Terms of Reference

ASHPIT is a think tank which will enhance the ability of researcher developers to deliver innovative discipline-appropriate support to researchers in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (ASH).

This collaboration makes best use of limited resources and funding and is a way to embed and sustain best practice. It is timely to bring together good practice that has evolved during the period of Roberts funding and to disseminate it to the widest possible audience. The project supports capacity-building: sharing the resources and commitment means that institutions will be able to retain more than just the core functions that the current funding climate might otherwise dictate. It is intended to be complementary to the existing Vitae regional hub model.ASHPIT reports to Vitae.

Our principle areas of investigation will be:

Becoming a focus for ideas generation in targeted areas (public engagement, entrepreneurship, and impact & evaluation in year 1, career development, sustainability and researcher-led initiatives in year 2);Developing an implementation framework translating the JSS, RDF, Concordat, and other policy initiatives as they arise (such as the RCUK Impact Pathways) into workable training resources tailored for ASH Researcher Developers;Coordinating the design and delivery of five innovative training courses for ASSH to feed into the VITAE Database of Resources and the national VITAE training programme. This will include a review of existing resources, a collaborative gap analysis, and a ‘policy-first’ approach to shaping new content.

Lines of reporting: Back to Vitae and ???

Date for ASHPIT 2: April 15th tbc – Focus on Entrepreneurship in ASSH

Terms of Reference

Over to you…Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?What is your interest/experience in public engagement?What would you like to get out of ASHPIT?What would you like to get out of today?

Programme

9.30-10.00 Arrival with coffee10.00-10.30 Welcome/Introductions & Terms of Reference 10.30-10.45 Coffee Break10.45-11.30 Presentation: Dr Rebekah Smith McGloin & Sarah Kerr, ASHPIT project leaders

- “Public Engagement in Policy”.

11.30-12.00 Comment12.00-12.15 Break12.15-1.15 Presentation: Paul Manners, Director of the National Coordinating Centre for

Public Engagement. Paul will be talking about the headlines from The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement conference.

1.15-2.00 Lunch2.00-2.30 Case Studies

Study One: Dr. Claire Stocks, Humanities Research Staff Development Officer at the University of Manchester on Humanities Researcher Showcase.

Study Two: Dr. Laurie Stras and Dr. Will May on Creative Writing Masters students and their work in the running and programming of the literary elements of the New Forest Arts Festival.

2.30-4.30 Workshops: Generating practical plans for public engagement activity as a tool for researcher development in the Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities.

Why is policy important?Evidence-informed practiceIt usually underpins the strategic aims of our organisationsIt helps us to build a case for our own existenceIt helps us to write successful funding bidsIt helps us to support PGs in skills development that is most relevant to their needs, the needs of employers and ultimately the needs of the UK

What things are we looking for in particular in policy documents?TrendsThemesFunding opportunities

ASHPIT DAY 1: Public Engagement

Basic Stats

Wider Skills Agenda

Higher Education Agenda

Researcher Development Agenda

Public Engagement

Research Agenda

What areas of policy are the most relevant?

Government PolicyParticularly BIS

Affected by change in govt; broader economic picture

Research CouncilsAHRC & ESRC in particular, plus policy

documents from RCUK

Universities Vitae

Researcher Developers

How do they fit together?

Key themes

PG skills are required by UK economy and society – no consensus on the skills PGs have or exactly which skills are required by business & society

Creative Industries and Education are key strengths in UK economy (and key destinations for ASSH PGs)

Drive to develop connections between HEIs and business at every level

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)

Idea of Impact & Public Engagement have filtered down to researcher development policy & practice – RDF/Concordat

The Wider Skills Agenda – UK PlcBIS (2009) Skills for GrowthLeitch Review of Skills (October 2009)BIS (2010) Building Britain’s Future: New Industry, New Jobs – One Year OnBIS (2010) Higher AmbitionsCIHE Publications – The Value of Graduates & Postgraduates (Connor & Brown, Nov. 2009); Talent Fishing: What Businesses want from Postgraduates (2010)

The Higher Education AgendaUniversities UK (Sept 2009) Promoting the UK doctorate: opportunities and challengesBrowne Report (Oct 2010)The Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality in Standards in Higher Education (amplified version published in October 2010)The Research AgendaESRC Strategic Plan 2009-14AHRC Strategic Plan 2007-12Universities UK Annual Conference ( Sept 2010) Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts’ Conference AddressREF Impact Pilot Report (Nov 2010)The Researcher Development AgendaESRC Postgraduate Training Framework: A Strategy for Delivering Excellence (2009)AHRC Research Training Framework (Autumn 2009)Universities UK (Sept. 2009) Promoting the UK Doctorate: Opportunities and ChallengesConcordatAdrian Smith, One Step Beyond: Making the most of postgraduate education sector (March 2010)Vitae Researcher Development Framework (Sept 2010)The Public Engagement AgendaESRC Science & Society StrategyAHRC KT Strategy 2008-11RCUK: Our Vision for Public Engagement with Research

Basic StatsHouse, Postgraduate Education in the UK (2010) – drawing on HESA statistics

Policy documents

Wider Skills Agenda

Public Engagement as a Dialogue with Employers

The skills system must be shaped above all by demand from employers

Govt policy promotes active engagement from business

Importance of PGs in driving innovation, entrepreneurship, management, leadership and research & development (Leitch Review, 2009)

Employers are not finding the skills they need in: experience in the workplace, leadership & management and communication

On-going aim to develop the UK’s existing strengths in defence and security, creative industries and higher and further education.

Significance of KT and PE undertaken by HEIs is acknowledged as a contribution to society far broader than research and one which ‘must not be lost’ by David Willetts (Minister of State for Universities and Science) in his Sept 2010 speech at Universities UK Annual Conference.

The Higher Education Agenda

Significance of collaborations and partnership working between HEIs and external organisationsQAA amplified version of the Code of Practice, October 2010

‘Roberts’ funding linked in to ‘skills related to knowledge transfer and public engagement.’

AHRC and ESRC (2007 and 2009) raise the profile of Knowledge Transfer and Public Engagement (with specific reference to postgraduate skills/training) in their strategic aims.

Browne Report (2010) talks about giving priority funding to taught postgraduate courses that are ‘in the public interest’

The Research Agenda: Focus on ‘Impact’

Impact is a key theme at Research Council level

RCUK: Our vision for Public Engagement with Research

Common to AHRC & ESRC strategic aims

Both councils explicitly pull this through to their expectations for training

AHRC goes one step further and opening supports the idea that formal training is not the most appropriate way to give students opportunities to develop certain skills and competencies.

The Research Agenda: The REF & Impact

Under the proposals for the REF which were consulted on in 2009, assessment of the impact of academic research will play a significant part in the UK-wide quality assessment to be conducted as the REF in 2014.

The inclusion of impact is a major new element in research assessment which will determine funding allocations, provide quality benchmarks and demonstrate the value of investment.

The REF Impact Pilot Report (Nov., 2010) recommended that public engagement should be counted as impact.

In terms of the REF, good public engagement would be activity which demonstrated:1. Clear link between research and engagement activity2. Evidence of dissemination3. Clear explanation of the significance or benefit to the audience4. Activities beyond public lectures or those that are sustainable or create

a legacy (RLO?)5. Clear benefits to intermediaries (such as curators, cultural institutions.)

The Concordat: An agreement between funders and employers of researchers in the UK.

Key aim is to ‘improve the quantity, quality and impact of research for the benefit of the UK society and economy.

Principle 5: Researchers should develop their ability to transfer and exploit knowledge where appropriate and facilitate its use in policy making and the commercialisation of research for the benefit of […] wider society and the economy as a whole.

Researcher Development Agenda 1

Developed in collaboration with researchers, researcher developers, employers, RCUK, QAA. Endorsed by RCUK, HEA and QAA.

The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is a tool for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers in higher education.

Researcher Development Agenda 2: The Researcher Development Framework

ESRC Science & Society StrategyKey strategic aim: To engage with teachers, young people and education stakeholders to help equip young people with the skills to become informed citizens.

AHRC KT Strategy 2008-11Focuses on policy development and advocacy, building and sustaining strategic partnerships and connecting partners (example: collaborate partnership funding opportunities with NCCPE and BBC.)

RCUK: Our Vision for Public Engagement with ResearchMentioned before under research agenda…Vision is:• To enable society to value and have confidence in research processes and

outputs• For PE to inspire young people to pursue research careers• To increase the societal impact of research by creating a culture where:

o The research sector and researchers themselves value PE as importanto An awareness of social and ethical issues which informs research decisions.

The Public Engagement Agenda

• Published last week

• Intention to make research more relevant, and to promote accountability and transparency.

• Complementary to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

• PGs are explicitly included.

• Foreword by David Willetts (BIS): committed to fostering public engagement, recognising its value for research and society; examples of art and science festivals, school workshops and research projects involving local communities.

• Remaining challenge to embed public engagement activities, to continue to improve their scope and quality, to bring initiatives together better for greater effect, and to assess their impact.

• Unambiguous statement of the expectations and responsibilities of research funders in the UK in meeting this challenge.

• Set of principles for the future support of public engagement within research organisations requiring PE be made a strategic priority for HEIs, that encourages HEIs to recognise and encourage PE and offers appropriate training, support and opportunities for researchers to undertake PE.

Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research

There are four main ways to fund public engagement:

1. As part of research grants from the Research Councils, or other research funders

2. Through dedicated public engagement funding streams

3. Through grants from trusts and foundations

4. Through partnerships, and other collaborative working

Funding

AHRC - Collaborative Research Training - Student Led Initiative Awards Up to £2,000 each. To support the establishment of innovative collaborative research training programmes, originated by and run for postgraduate doctoral students that have a subject - or discipline - specific focus. Specific research training allows institutions to offer such training to groups of students where it is not possible or cost-effective to provide the training in just one department or institution. No deadline.

Paul Hamlyn FoundationAn independent grant-making organisation aiming to improve people's potential and quality of life. Funding is available for almost any kind of project which improves people's lives and the main streams are arts, education and learning and social justice. There are no minimum or maximum grant limits, but amounts are typically £5000 - £200,000. There are no deadlines and calls are open throughout the year.

Lottery Awards for AllThe Lottery funded Awards for All scheme offers grants for projects which benefit the community and if your public engagement ideas would benefit the local community you may be able to apply for funding of up to £10000. Applications can be made at any time.

Wellcome Trust People Awards?? Aims to encourage high quality interdisciplinary practice and collaborative partnerships and toinvestigate and test new methods of engagement, participation and education. (up to £30,000) - Deadline 28th January 2011

Funding

Engaging with Radical Ideas Postgraduate Public Engagement Training Day

Engaging with Radical IdeasSeries of Postgraduate Public Engagement WorkshopUniversity of ExeterThe long-term aim of the project is to create a sustainable network of PhD students working on radical ideas in the South West who are committed to challenging the boundaries between academia and the wider community.

ResearcherCuratorCollaboration between University of Nottingham, Trent University & the Galleries of JusticeThe ResearcherCurator programme is an innovative career development opportunity for postgraduate researchers in the arts and humanities. It offers researchers from six of the East Midland's leading universities to gain valuable training and practical experience in curating part of a public programme in collaboration with Nottingham's renowned Galleries of Justice.

Examples of funded PG Initiatives Working in Public Engagement

Engaging Researcher: Collaboration between Vitae & NCCPEOne day professional development event designed to enhance researchers’ public engagement skills Training sessions at various levels from working with schools to co-producing your research with members of the public.Chance for researchers to develop a partnership with a range of exhibitors and apply for funding of up to £1000 in the Public Engagement Opportunity Zone. In addition this programme offers a £5,000 seed fund to support new collaborative partnerships between researchers attending ‘The Engaging Researcher' on 6 July 2010, and organisations offering public engagement opportunities e.g. museums, galleries and festivals.

One final example…

Workshop

20 minutes: Look through examples from database of practise, NCCPE resources (individually)

30 minutes: Using DoP headings in groups of 4 mind map an idea for a researcher development activity based around Public Engagement

30 minutes: Report back to group and get feedback

20 minutes: Write project/activity/idea overview (as you might do for a funding proposal – setting policy context) 20 Minutes: Summary and Discussion of next steps

1. Title2. Outline3. What skills will this practice develop?4. Who is the audience?5. How does it relate to the RDF?6. What are the main features of this provision and how does it relate to policy?7. What are the aims & expected outcomes?8. What are the key longer term objectives?9. Are there prerequisites for participation?10. How many can participate?11. How will you monitor effectiveness?12. What are the benefits?13. What are the challenges?14. What are the next steps?

Headings from the Database of Practice