About Public Engagement

What is Public Engagement?

We define public engagement in line with the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s definition; 

 “Public Engagement describes the many ways in which the activity and benefits of higher education and research can be shared with the public. Engagement is by definition a two-way process, involving interaction and listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit.”  

Why bother?

Public engagement can provide new perspectives and enrich the focus, clarity and relevance of research.   

It can build understanding and appreciation of the research within the Centre to external public groups, as well as developing researchers’ transferable skills. It can build trust in emerging research areas, and improve relationships between researchers, universities and their local communities.   

It is crucial for research institutions to be open, accountable and transparent on how research funds are spent. A key way in achieving this it to meaningfully engage with public groups to ensure those who are impacted most by the research have a say in helping shape it.   

The Centre has a public engagement team to support researchers with their public engagement activities by providing opportunities, advice, networks, resources and funding.  

The Public Engagement team  provide (i) training, (ii) support and guidance to help deliver public engagement events, (iii) opportunities to get involved, (iv) advice on funding and can (v) signpost to relevant resources or networks. 

Our Public Engagement vision:

Engaging publics about the Centre’s world leading research and highlighting its impact and societal implications will be embedded in the Centre structure. Public engagement (PE) will inform our research, and enhance our teaching and learning. Every member is strongly encouraged to take part, underpinned by professional support. We will look to refine our engagement, building on our experience of public and patient engagement within the existing Centre, to further improve its quality.

 

 

Our Public Engagement Strategic Aims

We have one main overarching aim which is:

To develop a supportive and inclusive culture of public engagement within the Centre

We aim to achieve this by:

1. Enabling publics and patients to inform our research and learning to ensure impact
2. Engaging public and patients about the Centre’s research to empower them so that they feel more confident to access, use and respond to health research
3. Working with children and young people in London, to enthuse and inspire young people about science
4. Connecting with local communities in Lambeth and Southwark to broaden the impact of the Centre on their lives and build relationships to enable the community to iteratively influence research practice

Download our Public Engagement Strategy 2019-2022

Download our Evaluation Framework