Strategy for Engaging the Public with Goldsmiths’ Research
Definition of Public Engagement at Goldsmiths
What is public engagement (PE) at Goldsmiths? Given the variety of practices it encompasses as well as our commitment to creative and critical methods, we might foreground our understanding with a determination to keep this question open.
RCUK define public engagement as ‘any activity that engages the public with research’, moving away ‘from an old model of the public understanding of science’ towards a more dynamic, twoway model of dialogue, collaboration and consultation.
Therefore, a definition of public engagement at Goldsmiths includes, in addition to straightforward dissemination activities to raise public awareness of our research, the coproduction of research and practice with a wide variety of collaborators, co-researchers, professionals and practitioners from, for example: media; industry; schools; local authorities; museums and galleries; online communities; youth groups; performers and non-academic readerships.
Vision of Public Engagement at Goldsmiths
The discovery, generation, and sharing of new information and creative works is core to
Goldsmiths’ sense of purpose, as articulated in the Goldsmiths Strategic Plan
( http://www.gold.ac.uk/strategy/ ), in which a broad conception of ‘knowledge production’ is one of four defining pillars. The College has always striven to involve the public in diverse ways with its research and creative activities, often both to shape its work and to make it accessible for experience and/or use by a wide spectrum of people and organisations.
Goldsmiths now wishes to formalise its approach to PE to encourage and support staff and students in undertaking a range of PE activities, and to promote best PE practice across the
College.
Goldsmiths’ PE Vision is to:
 Strengthen existing good practice in PE in research, teaching and learning at Goldsmiths by ensuring it is valued, recognized, supported and rewarded
 Develop a College-wide shared understanding of the range, diversity and value of our PE activities
 Provide opportunities for all staff and students to engage with the public
 Equip researchers with the skill sets necessary to undertake high standard, effective PE, and to think about public attitudes and the societal implications of research.
 Cultivate a wider understanding of the research undertaken at Goldsmiths by generating public interest in the aspirations and outcomes of research, current issues and the creative process
 Work in collaboration with external organizations, including schools, galleries, museums, community groups, local businesses, funding bodies and government agencies
 Support, empower, and engage with, neighbouring communities through the development, dissemination, and application of relevant research activities

Public Engagement Strategy at Goldsmiths
The Group makes the following suggestions concerning mechanisms and systems which would support the implementation of a strategy to enhance its public engagement:
 Establishing a permanent Impact and Public Engagement Advisory Group [IPEAG], reporting to REC, to oversee the ongoing development and implementation of an integrated Impact and Public Engagement Strategy
 Given the overlap between “impact” and “public engagement” it would be sensible to have a single Advisory Group overseeing both aspects. I would suggest that this group should consist of Associate Pro-Warden (Research Integrity) as Chair plus 4-6 additional members of the academic staff with experience of impact and/or public engagement; Head of
Communications and PR; Director of Enterprise; Research Development Officer; Research and Enterprise Secretary (to act as secretary to the Advisory Group). Additional members could be co-opted as required. Membership to be agreed by end of February, first meeting to be held before end of Term 2.
 Establishing a College-wide support infrastructure for staff and student PE development
 Re. staff support: Liaise with Staff Development Manager with a view to provision of PE training in next (academic) year’s Staff Development Programme (immediate action). Re. student support: PE session already planned for Academic Practice Course but liaise with
Graduate School re. possibilities of providing PE support for other postgraduate students.
(Associate Pro-Warden (RI) to attend one-day event on PE for postgraduates at end of Feb.)
 Appointing a PE Coordinator to help implement the PE strategy, whose duties will include supporting and advising staff and students in undertaking PE activities and training
 Ideally, a FT or PT post dedicated to PE coordination. Draw up job description and advertise as soon as possible with a view to making appointment by end of Term 3. Once appointed, PE
Coordinator would take on main responsibility for implementing PE strategy overseen by
Associate Pro-Warden (RI) and reporting back to IPEAG.
 Providing guidance to HoDs about setting staff PE objectives
 Liaise with Staff Development Manager re. revising PDR forms to explicitly include section on
PE and to instruct reviewers to explicitly address this issue in terms of objective setting
(immediate action).
 Establishing a system where PE activity is reported, reviewed and monitored, and where staff and students are encouraged to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of their PE activities
 Establishing a system where PE activity is reported, reviewed and monitored is likely to be a contentious issue given the heavy work-related demands that staff already face. Ideally, we would like a light-touch but robust system. It may well be advisable to leave the detailed development and implementation of such a system to the PE Coordinator in collaboration with the Impact and Public Engagement Advisory Group and HoDs.
 Enlisting staff who are effective proponents of particular modes of PE to offer advice, guidance and support to colleagues either individually or through staff development activities

 In addition to this (or as part of it), it would be sensible to get HoDs to nominate a specific individual in each department to act as PE contact. This person would then take on responsibility for implementing PE strategies at departmental level.
 Integrating PE attributes into the College’s professional development plans, and providing staff and students access to relevant training and development schemes
 See above.
 Embedding training in PE into postgraduate research programmes
 See above.
 Recognising and rewarding good PE practice, including through the incorporation of
PE activities into staff promotion criteria
 See above.
 Setting up new partnerships between the College and the public
 The PE Co-ordinator, with the support of the Research Office, would be tasked with alerting relevant members of the academic staff to new opportunities of this kind as well as assisting in setting up such partnerships.
 Delivering a range of PE activities including one or more annual Goldsmiths PE events, surveys, presentations and workshops
 Cf. the Goldsmiths: Making a Difference event. PE Co-ordinator to take the lead with support from APW(RI), IPEAG, Enterprise Office and Research Office.
 Building the costs of PE and other impact-generating activities into research grants
 Raising awareness of the need to do this would be part of the training provided through the
Staff Development Programme, reinforced by guidance from the Research Office.
 Maintaining an outward-facing Goldsmiths PE webpage (as part of REC web pages), containing case studies of exemplary PE in the College
 Several case studies are already available and the PE Co-ordinator would be tasked with adding to this set.
 Maintaining an inward-facing Goldsmiths PE webpage containing the PE strategy and advice about undertaking PE activities
 To be developed by PE Co-ordinator with support from IPEAG.
 Encouraging staff and students to engage with the public through the Goldsmiths
Podcasting Service
 Raising awareness of the Podcasting Service will be the responsibility of the PE Co-ordinator
(although it may be the case that the Podcasting Service could end up with more work than it can handle).