Get ready for the HE-BCI survey

Are you recording all your public engagement (PE) data? 

The HE-BCI survey aims to collect information about the impact the University has on the wider community

A computer mouse being clicked. September 2020.

PE data on Symplectic will be needed for the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey, which is mandatory for all Higher Education providers in England and Wales.  

brief factsheet is available for further information. 

The survey aims to collect information about the impact the University has on the wider community. Data collected is used to drive allocation of the performance-based component of Higher Education Innovation Funding. 

The impact of PE events is determined by looking at the number of people attending and the amount of time academic staff spend running them. 

Academics can record PE activity on the Symplectic system at any point in the year. This data will then be extracted in mid-November and processed to provide information needed for the HE-BCI survey. 

To add a new PE activity, click on the ‘Add’ button next to the ‘Professional Activities’ heading on the home page after logging in. 

For larger units that organise activities, such as the museums, Strategy and Planning will circulate templates to capture the data. If you are part of a service that runs events and think you may not have received an HE-BCI template before, please get in touch with Gintare Jocaite in Strategy and Planning via email

What events can be reported? 

For the 2019/20 survey, you can record events open to the public that happened between Thursday 1 August 2019 and Friday 31 July 2020. You can record: 

  • public lectures given by academic staff 
  • performance arts events 
  • exhibitions at the galleries and museums owned by the University 
  • museum education delivered at the University’s museums and galleries – this encompasses everything from lectures to art workshops and children’s clubs; and 
  • other events, such as science festivals, Light Night and anything else open to the general public. 

What information is needed? 

Please include: 

  • the event name and date 
  • whether you think the event could be classified as a public lecture, performance arts event, exhibition, museum education event or other 
  • a brief description of the event to help with classification 
  • whether the event was free or if people were charged to attend 
  • the number of people who attended; and 
  • the amount of time spent preparing the event and the amount of time spent delivering it – please do not include time spent supervising/teaching students. 

Closing date for the survey is Friday 6 November. Contact Gintare Jocaite if you have any other questions. 

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