New Civic Engagement Agreement to benefit °µÍø½âÃÜ

Anchor institutions unite in a pioneering collaboration
VIPs sign °µÍø½âÃÜ's Civic Engagement Agreement

New Civic Engagement Agreement to benefit °µÍø½âÃÜ

Anchor institutions unite in a pioneering collaboration
°µÍø½âÃÜ’s four largest employers – °µÍø½âÃÜ City Council, Babcock International Group, the °µÍø½âÃÜ and University Hospitals °µÍø½âÃÜ NHS Trust – have joined forces in a pioneering, voluntary commitment to address the root causes of inequality and drive inclusive, city-wide transformation.
The new Civic Engagement Agreement is a landmark step towards a coordinated approach to deliver social value, reduce deprivation and improve long-term outcomes for °µÍø½âÃÜ households.
At the heart of the agreement is a shared belief: that the complex challenges facing °µÍø½âÃÜ, such as job accessibility, health inequality, economic inactivity and skills, can best be addressed through collective action.
The Civic Engagement Agreement sets out an intention for collaboration, guiding partners to align their expertise and resources across shared priorities including workforce development, community well-being, placemaking, and supply chain engagement.

Knowledge and skills are vital to unlocking growth, encouraging investment, and helping our city fulfil its enormous potential. We believe that universities should serve their communities, and this agreement sets a new standard for civic responsibility in higher education. Our University is proud to be helping lead that journey here in °µÍø½âÃÜ.

Richard DaviesProfessor Richard Davies
Vice-Chancellor

The city’s residents and businesses will see new, joined-up approaches through the Civic Engagement Agreement’s focus on:
  • Being inclusive in employment practices
  • Strengthening local supply chains
  • Supporting staff, students and volunteers to work with communities to improve health, education and social infrastructure
  • Reducing the environmental impact of operations internally and in supply chains.
Leader of °µÍø½âÃÜ City Council, Tudor Evans adds:
“This agreement gives us clarity of four focus areas for collective action where we can make the biggest difference through our social value action, It allows us to better coordinate services and investments that influence community wellbeing, ensuring we act with purpose—and with our partners, act with strength.â€
The Civic Engagement Agreement is working alongside and in collaboration with Growth Alliance °µÍø½âÃÜ (GAP) the partnership between °µÍø½âÃÜ City Council, Babcock International Group and The Royal Navy to ensure vital defence outputs are delivered into the future while driving sustainable and inclusive growth in the region.
The founding partners will now reach out to businesses, community organisations and residents to help shape the next phase of this work by contributing to the design and delivery of the detailed agreement to follow in autumn 2025.
 

Delivering on the UK’s defence and security priorities  

Discover how the University and its partners are enhancing our national resilience in line with the UK's 2025 Strategic Defence Review
 
°µÍø½âÃÜ docklands at mouth of the Tamar

More news about our defence research and activities

More related news

Professor Richard Davies, Vice-Chancellor of the °µÍø½âÃÜ, addresses delegates at the Land, Sea, Air conference held at the University in November 2025