A review of Royal Holloway’s alumni relations activities – culminating in a strategy for even greater alumni engagement.

Client

Royal Holloway, University of London, is one of the UK’s leading universities, with courses and research spanning the entire academic spectrum. Its beautiful campus, centred on a Victoriana château in leafy Surrey, is a monument to the College’s pioneering role in the education of women – and one of the great stories of educational philanthropy.

Brief

To develop a strategic plan for alumni engagement, with a focus on activities that would support the College’s overall strategic plan. In other words, much more than fundraising!

Project dates
2015

Rosie Sugden, Head of Alumni Relations, says: says:
“We worked closely with More Partnership’s alumni engagement guru, Nik. From the outset, he seemed to understand what was realistic for our small team to include in a two-year plan (and just as importantly what not to include!). At the same time, his insights into the bigger picture and sector trends gave us more confidence to talk about what we were doing with the many internal and external stakeholders who were consulted as part of the project. It was a wonderfully collaborative process.

“Alongside the plan, Nik helped us develop a detailed budget for the year ahead and an operational blueprint. The resulting document was crystal clear and very easy to implement. One example of impact was our alumni magazine. Nik’s advice helped us to segment our audience more strategically and develop a digital magazine – not just to complement the printed version but also to secure considerable cost savings and a higher return on investment.

“Another area we focused on was metrics. We’re now definitely on the right track in terms of first steps to record voluntary contributions and their impact.

“Nik was always on the end of the phone or email when we needed some quick advice or a sounding board. Nothing was too much trouble. If I have one regret, it’s that we can’t have him involved in our work long term!”

What happened next

The team is continuing to implement new parts of the plan. The details are inevitably evolving but, overall, Nik’s advice is still setting a clear strategic pathway.