Engaging Researcher Resources

The NCCPE, the Beacons for Public Engagement and Vitae joined forces to create a booklet to support researchers to engage the public with their work. You can download the booklet on the Vitae website.

We hope the booklet will inspire researchers to engage the public with your work. The NCCPE website has lots of resources that can help you. What's more, in December 2010 we will be launching a more comprehensive set of resources to help HEI staff and students to plan their engagement work. In the meantime you may find the following information on our site helpful.

Case Studies

We have a host of case studies from the Beacons for Public Engagement and other universities that explore some of the great ways to engage the public with your research. Examples include:

Bristol Festival of Nature: An imaginative weekend of films, animal encounters, exhibitions, walks, talks, workshops and competitions involving the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.

Rising Stars: Cambridge University - An example of how to embed public engagement into the culture for those near the start of their careers.

To see more case studies please click on the following link: Case Studies

Current Funding Opportunities

There are lots of pots of funding that you could access to help support your public engagement activity. Here are some of the funds that we know about. Do let us know if there are other opportunities that you know of.  Examples include:

Wellcome Trust Arts Awards: For imaginative and experimental arts projects that investigate biomedical science.

Awards for All :A National Lottery grants scheme funding small, local community-based projects in the UK. 

Find more Funding Opportunities.

NCCPE Resources

There are lots of ways to get involved in our work. For example you could

• join our Public Engagement Network (PEN). Open to anyone passionate about public engagement with research, universities and research institutes, the PEN encourages people to share news, and discuss relevant topics.
• apply to become a Public Engagement Ambassador. Aimed at supporting people who are passionate about Public Engagement to develop their own skills and experience, and act as change agents within their own institution, this pilot scheme provides funding to attend conferences and events, as well as having networking events and training sessions
• explore this website: www.publicengement.ac.uk  which includes events, news about public engagement and higher education institutions and also provides lots of opportunities for you to shape our work.
• If you are a researcher at one of the universities involved in a beacon then check out their website to find out about how they can support your work.

Other Resources

There are lots of other resources to support researchers to engage the public with their work. Here are some examples:

RCUK have published a number of resources to support and inspire researchers to engage the public with their work including Public Engagement with Research Strategy; What's in it for me?; and Engaging Young People with Cutting Edge Research. Find out more. 

Inspiring Learning for All includes a guide to help you determine your Learning Style

Other useful Resources

Engaging Researchers

We asked some Engaging Researchers to tell us about their public engagement experiences - check out what they told us.

• Katharine Beadle: Research Officer,University of Bath   
• Simon Choppin: Sports Engineering Researcher, Sheffield Hallam University
• Martin Coath: Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Plymouth 
• Tom Crick: Lecturer in Computing, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC)
• Sheila Dargan: Professional Tutor in Physiology, Cardiff University
• Katherine Davies: Research Associate, Manchester University
• Clare Davy: Research Scientist: MRC Institute for Medical Research
• Mirela Delibegovic: RCUK Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen
• Elisavet Dimitrokall: PhD Sudent, University of Central Lancashire
• Caroline Floccia: Lecturer, University of Plymouth
• Haley Gomez: Lecturer, Cardiff University
• Claire Harper: Senior Imaging Scientist, University of Liverpool
• Sarah Hart: Lecturer in Bioscience, Keele University
• Joanna Heaton: University Public Engagement Co-ordinator, University of Central Lancashire
• Paul Hewson: Lecturerer in Statistics, University of Plymouth
• Mark Jabbal: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Manchester
• Alexis Kirke: Research Assistant, University of Plymouth
• Alexander Klein: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Manchester
• Michele Mendelssohn: University Lecturer and Tutorial Fellow, Oxford University
• John Moriarty, Lecturer in Probability, University of Manchester
• Charlie Mydlarz: Research Assistant/PhD Student, Salford
• Clemence O'Connor: Teaching Fellow
• Karen Reed: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cardiff School of Bioscience
• Jo Richardson: Principal Lecturer, De Montford University
• Rebecca Robinson, PhD Student
• Andy Russell: Postdoctorate Research Associate, University of Manchester
• Steve Simpson: Postdoctorate Research Associate, University of Bristol
• John Whitton: Senior Researcher, National Nuclear Laboratory
• Ryan Woolrych, Research Associate

If you would like to contribute an engaging researcher profile then download this form and email to lisa.adlington@uwe.ac.uk.