Vicky Evans, Cambridge Assessment’s first Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, explains how the organisation can ensure access to education through volunteering, charity and community work. Vicky spent four years managing projects in Cambridge International’s development division, and previously worked in the museum sector.
It wasn’t perhaps an obvious jump from museums to an assessment organisation; but in the eight years I spent working with some of the most significant cultural collections in the world, my focus was on supporting museums to provide universal access to lifelong learning for international communities. I recognise the exact same sense of mission across Cambridge Assessment to get it right for our learners and ensure access to education and learning for all.
The Corporate Social Responsibility Manager is a new role for Cambridge Assessment, and many people have asked what that means. It’s not news that Cambridge Assessment is full of dedicated groups and individuals doing some great work, fundraising, and volunteering for a wide range of charities and organisations, and seeking to make an impact in the communities in which we operate.
Vicky presents the Cambridge Assessment Student Officer of the Year award to PC Dale Turner at the 2019 Safer Cambridgeshire Policing Awards
Cambridge Assessment is an organisation with a sense of social responsibility at the heart of what it does and ‘giving back’ is important to our people. My first few weeks in the job have demonstrated just how generous people are with their time, sharing their skills and committing to causes close to their hearts. However, as an organisation, there is capacity for more of us to get involved, for more of us to share skills with learners and our local communities, and for more of us to learn and grow in return.
By adopting a more strategic approach to volunteering, community work and charity partnerships, we can support Cambridge Assessment staff to reach more communities, both in the UK and internationally, so that as many people as possible benefit from our presence and the social value of what we do.
My priority for the first couple of months is to get to know a lot more about the charity, volunteering and community engagement work that Cambridge Assessment is doing, wherever staff are based. I am undertaking an audit of the group’s activities and current capacity, and I am really keen to get feedback from staff on what they are up to, what they feel has or hasn’t worked as well, and any ideas about working with local communities and charity partners in future.
Vicky Evans
Group Corporate Responsibility Manager