range of local and regional partners both in the public and private sectors.