I am delighted to inform you that the public engagement framework has been launched for the university.

We use the term ‘public engagement (PE)’ to describe the ways in which we involve, connect and share our work with the public. PE can apply to any discipline and can be part of research, teaching or social responsibility – or even all three at the same time! Done well, public engagement is incredibly beneficial as well as rewarding. For example enabling knowledge sharing and exchange to solve problems and inspire new directions of work and inspiring future generations of researchers and students can stimulate new areas of research.

The public engagement framework “share, inspire, involve” was developed by myself and Suzanne Spicer and was informed by the findings from the survey work published in the public engagement survey (pdf).

Within the framework we have mapped the five strategic priorities for public engagement over the next few years. We strive to achieve high quality by improving the quality of the work we do and by creating a supportive environment to improve public engagement training and share best practice. We want to improve coordination to maximise the opportunities and effectiveness of the work we do and will strive to diversify the audiences we work with in accordance with the community engagement strategy priorities and also the needs of the audiences we work with. We will also capture data on the impact of the public engagement we do.

Over the years I have been heavily involved with public engagement activities and I have found it enormously rewarding and it has really enriched both my research but also my teaching practice. There are so many opportunities to get involved in public engagement- not just here but across the UK and internationally. Forthcoming event highlights include the Manchester Science Festival and our flagship Science Spectacular. Even if you are relatively experienced at PE, you can always learn more and I find the engagement@manchester lunchtime sessions a great way to hear new ideas and share tips with other people interested in public engagement. We have an amazing schedule of sessions this forthcoming academic year. Please come to our first session on the 18 October on the topic of “Storytelling and public engagement” at 1:00-2:30pm in the  Manchester Museum, The Study, Collection Room,

Dr Sheena Cruickshank, Academic Lead for Public Engagement, The University of Manchester

Twitter: #EngageMatters | @UoMEngage | @sheencr