NCCPE Newsletter #5
Welcome to our March Newsletter. There has been lots happening over the last few months – so hopefully there will be something of interest below. Do contact us if you have suggestions of other content that would be of value.
Engage 2010
Our national conference brought over 300 people together to explore how engagement is a critical survival strategy for universities and research institutes in the current financial climate. You can listen to some of the speakers presentations, and find out more about the workshops on our conference pages.
Manifesto for Public Engagement
Launched at our conference in December, the Manifesto is an opportunity for universities to commit to developing their commitment to public engagement. Over twenty HEIs have signed up to date, accessing resources and support from the NCCPE. Signatories include Imperial College London; UCL; Edge Hill University; University of Edinburgh.
find out more and view a full list of signatories
Concordat for Public Engagement
The funders of research have launched a Concordat to provide a mandate for universities and research institutes to better value, recognise and support public engagement. The Concordat consists of a set of principles for the future support of public engagement within research organisations (including universities and research institutes) and, under each principle, an explanation of how it may best be embedded into institutional practices, building on the experiences of universities and research organisations across the UK such as the Beacons for Public Engagement.
Resources
Our new website hosts lots of newly developed resources.
- How to support PE includes resources for staff and students who want to embed engagement into their core work
- How to do PE is made up of case studies, guides, methods and other resources to support people who want to engage with the public
Museums, Researchers and Engagement
Focussing on 13 case studies, and with stimulating talks and discussions, the day offered an opportunity for museum staff, researchers and others to come together to share their skills and experiences. The talks, discussion summaries and case studies can be found on our website.
Public Engagement Ambassadors
We have now formally launched the PEAs scheme and hope that you might be interested in applying. PEAs are offered the opportunity to come together to network and share experiences and skills in public engagement; problem solve together; and apply for small amounts of funding to enable them to attend relevant events and conferences and share their learning with the other PEAs.
Response to the Government's 'Giving Green Paper'
The Government recently invited responses to their Giving Green Paper which laid out their initial ideas for building a stronger culture of giving time and money and for stimulating social action. We coordinated a response from the beacons and others outlining the critical role that we believe universities play in this arena.
Beacon News
In each newsletter we will try to highlight relevant new web content from across the Beacon project. This time we want to highlight:
The Manchester Beacon has just launched a new area on their site to share their learning from the project to date. It a rich source of stories and personal reflections.
CUE East has published a You Tube video exploring the public’s views and perceptions of research.
Other News
ESRC have launched an Impact Toolkit to support researchers to maximise the impact of their work. There is lots of relevant information, case studies, and resources. They would love to have feedback so please check out the pages, and send comments to Melanie.Knetsch@esrc.ac.uk
National HE STEM Programme supports Higher Education Institutions in encouraging the exploration of new approaches to recruiting students and delivering programmes of study within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. It enables the transfer of good practice across the Higher Education STEM sector, facilitates its wider adoption, and encourages innovation. Through collaboration and shared working, the Programme focuses upon sustainable activities to achieve long-term impact within the Higher Education sector. Check out there website, and funding opportunities.
There are also relevant resources in the HE STEM regional hubs for example the South West Regional Hub.
