Community engagement is becoming an increasingly important part of higher education. Universities are expected to respond to societal challenges, support inclusion and democratic participation, strengthen local and regional development, and build meaningful partnerships with their wider communities.
The European University Community Engagement Guide, developed through the ACE project, supports higher education institutions in navigating these growing expectations.
Rather than presenting a set of best practices or fixed solutions, the Guide provides a foresight-based framework for strategic reflection and decision-making. It helps universities explore where ambitions, societal expectations and institutional capacity may come into tension, and where clearer choices around priorities, responsibilities and resources may be needed.
At the centre of the Guide are 16 Strategic Pressure Points developed through the ACE Strategic Foresight process.
These Pressure Points highlight areas where different priorities and expectations intersect and where universities may need to make deliberate strategic choices.
They are organised across six thematic areas:
Each Strategic Pressure Point explores what is changing, why it matters, what universities may need to consider, the central strategic tension, guiding questions for discussion and common traps to avoid.
The Guide brings together findings from Horizon Scanning, Stakeholder Dialogues, Cross-Impact Analysis and Cross-Phase Integration to identify recurring pressures and strategic questions shaping the future of community engagement in European higher education.
The Guide also includes two practical workshop formats which universities can use to explore the Strategic Pressure Points within their own institutional context.
The Guide has been developed for:
It can be used as a strategic framework, a tool for leadership and governance discussions, or a practical resource for institutional workshops.
