2. Public
Engagement
Routes to Impact
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.
4. So, you’ve decided to engage:
Who?
How?Success?
Why?
Public Engagement
Four key questions to ask yourself before engaging
5. 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.
7. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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
13. 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.
14. Routes to Impact
Prof Fergus McNeil, School of Social and Political Sciences
Working with people inside the prison system to record their experiences and stories
through songs.
15. Routes to Impact
Dr Tiziana Lembo, Institute of Biodiversity, animal health and comparative medicine
Working in Tanzania with families, pupils and famers on prevention of diseases. Developing
new ways of sharing important information with the local communities.
16. REF Impact
Lessons from the REF
Reviewing the REF impact case studies and
templates
Funded by RCUK, Wellcome Trust and the UK HE funding councils
www.publicengagement.ac.uk
17. Routes to Impact
Public debate Outreach
Behaviour change
www.publicengagement.ac.ukCitizen engagement
Museums and
public and
engagement
Communityengagement
Public
understanding
Media coverage
Public discourse
Public awareness
Public participation
Engaging the public
User engagement
Citizen science
Cultural
engagement
Engage with the public
Civic engagement
Lifelong learning
Social engagement
Customer engagement
The NCCPE used the key word search to look at how often Engagement was featured in the
Impact Case Studies.
18. Routes to Impact
REF Case Studies and Engagement
Engagement
No Engagement
3532
3108
Just under half of all the case studies featured some form of engagement.
21. Researcher
Business Professions
Policy Civil Society
PUBLICS
Classic
Mediated
Behind the Scenes
Bolt 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.
22. Business Professions
Policy Civil Society
PUBLICS
Classic
Mediated
Behind the Scenes
Bolt 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
23. Business Professions
Policy Civil Society
Classic
Mediated
Behind the Scenes
Bolt on
Blended
Researcher
PUBLICS
REF: 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.
24. Business
Policy
Classic
Mediated
Behind the Scenes
Bolt 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
25. REF: HOW
Business
Policy
Classic
Mediated
Behind the Scenes
Bolt 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.
