Understanding Public Engagement

Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesUniversity of Sheffield

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Why ‘Public Engagement’?

• ‘Any good engagement activity should involve two-

way aspects of listening and interaction’ (RCUK)

• Public Engagement activities are collaborative

• Mutual benefit to researcher and ‘external’ partner

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What kind of activities are Public Engagement?• Public Lectures

• Co-produced research

• Writing for the non-specialist

• Media work

• Taking part in public events

• Working with cultural venues such as museums, galleries and science centres

• Attendance at fairs or exhibitions (interactive exhibitions)

• Seeking to influence public policy

• Provision of learning opportunities and advisory processes

• Facilitating the use of university facilities by the public

• Working with teachers/schools

• Community engagement

• Specialists interacting with non-specialists

• The application of scholarship for the public good

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Why all the fuss now?• Impact’ in the Research Excellence Framework

• ‘Pathways to Impact’ in RCUK grant applications

• Employability for students

• Sense that universities need to ‘show their worth’

• At a time of cuts to a lot of museums, galleries, etc. universities can be ‘good citizens’

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Why teach public engagement?• Rapid change in policy means that a lot of

academics lack the skills and experience to undertake successful public engagement.

• Some skills have not historically been a part of the Arts and Humanities curriculum but are an essential part of Public Engagement (bid writing, project management, evaluation).

• At a time of rapid change it is important to engage with the intellectual underpinnings of Public Engagement in an Arts and Humanities context.

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Understanding Public Engagement 1• Focuses on the practicalities of Public

Engagement

• Topics include:- What is Public Engagement?- Working with partners- Developing a project- Writing a bid- Project Management- Evaluating projects

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Understanding Public Engagement 1• Assessment:

- portfolio of blog posts (1,000 words)- review essay of a specific public engagement project

• Teaching- based on seminars and discussions- we visit a number of projects and activities around the city- working with PhD students: ‘real researchers’ who go on to develop their own projects

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Understanding Public Engagement 2• Focuses on thinking about the intellectual

underpinnings and challenges of public engagement

• Asks questions such as:- what is the value of the arts and humanities in the twenty first century?- is the idea of ‘value’ problematic?- to what extent does Public Engagement enable us demonstrate the value of our discipline?- does Public Engagement result in a dumbing down of research?- does Public Engagement help the partners it purports to engage with?

Understanding Public Engagement 2

• Assessment:- 3,000 word essay on a specific topic

• Teaching- based on preparatory readings and seminars- researchers from across the faculty invited to speak about their experiences of Public Engagement

Engagement in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Arts Enterprise happens when faculty members work with external partners in order to apply and disseminate their research for local, national and international communities, so generating social, cultural and artistic capital.