How are you planning to engage?

It’s important to consider what you want your public engagement to achieve before you decide on the best form it should take.  The following questions are designed to help you navigate the different types of engagement and make sure you will have the most impact.

Once you’ve completed the quiz, have a look at the examples of public engagement from across the university.

• What excites you most about your research?
  1. The applications it has for society
  2. The chance to explore new questions
  3. The chance to solve really difficult problems
  4. The opportunity to work with interesting partners

• What do you think excites others the most about your research?
  1. The difference it will make for their lives
  2. The images or artefacts it creates
  3. That it contributes to our progress as a species
  4. That they have a role to play in shaping the research

• What’s the most important way your research might impact on the understanding of others?
  1. It will change the way they behave or think
  2. It will surprise and entertain them
  3. It will contribute to the knowledge they have access to
  4. It will empower them to change the world around them

• What do you think the most useful outcome of your engagement might be?
  1. Opportunities to shape my research to account for public perceptions and concerns
  2. Continued relationships with key publics
  3. Better appreciation of the value of basic research
  4. Creation of knowledge that represents the perspectives and knowledge of the publics I am working with as well as my own

Results

 Mostly As – Consulting: receiving information from publics

 You know your research is likely to have short-to-long term impacts on society in general, and you are keen to make sure these are delivered in a way that is responsible. You might be interested in the following types of public engagement with research:

• Opinion polls, lay panels, focus groups, surveys, attitude monitoring,

 

Mostly Bs and/or Cs – Informing and inspiring: sharing your research with publics

You value your research for the opportunity it presents to explore new frontiers and address deep questions. You feel the responsibility to let publics know about your research and enjoy passing on your knowledge and passion. You might be interested in the following types of public engagement with research:

• Mostly Bs: festivals, interactive websites, social media, podcasts, public debates, citizen science, gamification
• Mostly Cs: exhibitions, blogs, websites, public lectures or talks, books or magazine articles

 

Mostly Ds – Collaborating: in partnership with publics

Your research is driven, at least in part, by the interests and issues of your publics. You seek out ways to include their voices in your research processes and outputs and are inspired by their approaches and perspectives. You might be interested in the following types of public engagement with research:

• Co-production, participatory action research, community partnerships, committee representation, citizen researchers, citizen science