ASHPIT Policy and Practice Day Case Study:

Humanities Faculty Researcher

Showcase

Dr. Claire Stocks,Research Staff Development Officer,

Manchester University

‘Humanities’ at Manchester

• Seven schools: Law, Education, Manchester Business School, Social Sciences, Arts, Histories and Cultures and Languages Linguistics and Cultures.

• 777 academic staff and 15,000 students• Over 1,000 Doctoral students• Around 350 Research Staff• Researcher Development Team = 1 Team

Leader, 1 PGR developer, 1 Research Staff Developer, 1 e-resources officer and 1 administrative assistant

What is the Researcher Showcase?

• A one-day poster event for Humanities Research Staff and Students

• Held at the Manchester Museum (in 2008 and 2009) and on UG Open Day in 2010…

• on a Saturday in June• Researchers design a research poster to convey

their research to the public• Researchers attend to answer questions about

their research• Encouraged to invite stakeholders and other

members of the public as well as Supervisors/PIs, colleagues, students and family

Researcher Showcase: Rationale

• To introduce the idea of Public Engagement to Humanities Research Students and Staff

• To showcase the research currently being undertaken at Manchester to local groups, people and policy makers as well as prospective students

• To give researchers an opportunity to develop the skills necessary for public engagement

• To support researchers in networking with interested groups outside of academia

• To allow Humanities researchers to meet other students and staff from across the Faculty

• To teach researchers poster design, to allow them to practice poster presentation and to provide them with a poster for their own use

Skills/knowledge developed• Understanding of how to engage non-academic

stakeholders (PE doesn’t ‘just happen’)• Practice in articulating research to a non-academic

audience• Understanding and practical experience of

preparing a poster• Networking skills and experience• Feedback on research• Collaboration with other researchers, Faculty

Development Team and Graphic Support• Potential for enterprise – use of poster to make

further links. • Awareness of value of PE activities• Abstract writing• Biography writing

2010 Showcase: UG Open Day

Outcomes• Mutual promotion of research via blogs• Researchers putting each other in touch with

their contacts• Engagement with local council/MPs• Engagement with and promotion by local groups• Using the poster as an e-mail attachment to give

a summary of the thesis (on-going PE opportunity)

• Provides material for newsletters • Winner PRASH poster competition: Sabina Shah

From an article in Incite, the UoM RS newsletter…

“Recently, I took part in the Researcher Showcase organised by the Humanities Skills Training and Development Team. This was a great event which allowed me to share my research findings on a research project about living wages and working poverty in Manchester with the general public. The feedback and insights I received from members of the local community were invaluable in developing my research. I was also able to discuss my work with a local MP, who I am due to meet in the near future to talk about the policy relevance of my work.”

My research focuses on identifying the main drivers of poverty and understanding how they are experienced amongst working households, in particular, in the UK.

Skills from a participant’s perspective

Careful preparation for this event was essential as I had to consider the content of the poster, develop the poster design, prepare an abstract and personal biography, and write and send invitations to MBS faculty members and non-university specialists who might be interested in my research. The latter group included real estate companies in Manchester with investments in the Dubai market. The result was a good attendance from the public and the invitees who were keen to learn more about my research. In return, I was given very insightful comments and ideas, which I took back to incorporate into my research. I also received good words of encouragement and constructive comments about my research through email. In addition, I was kindly invited by a faculty member to have a discussion about my research and its direction. 

Sustainability of the Dubai Model of Economic Development

Outcomes from a participant’s perspective

It was great to meet researchers from other schools and to know about their research. Due to my field of research, many prospective and current medical students and their parents came to see my presentation. I received new ideas, new information on my work and encouraging words! Interestingly, I also met with a member of public who was interested in my study because he suffered from arthritis. He spoke to me about his illness and his information gathering activities on the Internet.

It was an excellent chance for me to practice presenting my work in progress as I would be presenting a research poster in an international conference later this year.

‘Experiential information seeking in online health communities’

Outcomes from a participant’s perspective

Recently I sent my academic poster to the Muslim Council of Britain in order to share my research with them.  To my surprise they decided to include my research on their website which was a small but major triumph for a researcher like me starting out in academia.

I met a researcher, Vinny Pattison, […] who works with ethnic minority groups and was interested in sharing my project with grassroots organisations he is associated with.  Due to Vinny’s field of research, a local MP visited the presentation. The MP was also very interested in my project and, in response to my project’s subject, he spoke of his personal experiences of living in Iran.

Often I print the poster as an A4 document and attach it to my business card, CV and academic writing papers, to provide an outline of the work I do, that is often handed out at conferences or networking events. 

Islamic Feminism and its role in cinema

Challenges

• Engagement!• Unsupportive PIs/Supervisors• Getting participants to invite their

stakeholders and interested parties• Getting the public in (finding a good

location, on a good day. Is there a captive audience? Good footfall?)

• Helping researchers to produce an appropriate poster (multiple purposes?)