ID244 The Keele University Family Friendly Community Day

The Idea

The proposal is to establish Keele Day as an annual, flagship community engagement event that builds on the proven success of the 2024 pilot. This would position Keele Day as a cornerstone of the University’s civic mission, bringing together local residents, alumni, prospective students, and regional partners in a single, high-impact experience. The event would showcase Keele’s research, teaching, heritage, and facilities through interactive, hands-on activities—replicating and expanding on the science, sport, and heritage engagement delivered previously. 

The ambition is to move away from smaller, dispersed community activities towards a single, strategically coordinated event that maximises visibility, impact, and resource efficiency. Keele Day would also act as a platform to integrate reunions, outreach activity, and partnership engagement, creating a multi-dimensional offering. 

This initiative would align with core public engagement priorities and care would be taken to ensure the event retains academic integrity and avoids becoming overly commercial, instead foregrounding Keele’s distinctive strengths and regional contribution.

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

There is clear evidence of public appetite, demonstrated by the success of Keele Day 2024 (which saw 6000 guests attend with 8000 registered for the day) and comparable regional events such as Reaseheath’s Family Day. An annual event would strengthen Keele’s civic identity, raise awareness of its regional impact, and create a meaningful platform for public engagement with research. 

It also supports key strategic objectives including; expansion of philanthropy, student satisfaction, growing the supporter and donor pipeline, increasing legacy awareness, enhancing student recruitment, strengthening local partnerships, embedding ourselves within the community and demonstrating our regional impact. Consolidating activity into one major event would deliver greater impact than multiple smaller initiatives, while generating positive press coverage and commercial opportunities (e.g. hotel use, local business engagement). 

How We Would Implement This Idea

Delivery would require cross-university collaboration, led by the Alumni & Supporter Engagement team in partnership with Campus Life. Early engagement with key stakeholders would be essential to secure buy-in and manage workload implications. 

The event would be planned as an annual fixture, with a scalable delivery model dependent on resources. Building on the 2024 cost base (£18k), efficiencies could be explored, particularly around staffing and student ambassador deployment. Programming would prioritise interactive academic content, supported by outreach initiatives (e.g. travel bursaries for target schools) and integrated alumni activity. 

Clear governance, timelines, and evaluation metrics would underpin delivery. 

What Success Would Look Like

Success would be measured through both quantitative and qualitative outcomes. Attendance growth year-on-year (with an aspiration towards 8,000–10,000 visitors over time) would indicate sustained community interest. 

Enhanced awareness of Keele’s research, impact, and civic role would be evidenced through visitor feedback and media coverage. Growth in engagement pipelines—such as new donor prospects, alumni participation, and school outreach connections—would demonstrate strategic value. 

Positive stakeholder feedback, including from academic staff and partners, would confirm internal viability. Financial sustainability, alongside increased utilisation of campus facilities (including the hotel), would further evidence success as a flagship institutional event.