Public Engagement with Research

What is Public Engagement with Research?

Public Engagement with Research (PER) describes a range of methods of involving members of the public (those not affiliated with an HE institutes) in your research. There are lots of different ways you can do PER, but the overall goal will always be to create mutual benefit.

Public engagement can add value to research work. It can take different forms depending on the purpose of your engagement and the people you engage with to achieve your aims. Consider it a tool to help you to do good research.

Examples of PER:

• Participatory/Collaborative research
• Citizen science
• Participatory arts
• Community engagement

Benefits of PER

Some of the potential benefits include:

Support for Public Engagement Activities

Your Public Engagement Officer

LJMU’s Public Engagement Officer, Gemma Reed, can support you with your PER work. Gemma sits within the Research and Innovation Services team. Her role is to support staff across the University to develop and deliver the public engagement activities connected to their research and knowledge exchange. Gemma can help researchers to embed public engagement into their research by providing support with planning PER activities, grant applications and training opportunities.

To contact Gemma, please email g.v.reed@ljmu.ac.uk.

LJMU Public Engagement Network

LJMU has a Public Engagement staff network dedicated to creating opportunities for staff with an interest in public engagement to share, learn and develop together. The group meets in person, monthly. To join the mailing list for this network, where you will hear about upcoming funding and training opportunities, and find out when the next meetings are, please email g.v.reed@ljmu.as.uk.

Recognition and reward

Recording your public engagement activity

Public engagement activities are valued by LJMU and the wider research community. Therefore, it is important to record and capture your public engagement activities for professional development purposes (reward and recognition) as well as so that LJMU can report on these valuable activities in national benchmarking exercises such as REF, KEF and HEBCIs.

Please record all your relevant public engagement activities on Symplectic, under ‘Professional Activities’, ‘Public Engagement’.

Vice Chancellors award for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research

This award recognises an individual or group who deliver outstanding public engagement with research. It recognises two-way engagement, where the project is implemented to make a positive contribution to the public and to LJMU's research work.

The award will be presented at the annual LJMU Research and Knowledge Exchange Conference at the end of the year. Nominations open in the autumn.

Conferment information

Public engagement can be used as evidence for conferment promotion at LJMU, via the Engaged Scholar route. Learn more about the Professorship and Readership Conferment process.

Further information

The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the theory, practice, and application of public engagement work. LJMU has made a commitment to public engagement, by signing the NCCPE’s Manifesto for Public Engagement.

External funding for public engagement

Funding for public engagement activities is available from a range of sources. If you would like to receive emails about upcoming public engagement opportunities, please email your Public Engagement Officer, and ask to be added to the Public Engagement Network mailing list. You can also visit the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) and UKRI websites to discover a range of PER funding opportunities.

If you need advice or support with applying for public engagement funding, please contact the Public Engagement Officer.

FAQs

I have seen a call for a public engagement grant, where can I get support applying to this?

Your local Faculty Research Contact, the Public Engagement Officer and the Grants Team can all help here. The Public Engagement Officer may be able to provide you with support to articulate your ideas and plan for success.

At what point should I get in touch with the PE Officer about my PER idea?

The sooner, the better! The Public Engagement Officer can provide support at several different stages of you PER project, from locating funding opportunities, planning evaluation, and support with brokering partnerships between researchers and community groups. Contact the Public Engagement Officer early on in your project, even if just to flag that you may need support further down the line, so that the Public Engagement Officer can plan to provide you with the time and support you need.

What 'counts' as public engagement with research?

Public Engagement with Research (PER) describes a range of methods of involving members of the public in your research. PER can take place in many different formats, depending on the target audience or intended outcomes and impact. Examples of this can include: exhibitions, theatre, public debates, focus groups, citizen science projects and much more. Please note the difference between publicly available activities as opposed to public engagement. Publicly available activities are scholarly activities such as conferences or lectures that are made available to the public rather than those designed with and/or for a particular non-academic audience.

What training is available to me to support my PER work?

Training resource for public engagement is currently under development, and there will be updates to this page in the coming months. In the meantime, if you have a specific training requirement please get in touch with the Public Engagement Officer, who may be able to support you need directly, or build this into upcoming training provision.

If you have a question that hasn’t been answered here, please contact the Public Engagement Officer, Gemma Reed, who will be able to support you via g.v.reed@ljmu.ac.uk.