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

Our partners

Evelina Children’s Heart Organisation

echo-uk.org

ECHO provide support to children and young people with heart conditions from birth to adulthood. They also support their families and carers, their siblings and the wider family. We  work with ECHO and their members in  getting feedback from them regarding our research; taking part in their events to showcase our research and taping into their members to be part of our School PPI group.

Science Gallery London

london.sciencegallery.com

Science Gallery London connects art, science and health to drive innovation in the heart of the city. Their programme brings together scientific researchers, students, local communities and artists in surprising and innovative ways. They present themed seasons every year, incorporating exhibitions, events, performances, live experiments, open discussions and festivals, all with scientific engagement at their core.

Biomedical Research Centre

guysandstthomasbrc.nihr.ac.uk

The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre is a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is the highest recruiter to clinical studies in England.  The BRC is a part of Department’s of Health accredited King’s Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre. The BRC deliver training in PPI for our researchers and we run collaborative projects to reach young people.

Governance

We have a Public Engagement Advisory Board that meet every 4 months. The Board provides advice to the Centre on public engagement and provide new ideas for programme development. We also have a Public Engagement Committee who meet every 3 months, made up of staff and students from within the Centre, to lead on PE and to champion PE within their Department. We have also established Public Engagement Ambassadors who represent the student community and provides insights and advice on integrating public engagement into our research culture and practice.

The Public Engagement Manager has a mentor, Dr Kerry Leslie, who offers strategic support.

Public Engagement Advisory Board current members:

  • Bernadette Cronin, Former Clinical Director, Clinical Imaging and Medical Physics, GSTT  (Chair)
  • Dr Samamtha Terry, Co-Academic lead for PE, Centre for Medical Engineering
  • Dr Amy Sanders, Head of Development, Development Media International
  • Samantha Johnson, CEO, Evelina Children’s Heart Organisation
  • Dr Katy Bray, Public Engagement Manager, Alzheimer’s Research UK
  • Dr Jamie Dorey, Public Engagement Manager, Science Gallery London

Public Engagement Committee members:

  • Professor Kawal Rhode,  Professor in Surgical & Interventional Engineering
  • Dr Samantha Terry, Senior Lecturer in Imaging Chemistry & Biology
  • Dr Rachel Sparks, Lecturer in Surgical & Interventional Engineering
  • Dr David Tricklebank, Wellcome Research Fellow in Neuroimaging
  • Abi Gartner, PhD candidate in Perinatal Imaging & Mental Health
  • Dr Yijing Xie, Research Fellow in Surgical & Interventional Engineering
  • Dr Kuberan Pushparajah, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Cardiology
  • Sophie Langdon, Research Student in Imaging Chemistry and Biology
  • Angelika Wrona, Digital Content Officer at School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences
  • Nadia Chaher, PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering Department
  • Dr Anastasia Nasoploulou, Research Associate in Biomedical Engineering
  • Tom Hunter,  Communications and Business Engagement Manager for the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences