Public Engagement in the Arts: the responsive researcher : Southamtpon, February 2013

Public Engagement – why bother?• Increasing pressure to account for the spend of

public money and to let ‘out there’ know what is going on ‘in here’

• Increasingly a requirement of research council funding

• It makes you a better researcher (Domain D)• It is a vehicle for the holy grail of impact (particularly

for ASH disciplines)• Ethical motivation too? Because we should?

Public Engagement in the Arts: the responsive researcher : Southamtpon, February 2013

What is public engagement?ESRC: “…public engagement is not about

studying people - it is about giving them the opportunity to explore the meaning of research and shape research agendas.”

http://esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/tools-and-resources/impact-toolkit/what-how-and-why/public-engagement/important.aspx

AHRC: “…the engagement of researchers with the general public for the benefit of both…”

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/What-We-Do/Extend-engagement/public-engagement/Pages/default.aspx

Public Engagement in the Arts: the responsive researcher : Southamtpon, February 2013

Research councils place strategic importance on their own public engagement (and that of the projects they fund)

Research councils require funding recipients to demonstrate impact (with specific reference to public engagement as a vehicle for achieving it)

Idea of Impact & Public Engagement have filtered down to researcher development policy & practice – RDF/Concordat. Public engagement is a vehicle through which impact can be achieved

BGP2 (and future collaborative ESRC DTCs?) has very clear focus on provision of opportunities for public engagement and other knowledge exchange

Public Engagement in the Arts:the responsive researcher

Sarah KerrREF/Impact Manager, Faculty of Arts

BGP2 Editorial Board MemberResearcher Development Manager, Faculty of Arts

Co-Chair, Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts Researcher EducationMember of the AHRC Careers & Employability Network Group

Public Engagement in the Arts: the responsive researcher : Southamtpon, February 2013

Thesis:Doing public engagement makes you a better

(more reflective, responsive) researcherIt allows you to develop skill sets rather than

skills and is therefore an efficient way of ‘delivering’ (domain D) skills

The skills you develop are useful within and beyond academia

What we did6 images chosenResearchers responded from their own researcher perspectives8-minute papers

Lessons learnedPapers too longToo much academic language used (coaching undertaken by academics)Audience was mixed (academic, ‘public’ and creative economy) so register hard to pitchDon’t try to do too much on one event

The American Scene

http://flashstreaming.nottingham.ac.uk/progress.php/Burra/____edward_burra_highlights_PowerPoint_Lg_16x9_2k.wmv.

What we didStudents selected the images. A few chose the same one.Researchers responded from their own researcher perspectives5-minute papers

Lessons learnedLet students practise in situ before they are filmed!Use non-academics for coaching. It works. Peer-to-peer coaching in itself is a great learning experience (giving critical feedback, responding to difficult circumstance, dealing with challenging situations, developing empathy attributes)There is value in students choosing the same pieceGet good people in to do the filming and make sure copyright issues are nailed down.

Lowry, Burra, Knight

http://flashstreaming.nottingham.ac.uk/progress.php/Burra/____edward_burra_highlights_PowerPoint_Lg_16x9_2k.wmv.

James Gillray

What we did3-minute papersPeer-to-peer coachingTo-camera (played in the gallery)

Lessons learnedThe value of an ‘orthodox’ reading (discuss)The camera makes people nervousThe gallery likes having an RLOThe researchers liked the fact that their research was displayed in a gallery setting

Why do it? – An academic perspective

Encourages students to focus and then reflect on what their research is actually about

Develop skills in translating their research into an idiom appropriate for a non-specialist audience

Develop skills in summarising – useful for viva and future academic career

Developed public speaking skills and confidence (useful for academic and non-academic posts)

Makes them audience-focussed

Fosters cross-disciplinary networking and awareness

Make non-academic connections and contacts

Why do it? – participants’ perspectives

“Both the Lowry and Burra events allowed me to talk and think about my research in alternative ways, and to consequently communicate my ideas to a different type of audience.

The events also challenged me to utilise different presentation skills; during the Lowry event I still relied on a 'written-out' paper to fall-back on, whereas during the Burra event I pushed myself (and was encouraged) to communicate my ideas without the safety blanket of a 'written-up' paper: instead utilising bullet points and pointer cards.

Overall this has given me the confidence to think about my research in alternative ways, and to improve my presentation and communication skills”.

Why do it? – participants’ perspectives

“I really appreciated that the event was research focused, open to all disciplines and had a very loose brief. This meant that almost any student was able to take the opportunity, even students whose research area often excludes them from participating in public events organised by universities whose briefs and topics are usually more restrictive.”

Why do it? – curator’s perspective• I have an impact agenda, distinct from AHRC!, which involves

presenting unfamiliar/familiar work to an audience in new, challenging ways; these events fit that bill.

• I see value in the combination of academic researchers presenting their work in the context of the gallery - but again there's an underlying need for the gallery to be relevant to the academic community, ESP on campus;

• Feedback has been extremely positive. Everyone comments on the format as appealing, inspiring and informative; they genuinely do walk away knowing something new...

• If they didn't work, I wouldn't put them on. (He wants one for every show but is aware not all shows lend themselves as easily as others.)

Translating activities into (REF) “impacts”

“Engaging the public with research is an activity that may lead to impact”

BUT dissemination of research findings and public engagement activities are not, in and of themselves, considered evidence of impact:

“public engagement may be an important feature of many case studies,

typically as the mechanism by which the impact claimed has been achieved”

However, some such activities can be more readily presented as impact - or at least woven into a compelling ‘impact story’ - particularly by using REF vocabulary to describe them (NB: need to show convincing link between impacts and research).

Panel C• Enhancements to heritage preservation, conservation and

presentation; the latter including museum and gallery exhibitions (The Roman Cup)

• Production of cultural artefacts, including for example, films, novels and TV programmes

• Enhanced cultural understanding of issues and phenomena; shaping or informing public attitudes and values (Peace)

• Use of research findings in the conduct of / development of resources of to enhance professional work or practice.

• Practitioner debate has been informed or stimulated by research findings

Panel D• Interpreting cultural capital in all of its forms to enrich and expand the

lives, imaginations and sensibilities of individuals and groups (Lowry)

• Applying and transferring the insights and knowledge gained from research to create prosperity, including in museums, galleries, and tourism (Knight)

• Contributing to processes of commemoration, memorialisation and reconciliation

• Preserving, conserving, and presenting cultural heritage

• Creating, inspiring and supporting new forms of artistic, literary, linguistic…and other expression

Routes to Impact: Some Ideas

Work with partner organisations to:• design your own audience (reach)• collect quantitative evidence of impacts (e.g. increased visitor

numbers) • collect qualitative evidence of the effects of public engagement

activities (e.g. feedback suggesting new insights into an exhibition)

• develop new reusable learning resources (e.g. exhibition guides/catalogues or online resources as part of organisations’ websites or blogs)

• Think laterally. Doesn’t have to be object-based. Peace? The body? The glass?