PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Public and community engagement is a multi-faceted and complex activity that benefits the university and the community alike. It requires a wide range of skills in communication and project management and broadly involves;
Communicating knowledge and enriching cultural life (one-way)
e.g. public lectures, media work, writing for the non-specialist, exhibitions, show casing academic know-how, pro-bono schemes, communicating research to the public, acting as the lead for major festival themes, contributing to the organisation and delivery of engagement activities.
Providing a service and being in dialogue with the public and communities (two way)
e.g. volunteering, promoting and employing user involvement in research and the co-production of research, forums, focus groups, seminars and debates that involve the public, pro-bono schemes, drama outreach, museums, continuing education and lifelong learning, contributing to the organisation and delivery of engagement activities.
Being in dialogue with the public and policy-makers (three way)
e.g. governmental committees involving the academic as the ‘expert’ such as an expert panel, government led public consultation and task forces, and active membership of professional bodies.
Engagement can enhance the curriculum and help researchers to demonstrate the social and economic impact of their research, as required by the Research Councils Statement of Expectation on Economic & Social Impact.
It can also help researchers, schools and faculties to deliver impact that can in turn be reported via the indicators required by the emerging Research Excellence Framework 2008-2012. CUE East and the Beacons are working closely with both RCUK and HEFCE to develop systems for recording engagement.
Explore the CUE East website to find examples of engagement projects and activities, and see below for ways in which public and community engagement can enhance teaching and research and types of evidence of verifiable impact on the community, on the academic & on the institution.
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement draft framework on public engagement
The NCCPE has devised a draft framework which can be found on their website which includes an online feedback form for comments and contributions. Click here to find the draft framework.
WHY DOES PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MATTER?
The case for university-community engagement can be made not only from a moral or business perspective but also from a teaching and research perspective.
Enhancing teaching and research
Engagement can enhance teaching and research in the following ways:
TEACHING: public & community engagement can
- contribute to curriculum development, design or re-design
- help to keep curriculum relevant and responsive
- provide opportunities for guest lectures and visits
- provide opportunities for student involvement and for enhancing the student experience
- improve skills and motivation for staff and students e.g. communication, project management and proposal-writing, and active citizenship.
RESEARCH: public & community engagement can
- help researchers, faculties and schools to demonstrate the social impact of their research, as required by the Research Councils Statement of Expectation on Economic & Social Impact http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/innovation/rolerc/missionsei.htm
- help researchers, faculties and schools to develop their response to both quantitative and qualitative indicators on impact required by the emerging Research Excellence Framework 2008-2012 http://www.hefce.ac.uk/research/ref/
- contribute to broader economic, social, cultural understandings or outcomes
- generate ideas for widening the context of research, asking new questions, challenging thinking and sharing knowledge & expertise both within and outside the university
- lead to a change in practice or policy resulting from research that involves practitioners or users which is cited by government (central or local), the broader public sector and the voluntary & community sectors
- lead to publications on community-based research
Communicating knowledge and enriching cultural life
e.g. public lectures, media work, writing for the non-specialist, exhibitions, show casing academic know-how, pro-bono schemes, communicating research to the public, acting as the lead for major festival themes, contributing to the organisation and delivery of engagement activities.
Types of evidence of verifiable impact on the community, on the academic & on the institution can include the following
- attendance & feedback
- external appraisal
- peer review
- articulation of public value
- securing funding for further engagement or community-based participatory research
- products e.g. DVDs, websites, CD-ROMs, educational manuals, trade books
- popular media coverage, with information on types of media, populations reached, circulation, influence, citations
- unpaid contributions e.g. number of hours – volunteering, giving talks
- volunteering that is university-related
- a report of evaluation that is appropriate to the type of activity
Providing a service and being in dialogue with the public and communities
e.g. volunteering, promoting and employing user involvement in research and the co-production of research, forums, focus groups, seminars and debates that involve the public, pro-bono schemes, drama outreach, museums, continuing education and lifelong learning, contributing to the organisation and delivery of engagement activities.
Types of evidence of verifiable impact on the community, on the academic & on the institution can include the following
- attendance & feedback
- external appraisal
- peer review
- articulation of public value
- securing funding for further engagement or community-based participatory research
- curriculum development
- evidence of successful relationships
- evidence of successful project management
- how the specific goals were met in terms of responding to the public/community organisations’ needs and expectations
- how the activity enhanced the public’s/community’s understanding of an issue and/or research
- capacity development within the HEI or the community
- leadership or direct contribution to building a network, consortium or partnership
- a report of evaluation that is appropriate to the type of activity
Being in dialogue with the public and policy-makers
e.g. governmental committees involving the academic as the ‘expert’ such as an expert panel, government led public consultation and task forces, and active membership of professional bodies.
Types of evidence of verifiable impact on the community, on the academic & on the institution can include the following
- attendance & feedback
- external appraisal
- peer review
- articulation of public value
- securing funding for further engagement or community-based research
- curriculum development
- appearances as an expert witness in public policy debates
- acting as a knowledge broker providing links between different groups to create new initiatives
- leadership in policy development and governance of institutions in which the HEI has an important stake
- a report of evaluation that is appropriate to the type of activity
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