Transcript: What is Public Engagement?

What is Public Engagement?

David Wolff, Director of CUPP, University of Brighton

'There are lots of different terms - social engagement - community engagement - public engagement - and you could spend a long time discussing the merits of each.  I don't think that's particularly fruitful.  What I understand by it is the relationship between a university and its communities and by communities I mean geographic communities - people close to the university - and also communities of interest such as young people, older people, lesbian and gay communities, black and minority ethnic and so on so. Different types of communities within a universities reach.  So public engagement for me is the relationship between a university and its communities.  I think where it's done well it probably has an aspect of mutuality about it  - something that's beneficial to both parties.  It needn't necessarily be that way but I think it works better if it works that way - if communities and universities become partners in activities and projects rather than perhaps the other construction might be the university educating the public or distributing largesse or charity or doing to its communities.  I'm not saying there's never a role for that but I think the more powerful way of doing it is one of mutual benefit'.

John Annette, Pro Vice Master for Lifelong Learning and Engagement, Birkbeck

Well I think it admits of many definitions and I personally would want to have a very inclusive definition - I think it can involve engagement with the public sector - it can involve engagement with a wider range of publics through museums and galleries through for example small theatre groups etc I think it also links in with the volunteering community sector but PE also links to regional engagement and working with employers and what we now call employer engagement in higher education.  So personally I have a broad definition of public engagement, though what I particularly would want to argue is that we shouldn't lose sight of the types of partnerships universities could develop particularly with the local volunteering community sector organizations.