NCCPE Open House - the Day's Events

The Open House event on November 25 provided a perfect opportunity for those involved in HEI public engagement to come together and discuss all the issues around the subject, as well as hear stories from the Beacons and other stakeholders about how public engagement is being embedded in institutions across the country.

Attendees were shepherded expertly through the day’s events by Kathy Sykes, who started the event off with an impassioned introductory speech about the importance of what everyone was trying to achieve. The NCCPE Director, Paul Manners, introduced the NCCPE and the Beacons before asking each table of attendees for their first thoughts on issues surrounding the public engagement debate, all of which were marked down for further discussion during the day.

We were then treated to two talks from Paul Younger and Gerry Kelleher. Paul spoke passionately about the importance of engagement to Newcastle University, and how it was viewed not as a 'third stream' of activity but an integral part of teaching, learning and research: a 'critical approach to how we do the day job'. 

(Here is a transcript of the talk)

Gerry Kelleher took us through the developments at Manchester Metropolitan University, most specifically the new developments in Hulme and Moss Side. He shared some of the lessons that the Manchester beacon has learned about the challenges of embedding engagement.

(Here is a transcript of the talk)

These talks were thought-provoking and engaging, the ideal precursor to a discussion about the big questions facing the community charged with promoting the public engagement cause. Questions that emerged from this discussion were:

• How to embrace people at different career stages?
• Different publics are involved in PE – how do you bring them with you?
• What challenges and opportunities are there with the REF, in the way it drives particular behaviour and aims to measure PE impact?
• How do you clarify or explain PE?
• How do you embed Public Engagement within an academic career?
• Can you ‘measure’ success, or define standards/quality of PE – will there be unintended, ‘box-ticking’ consquences?
• How do you assess or evaluate success internally or externally?
• How can you change the culture of a whole institution?
• How do you embed engagement practices as scholarly activity, and how easy is this to start?
• Knowledge exchange is separate to public engagement – is PE viewed as the ‘poor cousin’? And can, or should, they be brought together?
• How do you involve students in public engagement?

We will be posing these questions to our Public Engagement Network over the coming months, to gain a greater range of understanding of people’s views on these issues, and to explore potential solutions.

After lunch, Steve West, Vice Chancellor at UWE, described how public engagement fitted with UWE's mission to be a 'partnership university' and built on their existing knowledge exchange activities.

(Here is a transcript of the talk)

He warned of the dangers of treating public engagement as an 'add on' activity: if it isn't embedded in the university's mission it could be vulnerable to cuts.

Despite the challenges facing the PE audience, there are success stories up and down the country; a few of these were highlighted in the case study presentations that took up the ensuing two hours. Attendees signed up talks from the following list:

• Manchester Beacon - Creating a Culture Where Public Engagement is Valued.  One approach to creating a university culture that supports, values and encourages public engagement combining three methods through PE Practitioner Experience, Task Groups and Operational processes. Manchester Discussion Paper PPT 55kB, Case Study PDF 660kB).
• Edinburgh Beltane - Public Engagement Fellows: providing time and development opportunities for academics.
• UCL Beacon - Bright Club: a typical variety night that appeals to a young audience, with a difference - the acts are UCL researchers. (Photo sheet PDF 874kB)
• NCCPE - Action Research Programme:  engages with institutions, academics and publics across the whole of the HEI system and aims to have a direct impact on the system.
• UWE - Walking with Robots. A three-year EPSC funded Public Engagement Project that has sought to bring robotics research into public places. Walking with Robots Summary (PDF 1009kB)
• Brighton CUPP - Working with Community Partners. How can universities work effectively with the community and voluntary sector - a case study.
• Welsh Beacon - Support and Infrastructure for Public Engagement. Different approaches to promotions that Cardiff University and Glamorgan University are taking, the issues and opportunities.
• CUE East - Keeping Track of Engagement. Exploring the difficulties encountered at a grassroots level around the recording and monitoring of engagement activity and the piloting of an online Engagement Tracker for academics.

Delegates then had lively discussions framed around making suggestions for how some of the challenges about embedding a culture of public engagement within HEIs could be supported by the funders, the NCCPE and their own work. Suggestions included:

• Individuals sharing great public engagement examples – including a diversity of approaches
• NCCPE/ BPEs working with the sector to inform case for funding
• NCCPE resourcing the development of case studies
• NCCPE and BPEs help define PE – stop people talking at cross purposes
• Funders work together re strategy
• Funders to consider requesting certain grants to have community partners before making application

The day concluded when all attendees came together to throw questions at our panel – Gerry Kelleher, Paul Younger, Kerry Leslie (Head of Public Engagement with Research, RCUK) and Paul Manners. The issues covered were wide and varied, with a focus on the positioning of public engagement within university staff careers.

The day was a great success, and offered all of us at the NCCPE a great deal of inspiration. If you would like to join the Public Engagement Network to become part of this conversation, please sign up to our Public Engagement Jiscmail list.