Welcome to the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement Newsletter – October 2012

Engage 2012 at a glance – Programme now available online

We have launched our programme for Engage 2012 – so check it out! Our 3rd National Conference: Engage 2012 will explore how public engagement enables universities to mobilise knowledge in addressing challenges faced by society; to more rigorously demonstrate the impact of research; and to meet increasing demands for a ‘relevant’ curriculum that prepares students for life beyond university.

The conference takes place in Bristol on 5 & 6 December 2012. With keynote presenters including Carole Souter (CBE), Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund and David Sweeney, Director (Research, Innovation and Skills), HEFCE; themed workshops; and a host of other interactive sessions, delegates will be able to explore different aspects of the engagement agenda including research; teaching and learning; knowledge exchange; and social responsibility.

The event is aimed at anyone passionate about the role of public engagement in higher education and interested in helping universities better engage with society.
More information about the conference and our programme can be found here: engage-2012

Find out more by looking at the Engage 2012 at a glance Programme (pdf)

Engage 2012: Specialist Workshops

Do you work with people who have an interest in: Public engagement and Health Research; Museums; or Community University Partnerships? If so they may be interested in joining us for one of our specialist workshops. These workshops are part of our Engage 2012 conference programme, and we are offering a limited number of places to non – conference delegates. Aimed at anyone passionate about public engagement, who work for, work with, or would like to work with, universities and research institutes, the specialist workshops provide a unique opportunity to participate in Engage 2012. For further information visit our specialist workshop pages.

BIS Science and society consultation

BIS are currently consulting on their Science and Society strategy, and have posted some draft objectives, a blog by David Willetts, and are inviting comments. There’s a very tight deadline – they want comments by the end of October. You can find out more here.

Call for Public Engagement Associates

We are currently recruiting for Associates to help to deliver and support our work. Do you have experience in delivering consultancy services to staff in HEIs; developing online resources; running or contributing to training and development events; conducting desk research; or carrying out evaluation? If you have a passion for public engagement, experience and understanding of UK higher education, and a commitment to building and sharing learning and understanding of this important area, the NCCPE would like to hear from you. Closing date for applications is 5pm on 16 November, 2012 – Find out how to apply here.

Evaluating Digital Public Engagement Impacts: Practical Solutions

This workshop is an opportunity to find out about two of the projects funded by JISC as part of “Embedding impact analysis good practice in research” which the NCCPE has been supporting.

  • The Tracking Digital Impacts (TDI) team have developed a tool to assist in identifying the best medium to use when engaging with publics online.
  • The Public Engagement with Research Online (PERO) team have developed an initial framework to analyse the reach and significance of online public engagement with research.

If you would like to engage with other public engagement practitioners and impact analysts or learn from the findings of these two projects register here.

Posted on behalf of the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement

Email: nccpe.enquiries@uwe.ac.uk
Web: www.publicengagement.ac.uk
Twitter: @NCCPE