Ice-breaker, Welcome from CASE and Introduction to the Faculty
13:15 - 14:00
Tutorial 1: Aims and Objectives for the Institute and Getting to Know Each Other
Before arriving for the Institute, delegates will be divided into tutorial groups, each led by a faculty member. These small group meetings are sprinkled throughout the Institute and will serve as touch points to ensure you’re getting what you need out of each of the sessions and the Institute as a whole.
14:00 - 15:00
Everything starts with strategy
Faculty -Tristan Alltimes, Deputy Director of Alumni and Supporter Engagement & Regular Giving, Durham University
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Strategic Thinking
Creating, developing, and socialising a strategy for alumni and supporter engagement is critically important on so many levels. Not only does it help to provide much needed focus for our vital function and discipline, but it also articulates the value our work brings to our institution and senior stakeholders.
In this session we will demystify strategy and show how it links to institutional mission, vision, values, and objectives. We will explore how to create a meaningful strategy; what the components might be, how it lives alongside other institutional partners plans, how it is socialised and communicated, and importantly, how it is measured.
Delegates are encouraged to bring their own institution and alumni and supporter engagement plans along to the session (if available) to discuss and share with other delegates and faculty members.
15:00 - 15:20
Break
15:20 - 16:05
Tutorial - Putting into practice
16:05 - 17:05
Fundamental: The Heart of the Matter - Data in Alumni Relations
Faculty -Mehrnoosh Rayner, Head of Alumni Relations, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Strategic Thinking
Successful alumni programmes are built on data, data, data. This session will cover everything you need to know about data: from its value and applications to its collection, maintenance and sharing. We'll explore how to read and tell the story behind your alumni data, and how to use this to inform your alumni programming. Come prepared with what you know and don’t know about your alumni data.
17:05 - 17:50
Tutorial - Putting into practice
17:50 - 19:00
Free time/ prep and rehearsals for elevator pitches
19:30
Dinner
07:30 - 08:50
Breakfast
09:00 - 09:30
Warm up for the day…
Facilitated by the Faculty
09:30 - 10:15
Alumni Engagement: Communications
Faculty -Mehrnoosh Rayner, Head of Alumni Relations, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Relationship Building
Communications is the most important form of engagement for any institution. Done properly, it will pave the way for successful engagement around events, volunteering and fundraising. In this session, we will look at the full spectrum of communications from membership joining campaigns to newsletters, event invitations and calls for volunteers and donations. How often are you engaging alumni and what tools are you using? How can you plan and measure this better to make all of it a pleasant and effective experience for your alumni, as well harness this important stakeholder group for the benefit of your institution?
10:15 - 10:45
Refreshments
10:45 - 11:30
Alumni Engagement: Events (Experiential)
Faculty -Tristan Alltimes, Deputy Director of Alumni and Supporter Engagement & Regular Giving, Durham University
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Relationship Building
Events have always been, and continue to be, a core staple of any successful alumni and supporter engagement programme. However, events have changed forever. Traditional programming has been interrupted by the global pandemic and new and innovative ways of delivery have been learned and embedded. We are now firmly in a period of experimentation, where we need to test and learn new approaches to enhance our event strategies, to continually meet evolving expectations and needs of our global audiences and event stakeholders.
In this session we will discuss events as a fundamental tactical tool for engagement. We will cover some of the key elements of a dynamic events programme including event strategy and design, delivery: virtual vs hybrid vs face-to-face and the use of technology, analysis: measuring success and also how to both gain support from key internal stakeholders and partners and the role of the events manager. We will cover all ground from ‘inception’ to ‘completion’ and beyond.
11:30 - 12:15
Tutorial - Putting into practice
12:15 - 13:15
Lunch
13:15 - 14:00
Alumni Engagement: Volunteering
Faculty -Ross Munelly, Director of Alumni Relations, Dublin City University
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Relationship Building
Volunteers are the heartbeat of alumni engagement as graduates gift their time, experience and expertise to give back to the university, impacting the student experience and enhancing the alumni experience of their fellow graduates. In this session, we will explore what volunteering opportunities work best for your institution and use a tool to establish why specific volunteering initiatives are assisting the volunteers with their own personal and professional development.
14:00 - 14:30
Refreshments
14:30 - 15:15
Alumni Engagement: Philanthropy
Faculty -Anita Irving, Associate Director of Alumni Engagement & Regular Giving, University of Liverpool
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Relationship Building
Good alumni engagement is key to long-term fundraising success and one of the key measures of impact is the number of alumni who donate to your institution. Alumni engagement would have previously been driven to support and promote philanthropy but with increasing targets on volunteer numbers, how do you balance what you ask for, who you ask and when? Looking at best practice, this session will explore ways on how to create a meaningful relationship between engagement and philanthropy and not a marriage of convenience!
15:15 - 16:00
Tutorial - Putting into practice
16:00 - 17:00
Demystifying the AEM experience - practical examples
Jenny Cooke- Smith, Senior Director of AMAtlas Services, CASE
Facilitated in the room - Ross Munelly, Director of Alumni Relations, Dublin City University
CASE Competencies: Industry/Sector Knowledge, Relationship Building
Four years after the inception of CASE’s Alumni Engagement Metrics (now CASE Insights on Alumni Engagement), practitioners across the globe are beginning to employ the data as they strategically plan next steps. This session will highlight real examples of how your programme can implement small changes, based on the data, to demonstrate real impact.
In this session you will:
Review the alumni engagement metrics framework
Discover (in a judgement free environment) if your institution is data adjacent or data informed
Learn practical examples of how institutions are applying engagement data
Identify ways your institution can implement forward-looking strategies that foster collaboration across advancement
Understand the tools available from CASE Insights to help you make data-informed decisions that achieve desired outcomes.
17:00 - 19:00
Free time/ prep and rehearsals for elevator pitches
19:30
Dinner
Bringing it all together
07:30 - 08:50
Breakfast
09:00 - 10:00
Group presentations - Elevator Pitches on the value of AR to your institution
10:00 - 10:30
Refreshments
10:30 - 11:30
Tutorial - Action plans and reflections
11:30 - 12:30
Insight into Advancement
Faculty + guest speakers:
Kerrie Holland, Director Of Alumni Relations And Development, Aston University
Gavin Maggs, Director Of Development and Alumni Relations, University of Birmingham
