What does an engaged university look like?

Public engagement is embedded in each of UWE’s top strategic priorities. It is core to our mission and ethos. As a partnership university we understand the mutual benefits - public engagement enriches our academic activities and through public engagement we have a huge impact on economic, cultural and social development.  We will continue to take great pride in our civic leadership responsibilities, working with our partners to produce opportunities, choices and solutions for today, and for tomorrow’s world. 

Steve West, Vice-chancellor, UWE

UWE researcher David McGoran and the Heart Robot UWE researcher David McGoran and the Heart Robot - a robot puppet to engage the public with the concepts behind research into emotional and social robots. Ben Dowden

The major challenge for the Beacons initiative is to help shift public engagement from being an 'add on' and fringe activity, to one that is embedded into the way universities and research institutes approach their work. We've learnt a huge amount from the beacons and from other universities - in the UK and internationally - who have been working on this challenge for a number of years.  We've identified the following three areas as absolutely critical to successful strategic implementation of engagement.

Sense of purpose

An engaged university has embedded  a commitment to public engagement  in its institutional mission and strategy, and champions that commitment at all levels:

  • It creates a shared understanding of the purpose, value, meaning and role of public engagement to staff and students and embeds this in its strategy and mission.
  • It supports leaders and champions across the organisation who embrace public engagement
  • It communicates consistent, clear messages to validate, support and celebrate it, and ensures open and two-way communication with members of the public and community organisations.

Support

  • It recognises and rewards staff involvement within recruitment, promotion, workload plans and performance reviews, and celebrates success with awards or prizes.
  • It supports and coordinates the delivery of public engagement to maximise efficiency, target support, improve quality, foster innovation, join up thinking and monitor involvement and impact.
  • It provides opportunities for learning and reflection and support for continuing professional development and training

People

An engaged university is actively involving staff, students and representatives of the public and using their energy, expertise and feedback  to shape the engagement strategy and its delivery:

  • It ensures that all staff – in academic and support roles – have opportunities to get involved in informal and formal ways.
  • It proactively includes and involves students in shaping the mission and in the delivery of the strategy, and maximises opportunities for their involvement.
  • It invests in people, processes and infrastructure to support and nurture the involvement of the public and of organisations external to the HEI 

Heart Robot

UWE researcher David McGoran and the Heart Robot. Ben Dowden

What next?

We have created a range of tools and case studies that capture how universities can tackle these key areas.

We have also created a Manifesto for Public Engagement, which we are encouraging all universities to sign up to. 

In the next section we provide a selection of further reading.