National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE) Literature Review

NCACE is seeking a researcher to conduct a comprehensive review of existing academic and non-academic literature and other secondary sources focusing on Knowledge Exchange and wider partnerships collaborations between universities and specialist higher education institutions and the arts and cultural sector.

About NCACE 

NCACE is a brand new four year initiative that is being developed and led by TCCE with funding from Research England. Its key purpose and mission will be to facilitate and support capacity for Knowledge Exchange between Higher Education and the arts and cultural sector across the country with a particular focus on evidencing and showcasing the social, cultural, environmental, as well as the economic, impacts of such activities. It will comprise a suite of cross-cutting, closely-aligned and highly complementary work packages, strategically designed to support this mission. These include: Brokerage, collaboration and networking development; Skills and capacity building; Evidencing and impact development; Showcasing and communications. NCACE is being delivered in partnership with a number of Regional Hub partners across the country including Manchester Metropolitan University, Northumbria University, Birmingham City University and Bath Spa University.

About the review

The purpose of the review will be to gather and synthesise data, papers and relevant information from both academic and non-academic sources concerning collaborations, partnerships and knowledge exchange initiatives between higher education and the arts and cultural sectors. It is expected that these may vary considerably in scope and nature and will also be likely to range considerably in scale and in levels of formality; from large-scale institution to institution type agreements through to small-scale projects that may be quite short in duration and/or associated with particular funding streams e.g those associated with specific Research or Knowledge Exchange initiatives.

The review will contribute to the knowledge base line for the project and more specifically is intended to align to and support the wider objectives of NCACE’s third activity stream (Work Package 3). The core purpose of this aspect of NCACE is to create a ‘What Works’ style Evidence Bank/Hub over the four years of the programme. It will address the need for more and better evidence and analysis specifically about the extent, nature, driver and broader social, cultural,  environmental and economic impacts of KE and the arts and cultural sectors. The review will not only provide a systematic overview of evidence about the nature and extent of Knowledge Exchange between higher education institutions and the arts and cultural sector, but also shed light on key gaps in evidence and understanding, which will inform the further development of the Evidence Bank/Hub in the next stages of the NCACE initiative.

Remuneration and application details

There is a fee of £3780 payable for a period of 15-20 days  commencing as soon as possible.

If you are interested, please send your cv along with a statement of no more than 750 words outlining your interest in this field and your approach to the brief to noshin@tcce.co.uk by 5pm 7 December 2020. We will talk with shortlisted candidates on Monday 14 December between 12.30pm and 4.30pm.

Requirements

Essential

We anticipate this work may be of interest to professional researchers with a post-graduate qualification with a research component (MA or MSc) 

Desirable 

PhD with demonstrable research or equivalent expertise in one or more of the following areas, or in an area that is closely aligned to one of the following: knowledge exchange between HE and the arts/cultural sectors; social, cultural or environmental impacts of collaborations including arts and culture sector; public engagement; impact of research on government policy; the civic roles of universities and/or the arts. 

Authored or contributed to publications in this field or in a closely related area

The reviewer will work closely with Dr Federica Rossi (Evidence and Evaluation Lead) and Evelyn Wilson (NCACE Co-Director) in the first instance and with the wider NCACE team as appropriate. If you do wish to have an informal conversation or have any further questions, please liaise with Noshin noshin@tcce.co.uk in the first instance.