SEED Project Lessons Learnt

Senior Level Engagement The importance of engaging and getting commitment from a senior level cant be understated as this is where influence is exerted However, it has been difficult to fully engage with senior staff in both the public and private sector especially at CEO/COO level Attempts need to be planned in from the outset to engage at the most senior level with some form of hosted event.

Engagement with Public and private sectors The project did this very successfully by using existing relationships with the local authorities and the local enterprise agency. It helped that one of the project managers had previously worked in the low carbon sector for the local enterprise agency and had an excellent bank of contacts. When recruiting for the project manager this should be one of the key attributes required

Project Branding and Website This took too long to develop and get approved This needs to be created and approved early on in the project and in order to facilitate this, a small working group from the steering group should be tasked with this. The website should have its own branding so it can become a stand alone sustainability site for a county

Promotion of other services offered by the University Many delegates were not aware of many of the useful services the University offers such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Resource Efficiency Audits There is also an opportunity to develop a database of public and private sector organisations that could offer students a graduate placement – enhancing employability