Our vision is of a society in which research is created, used, challenged, valued and shared by all. Find out more about our vision (PDF, 2.8MB).
Many researchers and innovators are already involved in public engagement through activities such as science festivals, mentoring STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) projects, outreach work, and involving the public in their research to improve understanding.
Involving people in your research
Examples of reasons for engaging the public include:
- inspiring young people to consider a career in research
- learning to understand a problem from the public’s perspective
- hearing from a local community about the issues they want addressed.
You can design many activities to deliver good public engagement, such as:
- a simple public talk where you present research findings
- an in-depth dialogue with facilitated discussion
- a citizen science project where members of the public are involved as contributors or collaborators
- co-created exhibition content in a museum or gallery
- co-designed research where members of a group help develop the activity.
You can also find out more about:
- UK researchers’ experiences of public engagement (PDF, 1MB)
- engaging young people with research (PDF, 951KB).
You can find guidance and resources on how to design and plan your activities from the National Co-Ordinating Centre for Public Engagement. The centre is funded by UKRI, Wellcome and other organisations. It inspires and supports universities to increase the quality and impact of their activity. It has lots of useful resources, including:
- public engagement case studies
- inspirational people doing public engagement
- films of award-winning projects.
Find funding opportunities
Search the Funding finder for opportunities supporting public engagement.
Last updated: 28 October 2020