On 11^th July, 2022-23 Responsible Futures Host Partnership, the University of the West of England and the Students Union at UWE hosted a webinar on how to prepare, participate and reflect on the two-day, student-led Responsible Futures audit.  

The 1.5-hour session brought together staff and students from Responsible Futures partnerships to explore how staff and student auditors can prepare to undergo and lead the audit through presentations and interactive exercises. The webinar involved:

• The partnership discussing their experience from their 4^th Responsible Futures audit in May 2023.
• Exploring the importance of working in effective partnerships to prepare for the audit.

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The first half of the session began with reflections from the partnership about their commitment to Responsible Futures. The Responsible Futures framework of 50-criteria, alongside individual and network support offered through the programme, helps them to focus on their goals to embed sustainability into student learning.

Responsible Futures supports collaboration between the students’ union and the university and demonstrates how vital it is to have the Student Union’s involvement in embedding sustainability in all student learning. The framework also provides a useful guide for new staff, sabbatical officers and students who regularly join the SU each year.

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The next half of session involved discussions in breakout rooms about motivations for taking part in Responsible Futures. Some responses included partnerships demonstrating to their students their commitment to embedding sustainability in learning and working towards receiving the Responsible Futures accreditation badge.

The second group discussion was about the key stakeholders, both internal and external, in Responsible Futures partnerships. The discussion explored how to approach and engage new stakeholders and contacts, and where to find resources on sustainability and education for sustainable development that can support this work. Contacts and stakeholders play a vital role in Responsible Futures such as supporting the partnerships to engage with certain criteria in the framework. Through engagement with stakeholders, responsibility for progressing work related to Responsible Futures is shared across partnerships and externally for meaningful collaboration and a whole-institution approach.

The session concluded with UWE and the SU summarising how to make the most out of the Responsible Futures student-led audit and focusing on what is needed to prepare for the audit for an impactful experience.

Thank you to the University of the West of England and the Student’s Union at UWE and the University of Derby and SU for all your work facilitating meaningful discussions on the Responsible Futures audit and providing useful information your experiences.

We’re recruiting new host partnerships for 2023-24! Host partnerships play an important leadership role in Responsible Futures programme. Partnerships will have the opportunity to share their best practice and learnings and support other partnerships development. We are accepting two partnerships for 2023-24 Responsible Futures programme. To apply, please fill out this form by Wednesday 30^th August 2023.

To find out more about Responsible Futures click here.

To find out more about host partnerships click here.

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