Public Engagement with ResearchDr Jamie Gallagher- Public Engagement Officer
Routes to Impact
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.
Public Engagement
Outreach
Widening participation
Communication
Knowledge Exchange
Participant Recruitment
Public Engagement
Public engagement is a two way process around research. There are lot of interactions with external groups which have different goals. It is important to understand the forms and goals of the interaction.
Pathways to Impact
Pathways to Impact isn’t a detailed step by step instruction manual with itemised lists taking people through the deliverables that will definitely happen. It is demonstrating that you have mapped out the landscape and know the best way to reach your destination.
Pathways to Impact
Think about your personal research-impact landscape and what you might need to traverse it. You will need the correct resources and know how to acquire these resources. It is also a useful time to think about your past experience and how you can draw on that to demonstrate you will be effective in future.
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?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.
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.
Why?EPSRC
The Public
Who?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.
Who?The
Public
It is essential to think clearly about the audiences you want to reach.
Who?
Gender
Ethnicity
BackgroundAge
Interest
Patients
Education level
ExpertiseBeliefMedical Status
Experience
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.
How?
Writing
Lecture
Audio
ObjectArts
Video
Performance
Book
Online
Posters
Leaflets
Museums
Discussion
Story tellingHow?
There are numerous routes to engage. Work out what suits you, the research and your audience. You may want to try multiple routes.
R. Councils
CharitiesProfessional bodies
University
SupportFunding
Partners
Is there an internal/external partner who could help broker relations with an external group? The Glasgow based groups above all have access to large audiences, to start with could you work out a project that would be mutually beneficial to all parties?
Impact
Success?What does success look like?
To know if you have been successful you need clear aims and to capture evidence.
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?
Capture Impact
Information can be gathered in many ways. Choose one which is suitable for the information you require as well as your audience. Make sure the evaluation is a straightforward and positive experience for all participants.
Success?
Capture Impact - innovate
If evaluation can be built into the initiative itself the audience may feel happier about contributing to it without feeling that they are being interrogated. Make it interesting and intuitive.
Applications: December 2016Event: June 2016
EventsGet
Involved
Events
Monthly, Monday evenings
Get Involved
EventsGet
Involved
Fortnightly, Monday evenings
Applications: May 2017Event: September 2017
EventsGet
Involved
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
Pathways to Impact
Who?
How?Success?
Why?
Lord of the Rings: A Pathway to Impact
Pathways to ImpactWhy?
Why: Stop Sauron taking over Middle Earth
Pathways to ImpactWho?
Who: A alliance of skilled individuals with unique experience and skills
Pathways to ImpactHow?
How: With suitable resources and mapping
Pathways to ImpactSuccess
?
Success: The fall of Sauron
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.