In February 2019 The Civic University Commission asked what it means to be a civic university in the 21st century, one that puts its economic, social, environmental and cultural role in the community at the centre of its strategy.

It found great examples of civic activity, but rarely was the approach strategic and based on the real needs of their local communities. It described universities’ attempts at civic activity as too often “superficial and complacent”. It highlighted an “insufficient connection” with the public and their views.

The Commission made the case to develop Civic University Partnerships putting the needs of their localities front and centre. 1 Universities have responded to this call and are taking their role as civic institutions increasingly seriously, but too often they fall short in how they engage communities; they seek out conversations that they have already deemed to be worth listening to, rather than creating open listening channels.

The University of East Anglia set out to do this differently.

Demos worked with UEA to use the digital dialogue tool, Polis, to understand what local people really want from the university. Polis is a cutting-edge online engagement tool that is used to identify areas of consensus in a community, and to prompt people to offer fresh ideas. It has been used globally to introduce a nuance and subtlety to democratic processes. Taiwan, Kentucky and Singapore, for example, have integrated Polis into their democratic landscapes.

Demos deployed Polis within three in-person public engagement events in partnership with the UEA.

Two of these were run as ‘Open Space’ events, a participant-driven technique whereby the agenda for an event is largely set and overseen by its attendees. The third was as part of a public UEA-run programme at the Royal Norfolk Show.

Over the three events, these digital dialogues engaged 534 people, who cast 15,352 votes and submitted 275 statements that in turn shaped the conversations. This report analyses what people said, drawing out the following insights for what it would mean - in the eyes of local people - for the UEA to be a true civic university.

People want more from a civic UEA: service provision, lifelong learning, economic development and physical presence.