Since LSE’s establishment nearly 130 years ago, civic purpose has inspired our work: our founders set out to create “a community of people and ideas, founded to know the causes of things, for the betterment of society”.
This commitment sits at the heart of everything we do, from undertaking research for the world and leading the social sciences, to educating for impact and creating an inclusive home for learning. We do not draw our borders at the edge of our campus, and we are proud of our global presence and reputation. We are also proud of our place in London: we sit at the centre of our global city, and this city's unique position and qualities help us to reach across the world.
We know that an important part of our success is our connection with our home and the people that live in it. Those connections have deep roots and are both institutional - through LSE’s role as an employer, educator, active neighbour and adviser - and through the remarkable efforts and dedication of our staff and students. We want to do more to continuously renew and deepen those connections and make sure the benefits of our passion, expertise and success are felt across London.
Therefore, LSE will support civic engagement, which we define as any work undertaken by the School or members of our community that is focused on bringing benefits to London and our local communities, by:
- Listening to our local community representatives and ensuring they can have a voice in our civic engagement plans.
- Empowering every member of LSE staff, our students and our alumni community to develop skills, seize opportunities, and create a positive societal impact.
- Welcoming Londoners into our community and ensuring our wide offering of events, and opportunities to engage with research, are as accessible and relevant as possible.
- Collaborating with leaders, policymakers and all those who are curious to ensure that the research is as relevant and impactful as possible.
Although the above is London focused, this support will not be in place of existing civic efforts in London and beyond but will sit alongside them and, wherever possible, work with them.