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Positive Impact Partners

Positive Impact Partners (PIP) is the University of Leeds gateway to connect third sector and civic partners with our staff and students, to network, share knowledge and experiences, and form new partnerships.

PIP can also help put local businesses in touch with the relevant staff members to access our students' expertise or develop new curriculum opportunities. This provides a practical application to our students learning and valuable experience to enhance their employability.

PIP has been developed in collaboration with staff and our external partners to increase collaboration, build knowledge and capacity to deal with local societal challenges, and positively contribute to our local communities.

How PIP Works

Through PIP, we can connect external partners to the relevant staff and students to access various areas of expertise, or create new research and partnership projects.

For academic or professional staff looking to:

  • Make a positive difference to our communities
  • Utilise their expertise for local impact; find a partner for a new project, including for giving your Students a practical basis for their learning
  • Develop and enhance their own knowledge and skills

PIP can also find and put you in touch with the right external partner to work with.

PIP provides a framework for University teams to work together and with external stakeholders, improving access to opportunities to work with our students and staff. We monitor and evaluate our collaboration to demonstrate the positive impact we are making for the University, our staff and students, the third sector and our local communities.

Get Involved

You can sign up to PIP and find out more about our programme and what it has to offer you by completing our online form here.

You can also join us for an introduction to PIP webinar to find out more about PIP and scope out what you can best achieve through the programme. Our webinars take place virtually through Microsoft Teams. Please see our news section to find any upcoming workshops and to book your place. If there are no upcoming dates available, email us at sustainability@leeds.ac.uk  and we will notify you when a webinar has been scheduled.

What PIP Offers

PIP provides a range of ways for University staff, students and external partners to work together, share their knowledge and experiences, and form new partnerships. These take the form of:

Expertise and ideas exchange

Take part in one of our PIP Information Sharing and Collaboration Workshops to network, gain new insights, identify collaborative opportunities and meet potential partners. Our workshops bring together a wide range of professional and research staff from the University with our external partners to discuss and explore the latest thinking on key topics of mutual interest and benefit.

Our workshops provide a platform to share knowledge, experiences, and insights, to collectively build the capacity and capabilities of University staff and external partners, and identify new opportunities that can be developed through a PIP partnership. Our workshops also provide the opportunity for participants to pitch any partnership or project ideas they may have and potentially find a partner.

All workshops will take place virtually through Microsoft Teams. Please see our news section to find any upcoming workshops and to book your place.

Get in touch if you have a theme idea or would like to facilitate an upcoming workshop at sustainability@leeds.ac.uk

One to one support partnerships

For external partners who have identified a skills or knowledge gap, PIP links them with a member of University staff or a student to provide answers or insights into specific questions or challenges, and potentially find a longer-term partner to provide knowledge and an outside perspective on their ways of working. This could be in professional service areas such as marketing, finance, strategic planning, and business change.

Staff and students also benefit greatly from working with inspirational individuals and organisations beyond campus. Key benefits include gaining new insights from a partner’s background and history that can be used in their own personal and professional development, and a practical application for their knowledge and skills.

If you work for a third sector, civic, or charitable organisation; state-funded schools; or any other civic or societal-benefit organisation, you can apply to PIP by completing our online form here  and we will help you find the relevant staff partner to work with.

If you work for a local business you can apply to PIP by completing our online form here and we will help you to find a student partner to work with.

If you are a member of University staff looking to offer your expertise to a local organisation you can apply to PIP by completing our online form here  and we will help you find the right local partner to work with.

New collaborative projects

For staff (or external partners) who have identified a project that would also be of benefit to a third sector or civic partner, we will help them find the right person to work with to develop and deliver their project. This could include anything from developing new research projects that link to local need; a collaborative project with mutual benefits; new curriculum-linked projects to give students a practical basis for their learning; student opportunities for research; or placements to enhance student employability.

The time commitment required to make these projects successful will vary on an individual basis but will require a regular and meaningful commitment from both partners involved. You must be realistic about what time you can commit before making an application to PIP for a new collaborative project.

Staff, third sector, civic partners, and local business can apply to PIP by completing our online form here and we will help you find the right project partner

Case Studies

Through PIP we have connected several local third sector organisations with staff at the University to exchange knowledge and skills, share resources, and create new collaborative partnerships. Our programme benefits our PIP partners, the University, and third sector organisations in the local community. We have collated case studies to showcase the success of our partnerships.

Partnerships to promote good health

Partnerships for better education

Partnerships for growth and resilience

Get in touch

If you have any questions about PIP contact us at sustainability@leeds.ac.uk