Impact arising from engaging
the public with research
Paul Manners
Director, NCCPE
www.publicengagement.ac.uk
Funded by the UK Funding Councils, Research Councils UK and the Wellcome Trust
Purpose for engaging the public
INFORMING: Inspiring,
informing and educating
CONSULTING: Actively listening
to the public’s views, insights
and concerns
COLLABORATING: Working in
partnership with the public to
solve problems together,
drawing on each other’s
expertise
Exemplar activities
• presentations and lectures
• festival appearances
• media work
• exhibitions
• writing for non-specialists
• public meetings and
discussion events
• panels and user groups
• deliberation and 'upstream'
engagement
• collaborative research
projects
• ‘citizen science’
• helpdesks
Purpose for engaging the public
INFORMING: Inspiring,
informing and educating
CONSULTING: Actively listening
to the public’s views, insights
and concerns
COLLABORATING: Working in
partnership with the public to
solve problems together,
drawing on each other’s
expertise
Exemplar activities
• presentations and lectures
• festival appearances
• media work
• exhibitions
• writing for non-specialists
• public meetings and
discussion events
• panels and user groups
• deliberation and 'upstream'
engagement
• collaborative research
projects
• ‘citizen science’
• helpdesks
Purpose for engaging the public
INFORMING: Inspiring,
informing and educating
CONSULTING: Actively listening
to the public’s views, insights
and concerns
COLLABORATING: Working in
partnership with the public to
solve problems together,
drawing on each other’s
expertise
Exemplar activities
• presentations and lectures
• festival appearances
• media work
• exhibitions
• writing for non-specialists
• public meetings and
discussion events
• panels and user groups
• deliberation and 'upstream'
engagement
• collaborative research
projects
• ‘citizen science’
• helpdesks
The underpinning
research
‘The research outputs feeding
into these measures include
detailed knowledge of
bumblebee foraging and nesting
needs, understanding of their
distributions, population density
and dispersal abilities, and
knowledge on the scale at which
habitat manipulations are
required to influence bumblebee
population size’.
Mapping engagement
The public
The media
Schools,
colleges and
lifelong learning
Public sector
Communities
of interest
Cultural and
leisure
services
Communities
of place
Health and well
being agencies
Policy
community
Quangos
and govt
agencies
Non
Governmental
Organisations
RESEARCHER
Community
organisations
and societies
Local /
regional /
national
govt
Voluntary
organisations
and charities
Local
authorities /
strategic bodies
International
community
Businesses and
industry
Business
community
Social
enterprises
Community
and 3rd sector
Assessing reach
• How many people were
involved?
• How diverse or varied
were the audiences
reached?
• Was there a secondary
reach achieved from
media coverage?
• Is there evidence of sales
/ downloads / access to
web content?
Assessing significance
• Evaluation data
• User feedback /
testimony
• Reviews and commentary
• Third party impact or
involvement
• Evidence of sustainability
• Significance of the
research content
Assessing reach
• How many people were
involved?
• How diverse or varied
were the audiences
reached?
• Was there a secondary
reach achieved from
media coverage?
• Is there evidence of sales
/ downloads / access to
web content?
Assessing significance
• Evaluation data
• User feedback /
testimony
• Reviews and commentary
• Third party impact or
involvement
• Evidence of sustainability
• Significance of the
research content
Assessing reach
• How many people were
involved?
• How diverse or varied
were the audiences
reached?
• Was there a secondary
reach achieved from
media coverage?
• Is there evidence of sales
/ downloads / access to
web content?
Assessing significance
• Significance of the
research content
•Evaluation data
• User feedback /
testimony
• Reviews and commentary
• Third party impact or
involvement
• Evidence of sustainability
The narrative
Why was the public
engaged with the
research?
How was it
done?
With what
impact?
When was it undertaken
and was is sustained?
Who was the
target audience
for the
engagement
activities?