Engagement Diagnostic

1. Discovery – Kick-off meeting to align expectations and gather context, priorities, and desired outcomes.

2. Assessment – Rapid diagnostic survey across a small group of key stakeholders, structured around the six engagement building blocks.

3. Reflection –Focus group of 1 hour to add qualitative insights and explore current practices, challenges, and opportunities.

4. Analysis  – UIIN experts synthesise findings to identify strengths and gaps.

5. Diagnostic Snapshot – Delivery of a concise snapshot with key insights and recommendations, supported by a debrief call with UIIN to answer questions and explore next steps.

• A personalised diagnostic snapshot that provides a rapid, evidence-based view of your institution’s external engagement maturity and development needs.
• A concise set of recommendations and priority areas to support planning conversations about what to focus on first and why.
• Leadership-facing insights that surface different perspectives, alignment gaps, pain points and opportunities—supporting clearer internal discussions on next steps.
• A baseline you can return to over time, enabling progress tracking if you repeat the diagnostic periodically.

The diagnostic is for ambitious universities that want to:

• Increase their social and economic impact 
• Understand their institutional readiness for external engagement and what is inhibiting it
• Take a structured, evidence-based approach to improving based upon past excellence pathways
• Align leadership and staff around a shared vision
• Identify priorities for strengthening external engagement practices
• Create coherence between strategy, systems and culture

For institutions ready to go further, UIIN offers additional services designed to deepen insights, prioritise actions, and sustain progress.

• Future State Scenario Workshops
  A facilitated session to explore different future models of engagement and innovation for the institution (e.g., launchpad, talent engine, innovation hub).
  
• Policy & Process Review
  A short audit of strategies, policies, incentive schemes, and operational processes related to engagement and innovation.
  
• Deep-Dive Strategy Series
  A facilitated series of three expert-led workshops designed to translate diagnostic findings into action.
• Capability Building
  Bespoke training and coaching programs for leadership, professional staff and academics to embed a common language and approach.
• Engagement Portfolio Mapping
  Mapping of the institution’s existing partnerships, collaborations, projects, and initiatives. Helps reveal fragmentation and areas for consolidation or investment.
• Benchmarking Against Proven Practice
  A comparative analysis positioning the institution against peer universities and recognised good practice in university–industry engagement.
• Annual Engagement Dashboard Setup
  Creating a simple ongoing metrics dashboard tailored to the institution’s context and aligned with diagnostic indicators.