Public Engagement with ResearchDr Jamie Gallagher- Public Engagement Officer

Public Engagement

"Public engagement describes the myriad of ways in which the activity and benefits of higher education and research can be shared with the public. Engagement is by definition a two-way process, involving interaction and listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit."- National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement

Impact is defined as ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’. - HEFCE

The demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy’.

- RCUK

So, you’ve decided to engage:

Who?

How?Success?

Why?

Public Engagement

Four key questions to ask yourself before engaging

Why?

Public Engagement

It is important to articulate your motivations as these will help develop your aims of the interaction. What is the purpose of the engagement? How will it benefit you, the public or the research? Once you have thought about the motivations turn these into a project aims.

Why?Public Engagement

In the current University Strategy “Engagement” is one of the three underpinning elements of our purpose.

Why?Concordat for Engaging the Public with

Research

Public Engagement

All these bodies and more have signed the “Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research” This articulates this commitment and how they think it an essential element to research.

Routes to Impact

REF Case Studies and Engagement

Engagement No En-gagement353

2

3108

Just under half of all the case studies featured some form of engagement.

Routes to Impact

Engagement was most commonly reported in Panel D (Arts and Humanities)

Why?Funders

Data

Skills

Profile EnjoymentImpact

NewPerspectives

Inspire

Understand Landscape

Challenge Misconceptio

ns

Public Engagement

There are many reasons why you might want to engage, articulating them is essential.

Who?

The Public

The better able you are able to identify and target your audience the greater the likelihood of a positive and fit for purpose interaction. Consider who they are and what forms of communication are most powerful.

Policy Makers

Industry

Academia Educatio

n

Audience

General Public

Interest groups

Who?The Public

Be able to articulate who you are trying to reach and how you have tailored messaging and format to suit them. You will speak to each new audience with a different voice, one tailored to that audience.

Who?

Gender

Ethnicity

BackgroundAge

Interest

PatientsEducation

level

ExpertiseBeliefMedical Status

Experience

The Public

How?

How?

There are numerous routes to engage. Work out what suits you, the research and your audience. You may want to try multiple routes.

Routes to Impact

Dr Minty Donald, School of Culture and Creative Arts main areas of interest are: more-than-human performance; performance and ecology (with a specific focus on performance with/of rivers and other waterways); site-orientated and critical spatial practices, performance practices within a visual arts context, contemporary scenography and theatre space/architecture

Routes to Impact

Dr Daniel Price, School of Chemistry Schools project having pupils grow crystals from prescribed reagent concentrations. The pupils get experimental and research experience while contributing to new knowledge as they are growing crystal forms which have not been recorded before.

Routes to Impact

Prof Fergus McNeil, School of Social and Political SciencesWorking with people inside the prison system to record their experiences and stories through songs.

Routes to Impact

Dr Tiziana Lembo, Institute of Biodiversity, animal health and comparative medicineWorking in Tanzania with families, pupils and famers on prevention of diseases. Developing new ways of sharing important information with the local communities.

How?

Writing

Lecture

Audio

ObjectArts

Video

Performance

Book

Online

Posters

Leaflets

Museums

Discussion

Story tellingHow?

How you deliver your intervention must be suitable for: 1. Yourself2. Your audience3. Your research

Impact

Success?What does success look like?

To know if you have been successful you need clear aims and to capture evidence.

Success?

Impact

Situation Before Situation After Your Intervention

To demonstrate impact you must be able to show the situation before, the situation after and show how your intervention caused this change.

Success?

Impact

You can only measure or demonstrate success but capturing information. Try to capture information that on1) Demographics: Who came and why? 2) Feedback: Was your intervention fit for purpose? 2) Evaluation: Did your intervention foster a change in knowledge, attitude or behaviour?

Success?

Impact: Evidence

1. How has an opportunity presented itself? 2. What did you make or do that didn’t exist before? 3. How many people interacted with you/it and for

how long?4. Did they have a positive experience? 5. Has their been a change in

thoughts or knowledge?6. Has there been a change

in behaviour?

This is not an exhaustive list. Nor is it a list of absolute requirements. It is presented for guidance only. The evidence captured, and the depth of the information gathered will be unique to the project and its aims.

What do you want?

What do they want?

Find the middle ground

Maximising Engagement

Articulate 3 or 4 aims that YOU have. Articulate 3 or 4 aims the AUDIENCE/PARTICIPANTS have (why are they going to engage with you, what do they want?)Work to meet BOTH of these lists to get a mutually beneficial/rewarding experience.

Who?

How?Success?

Why?

Starting point

Engagement process

Use a stepwise approach to think logically about your engagement to ensure that it is a powerful and worthwhile experience. Each step will help inform the next try to take learning away from each interaction to make the next more useful

Researcher

Business Professions

Policy Civil Society

PUBLICSREF: HOW

Distinct types of engagement emerged from a review of the REF.

Researcher

Business Professions

Policy Civil Society

PUBLICSClassic

Mediated

Behind the ScenesBolt

on

Blended

REF: HOW

‘Classic’ public engagement involves researchers engaging directly with a community of place / interest –e.g. with adult learners –with this engagement forming the backbone of the case study.

Business Professions

Policy Civil Society

PUBLICSClassic

Mediated

Behind the ScenesBolt

on

Blended

Researcher

REF: HOW

‘Mediated’ public engagement sees an active collaboration with an intermediary organisation(s) like a charity, museum, media or school to reach their audience / public

Business Professions

Policy Civil Society

Classic

Mediated

Behind the ScenesBolt

on

Blended

Researcher

PUBLICSREF: HOW

Here, public engagement forms part of a wider knowledge exchange project –e.g. to engage policy makers, practitioners and service users around a particular health issue.

Business

Policy

Classic

Mediated

Behind the ScenesBolt

on

Blended

Researcher

PUBLICS

Civil Society

Professions

REF: HOW

Here there is no direct engagement with publics –all the effort is put into improving the quality of public engagement being undertaken by intermediary organisations, by influencing their practice or making new resources available

REF: HOW

Business

Policy

Classic

Mediated

Behind the ScenesBolt

on

Blended

Researcher

PUBLICS

Civil Society

Professions

Here there is a cursory role for public engagement (for instance, some media coverage was achieved) but it is peripheral to the main engagement activity being undertaken.

Who?

How?Success?

Why?

Starting point

Engagement process