People: Caroline Floccia
- Current role:
- Academic (teaching)
- Institution:
- University of Plymouth
- Discipline:
- Life sciences and health
What motivated you to engage the public with your work?
Understanding how language and cognition develop in children is only possible if families volunteer their time to help in various experimental studies. Therefore it was obvious from the start that my research could not move forward without a clear and active engagement with the public.
Describe the public engagement activity you have done.
Over the years, we have identified the institutions that are willing to help us in our day-to-day recruitment activities, and found that not only families in the Plymouth area are overall enthusiastic about our research, but also that we can help in other ways than in long-term research perspectives. Parents find in the Babylab a place to share their concerns and their enthusiasm about their child's development.
What are your top three tips for other researchers?
1. Make you message as clear as possible.
2. Explain the short-term and the long-term benefits.
3. Be prepared for criticism!
What are your top three resources to support your engagement work?
1. External funding
2. Internal funding
3. Friendly relationships with people.
What would you say to encourage another researcher to engage with the public?
Even though it can be frightening, it can open up to unexpected opportunities!
