What’s really going on at the University of Gloucestershire
When an anchor institution gets a Royal visit is looks good, as it did for the University of Gloucestershire’s city campus on Friday, but does it divert eyes from what’s really going on?
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the first email edition of The Raikes Journal for the week. We could have gone big on the news that a £270-million-plus investment is planned for Gloucestershire that will create a major new base for the Military’s cyber-focused force.
But we’ve just included that as one of the stories bellow. You can read the whole tale, courtesy of Carmelo Garcia, via the link.
Instead we went big on a deep dive into just what is going on at the University of Gloucestershire, and how it’s faring in what are some of the toughest time in living memory for universities.
Just as the MoD’s plans for its cyber base near Cirencester claim they will be a major economic catalyst for the county, so to is the university. But of late it’s been shedding staff, selling land and buildings and a closer look at its new City Campus reveals a £79 million investment that’s less that half full.
Don’t get the wrong idea though, there’s this is one of the most counterintuitive stories we’ve tackled of late.
If you can spare a few minutes to complete a survey too, I would really appreciate it. really, really apprentice it! We’ve teamed up with the Speak Easy Consultancy Ltd to help it understand why we appear to be getting more and more reticent to have those difficult conversations - be that with our staff, our bosses, strangers, our loved ones or our friends. Just about everyone it seems.
We hope to be party to its findings, and even its solutions, and plan to share them right here. Your input is anonymous, but if you have any thoughts to share, please do get in touch.
The link is below.
Best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
Survey: How to have those difficult conversations
Are we really getting worse at conversations that count? In the opinion of the Speak Easy Consultancy Ltd, which is part-run by a long-term supporter of The Raikes Journal, “people seem less inclined to take conversational risks. Yet those risks are the one that lead to successes, missteps and consequential learning”.
Those might be conversations with staff, with bosses, with fellow board members, with family, friends, loved-ones, partners, authority or colleagues. Its produced a survey to seek to find out why and to identify some learning opportunities to help us all do better.
Are we deskilling, more afraid, less confident, more risk averse, less able, scared of offending, put off by the consequences, or something else? If you can take a few minutes to take on the survey we would really appreciate it. With a bit of luck, Speak Easy Consultancy Ltd will then share the results back with us so we can share with you. It should make for a fascinating follow-up article.
To find the survey, visit Conversation Research.
Briefing notes…
💻🪖 £279m Gloucestershire barracks for MoD’s cyber division: An investment of £279 million has been announced that will create a new home for the Army’s cyber regiment in Gloucestershire. The project for the Duke of Gloucester Barracks near Cirencester will see the military’s cyber-focused personnel benefit from new modern accommodation and specialist training facilities. The multi-million contract, signed on January 15, will see the creation of specialist modern facilities for 13 Signal Regiment at South Cerney with 248 single living accommodation rooms as well as 30 homes for service personnel with families, 92 jobs and 32 apprenticeships. More here.
📈 Top 100: B Corp retail giant on track for £100 million turnover: ProCook, the Gloucestershire-headquartered online and in-store kitchenware retailer, says it is confident of delivering a strong full-year performance. The Gloucester-based business has revealed it delivered a record peak-season performance and outperformed the market over the Christmas period. It means that ProCook has now delivered nine consecutive quarters of retail growth, and the company believes there is more to come. Lee Tappenden, the firm’s chief executive officer, said ProCook was on target to achieve 100 UK retail stores, £100m revenue and 10 per cent operating profit margin.
📈 Business activity continued to increase across the South West private sector in December, with a notable increase in new work at the end of the year. NatWest’s South West Business Activity Index measures changes in the region’s output of goods and services signalled a moderate expansion of activity across the region, and extended the current period of growth to one year. Sales grew at the second-fastest rate in over a year.
Diary dates…
Tuesday
The PFS Bristol & Cheltenham is due to stage Understanding your business succession journey at Tortworth Court, Bristol. 9am to 2pm. For senior leaders seeking financial advice this could be for you. More here.
Wednesday
Not sure where to begin? Find your fastest route to growth. Gill Smith, of The Business Kitchen, is due to lead this seminar at The Growth Hub, Cirencester. From 10am to 11.30am. More here.
Thursday
Cheltenham Chamber is inviting members to plug into an online session staged by Business West looking at AI for business. From 9.30am to 11am. More here.
A Gloucestershire branch of networking group 9others is due to stage a meal for its members in Cheltenham from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. More here.
Friday
Gloucester Rugby v Bath Rugby at Kingsholm. KO 9.45pm.
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Future thinking…
Randall & Payne’s Xero Advice Clinic. From 9am to 4.30pm on Monday 26 January. Free advice from a Xero expert who can show you how to get the most from the accounting software. More here.
Real Estate unlocked: Dispute Resolution seminar. We’re flagging this one well-ahead of its start-date. On 3 February at 3.45pm to 5.30pm the team from Willans, one of the Founding Partners of Raikes, will deliver the second in a series covering everything from lease terms to litigation. Insight and networking opportunities. More here.
What’s really going on at the University of Gloucestershire
When an anchor institution gets a Royal visit is looks good, as it did for the University of Gloucestershire’s city campus on Friday, but does it divert eyes from what’s really going on?
By Andrew Merrell.
A Royal visit to open the University of Gloucestershire’s new £70m city campus has helped celebrate an investment already transforming Gloucester – but a deeper dive into the institution is much more revealing.
There seems little doubt the smart, repurposed former Debenhams building is already having a significant impact, not least by making the city’s library its ground floor tenant.
Along with the additional footfall that’s resulted – from students to thousands of library users – it is altering the demographic and the perceptions of a city long crying out for change for so long.
Princess Anne’s visit on Friday (16 January) to officially open the building, a move that would have verged on preposterous a few years ago, not only drew dignitaries from across Gloucestershire, it felt right.
Dame Clare Marchant, the university’s vice chancellor, said: “To have so many people come to celebrate something in the heart of Gloucester was brilliant.
“We wanted this space to be about community as well as education, and with the library here too, we think we’re beginning to see that happen.”
Apparently four weeks after the library opened, footfall through its doors was already in the tens of thousands.
But the library wasn’t part of the original plan. In fact, very little of what’s happening was part of the original plan.
