Find out about the 5th issue of our engaged research journal, focusing on engagement for change

20 / 09 / 2021

We're delighted to share the 5th issue of Research for All, our open-access, peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the importance of public engagement with research, in all its forms. 

In their editorial, NCCPE’s Sophie Duncan and UCL’s Sandy Oliver, the journal’s co-editors, pause and reflect on what we have collectively learnt about engaged research and its impacts four years after the launch of Research for All, and consider the complexity of practices, approaches and insights shared across all the papers in this special bumper issue.

We are pleased to launch a special collection of papers on Knowledge Exchange practice, drawn from a 2019/20 seminar series on Knowledge Exchange and the Creative Industries, with an introduction and reflective commentary by Cole.

We are also delighted to see the first video abstract, promoting a paper describing a longitudinal study on the long-term impact of interactive science shows (Sadler). 

This issue covers papers across the diversity of engagement practice, including how an escape room format can encourage participants to engage with complex ideas (Mathieson & Duca); the relationship between engagement, impact and participation at a child and baby lab (Salter et al); and the role of creativity in innovation in policymaking (Moreton).

Mechanisms to support engagement are also explored, including how offering funding support increased engagement in the classics (Bridges); designing public dialogue approaches through exploring the views of potential dialogue participants (Dreyer et al.); the costs of researchers and dramatists coming together (Gray et al.); and the dynamics of working at the intersection of academia and policy (Morris & Stevenson). 

We hope you will read the editorial, be inspired to read the papers within this issue, and join us to explore what we can learn from those working at the intersections of research and society. Do tell us what you think, and consider how you might contribute to the journal in the future.

Research for All is a collaboration between the UCL Institute of Education and the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), and is published by UCL IOE Press.

Launched in 2017, the journal publishes two issues per year, in January and July. The journal is free to write for and free to read.