Public Engagement with Research
Nicola Strafford & Fran Marshall
Public Engagement & Impact Team
Research & Innovation Services
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Outline of session
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Introduction to public engagement
What skills can public engagement offer?
Examples of public engagement
What makes a good public engagement with
research event?
• Opportunities for public engagement
• Developing an idea for a public engagement
event
• Evaluating your event
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
What year of your PGR course are you
in?
A. Year 1
B. Year 2
C. Year 3
D. Year 4
E. Year 5+
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How much do you know about public
engagement?
A. A lot
B. Quite a lot
C. A little
D. Nothing
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Do you think public engagement can help
to develop new skills?
A. Yes
B. Maybe
C. No
D. Not sure
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Have you done any public engagement
before?
A. Yes
B. No
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What is 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
NCCPE film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=19&v=0VtVIwZQU5g
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Why do public engagement?
• Funders & policy makers expect it
• Enriches teaching, research and
learning
• It strengthens the university's identity,
and can increase public support for
higher education and for research
• Research is more relevant to the
public
• Develops transferable skills
• Fun!
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Public engagement
• Many different ways of engaging public
with research…
• Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a
type of engagement – expert advice
available from academic supervisors and
Clinical Research Office
• In this context, we’re looking at
communicating about your research with a
public audience
Exercise: What skills can be gained from
public engagement?
• Write down on a post-it at
least two skills that you think
public engagement can help to
develop
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
What skills can be gained from public
engagement?
• Communication skills
• Project management skills
• Event management skills
• Creativity skills
• Evaluation skills
• Technical skills
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
What skills can be gained from public
engagement?
• “I project managed the whole exhibit which I have never
done before”
• “I update and modify the session each year based on
feedback from the schools. I am always learning”
• “more confidence and being able to try new techniques”
• “Further experience of engaging with a broad range of
the public/considering how to deliver complex concepts
in an accessible and interesting manner”
© The University of Sheffield
What skills can be gained from public
engagement?
• “It gave me the opportunity to put my research into
context and really made me think about the big questions
which are relevant to the public.”
• “I got so much out of the experience. As a final year PhD
student it was so helpful in forcing me to think about the
impact of my work, the main interesting findings, and the
broader conclusions I can draw from it. It was also good
practice to be able to explain my research in clear and
non-expert terms which is helpful when meeting other
academics who are not in your area.”
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Examples of public engagement: Life festival
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Examples of public engagement
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Examples of public engagement
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Exercise
What makes a good public engagement
event?
• Write on post-its the things that you think
make a good public engagement
What makes a good public engagement
event?
• Create a ‘hook’ to draw the audience in
• Use audience interaction
• Personal stories
• Make it relevant & use examples
• Be creative
• Well organised
• What would entice people to come?
Public engagement opportunities
• Start small and build your confidence
• Attend public engagement masterclasses
Upcoming events
• FameLab – 2 February
• Life festival – 16-24 April
• Storytelling event
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Pint of Science – 23-25 May
Ignite Academy – September 2016
Festival of the Mind – September 2016
Sheffield Festival of Science & Engineering – March
2017
• Mobile University – September 2017
Exercise: Devising an event around your
research
• Choose a venue & audience from the list below
• Using your area of research … develop a title,
event description and format for an event
Venue
Audience
Lecture theatre
Young adults aged 18-30
Barker’s Pool or Fargate
Adults – any age
Moor Markets
Adults – retired
Café or pub
Teenagers
Laboratory
Young children w. parents
Museum
Community groups
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
Evaluating your event
• Why evaluate?
• What to evaluate?
• When to evaluate?
• How to evaluate?
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
For more information
Further information, including
public engagement toolkits:
www.sheffield.ac.uk/ris/public
engagement
For any queries contact:
Nicola Strafford
n.strafford@sheffield.ac.uk
@UniShefEngage
17/07/2016 © The University of Sheffield
How much have you learnt about public
engagement?
A. A lot
B. Quite a lot
C. A little
D. Nothing
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Do you think public engagement can help
develop new skills?
A. Yes
B. Maybe
C. No
D. Not sure
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To
Discover
And
Understand.