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Public engagement brings academia and the public together. It is an effective tool to stimulate a two-way conversation, where both researchers and the public listen and learn from each other.

"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." 
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) definition of public engagement.

Public engagement can be the first step in meeting and building trust with many audiences, from the general public to specific interest groups to policymakers, young people, and many more.

Benefits for Researchers

"Public engagement can provide substantial benefits to the researchers involved in engaging the public, as well as providing a major contribution to society. Engaging the public can also improve the quality of research and its impact by widening research horizons. We achieve this through involving, listening and interacting with the public." Research Councils, UK.

Public engagement is an effective tool to stimulate interest in a subject area and shape research agendas. It can also be a pathway to generate impact.

Impact is the demonstrable change or benefit to society or the economy outside academia that comes from academic research. It is important to highlight that public engagement itself is not impact but can be used as a route to generate or stimulate change.

Public engagement should not only be used to disseminate your results at the end of the project; activities should take place throughout your project to help shape the direction of your research and achieve as much impact as possible.

Planning

Ideally, researchers should plan public engagement activities during the research stage. Think about WHY and WHO you want to engage with before deciding HOW you will go about it.

Define why you want to engage the public, for example:

Collaborate

Work in partnership with the public to direct your research and solve problems.

Consult

Hear different views and opinions about your research from specific demographic groups.

Inform

Disseminate your research findings through various communication activities, making your research more accessible for all.

Who

Once you have decided WHY you are conducting public engagement, the next step is to consider WHO you want to target. It is best to be as specific as possible when thinking about your target audience, for example:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Gender
  • Sector
  • Policymakers
  • Industry
  • General public
  • Patient group

You will need to consider any ethical issues of your target audience so you can deal with them sensitively during any engagement.

Use the University’s Public Engagement Planner to help plan your public engagement event.

Check out the short guide and accompanying video, which explains how to do a publics/stakeholder analysis using a simple template. Mark Reed, Fast Track Impact

How

Once you have decided WHY and WHO you want to target, you need to consider the best activity to engage your target audience.

There are many ways to plan public engagement activities, for example:

  • Workshops
  • Focus Groups
  • Public Debates
  • Patient Information Sessions
  • Exhibitions
  • Social Media Activity
  • Committee Representation

It may also be helpful to work with other partner organisations or researchers in the University who already have access to your chosen demographic.

Evaluate

The final and most crucial part of planning your public engagement is to evaluate your activity. Evaluation can measure the impact and added value of your engagement and prove its success.

Funders may require an evaluation report, and evidence gathered from the event can be used for REF Impact Case Studies. It is also helpful for your own purposes to judge how successful the activity has been and to share it with others.

The type of evaluation you use is dependent on your target audience, engagement activity and what you would like to find out.

For a general evaluation of your activity, the use of traditional methods can be helpful, for example:

  • Questionnaires
  • Surveys
  • Google forms
  • Visitor books

For a broader evaluation of impact, you may want to consider:

  • Video Diaries
  • Interviews
  • Focus Groups
  • Voting systems
  • Quizzes
  • Disposable cameras
  • Postcards
  • Graffiti walls
  • Social media i.e., tracking Twitter hashtags and public comments

Or use a unique evaluation technique that suits your project. There is no 'one size fits all’ solution.

If you are using surveys or creating questionnaires, it is important to consider the following questions:

  • What do you want to find out from your attendees?
  • When is the best time to gather the evaluation data? At the end of the event or 3 months later?
  • What type of survey is the most appropriate, i.e., paper questionnaires, online forms or interviews carried out in person or by telephone?
  • Do you need qualitative or quantitative data? Consider the questions you may use, e.g., multiple-choice, open-ended?
  • How will you analyse your data, and what will you do with it? What format will you use to share the information?
  • Are there any data protection or GDPR issues you need to consider?

The Impact Team can advise you on planning and evaluating your public engagement project, email impact@ulster.ac.uk or visit these resources below.

Further resources

Public Engagement and Impact