Share your thoughts on how well we engage the public in our research, teaching and cultural activities

Our University currently holds a Gold Engage Watermark which recognises our commitment to and the ways in which we engage the public in our research, teaching and culture activities. Our public engagement activity is supported by our strategic goal of Social Responsibility.

The Watermark is granted by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) – it is now time for us to renew our award and we need your support.

We now invite you to take part in a survey to share how well you think we support public engagement. The survey will ask for your reflections on leadership, communication, practical support, reward and recognition. Your thoughts, experiences and perspectives are invaluable and will help shape how we enhance and improve our support and practice for engaging the public in our work.

The survey is part of the Watermark process. This also involves the completion of an application form, two assessed site visits and the development of an action plan for the next three years.

The survey will take around 15 min to complete and is open to those with and without direct experience of public engagement across the University.

To say thank you for your time, for every completed survey, we will make a £2 charitable donation to our campus-based and student-led Manchester Central Foodbank, which provides support and help to our local communities and people in crisis.

To complete the survey by the 31 March 2023, please follow the link that is applicable to you:

• University All Staff and Research Student – Engage Watermark Survey
• Partner Engage Watermark Survey (for our external community and organisation partners)

Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility, said: “We have a long history of engaging the public in our work and we are committed to enabling high quality engagement through our research, teaching and wider social responsibility activities. I encourage you to take part in the Watermark survey to help further embed a culture of purposeful, inclusive and innovative public engagement practice and support for our staff, students and community partners.”

What does public engagement look like at Manchester?
The breadth of our public engagement activities are as diverse as the local, national and international communities we engage. Engagement can range from information-giving activities to activities that are public-led and everything in between. Examples of our public engagement include working with schools, festivals, participative research, patient involvement in research, citizen science, policy engagement and cultural engagement. Many of our teaching and learning programmes bring community engagement into the curriculum and we have a thriving culture and practice of student volunteering, which is linked to the student experience at Manchester.

Want to know more?
Email: Dee-Ann Johnson, Public Engagement Manager, Office for Social Responsibility: Dee-Ann.Johnson@manchester.ac.uk