What is engagement?

Engagement (also referred to as public engagement) is about people inside universities interacting with those outside universities to share knowledge and research, collaborate on ideas, co-produce new approaches and enable curiosity, exploration and conversation. Through it everyone gains valuable interactions and insights, in turn contributing to societal development and progress.

It's sometimes referred to as Public Engagement, Impact, Outreach, Widening Participation or several other terms. You can read more about the different terms and what they mean on our Terms for Engagement PadletLink opens in a new window.

Examples of engagement

Collaborating on a piece of research/ solutions with community partners
Public talks
Advising policy makers
Working with artists on exhibitions/ installations
Visiting schools
Consulting patient groups on a clinical trial
Live events, social media, website, television, books

Explore more detailed examples on our Examples of Engagement Padlet. You can also look at the Case Studies section of the Skills Festival for in-depth examples.

Who are the "Public"?

Warwick Institute of Engagement supports engagement with many different types of people. We always try to avoid thinking of just the "general public" and aim to be specific about who we want to engage with. Our Audience Development Toolkit is a good place to start if you want help mapping out your own potential public audience. The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) also produce this useful diagram which gives a good overview of the different types of people we might be thinking of when we say the "public".

Diagram showing audiences segmented into four categories. Follow the link for the NCCPE accessible version.

From NCCPE: Who are the Public

The Engaged University

The NCCPE has a guide on what an Engaged University looks like. This diagram helps to summarise the different types of engagement that Warwick Institute of Engagement supports.

This diagram from the NCCPE shows 4 different categories of activity that an engaged university would do. Follow the linked source for accessible version.

From NCCPE: What does an Engaged University Look Like?

Why does engagement matter?

For you

Why engagement matters to you will be individual to you and something you should reflect upon. However WIE believe there are many benefits to staff for getting involved with engagement, including:

Personal enrichment (many people enjoy their engagement work and find it very rewarding)
Stronger research and teaching more connected to society
Opportunity to develop new skills and set yourself new challenges
Chance to share what you're passionate about with more people
Influence more people and voices to be passionate about the subject your care about

We also run the Warwick Award for Public and Community Engagement, celebrating students and staff for their engagement work.

For Warwick

Engagement is of huge value to the University of Warwick. It is central to much of the university strategy for both research and teaching and as such we've invested heavily in the launch of an Institute of Engagement (WIE), the hosting of the British Science Festival in 2019, and as part of City of Culture 2021. We have signed the NCCPE Manifesto for Public EngagementLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window and the Civic University AgreementLink opens in a new window Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window - publicly declaring our commitment to this work.

So what makes us see this work as so valuable?

Sir David Normington (chair of council) wrote the following upon the launch of the Institute, demonstrating the value he sees this work as having for the benefit of our institution.

"I’m thrilled to see the launch of the Warwick Institute of Engagement and want to offer my thanks and support to all the staff and students who get involved. The Institute supports the University’s 2030 strategy in a number of important ways.

It helps us play a regional and national leadership role as a modern university working with local communities to deliver place-based and people-focused results; it helps us drive innovation through maximising the exchange of knowledge between the university and society to enrich learning and innovation, stimulate innovation and partnerships; it gives us a stronger role in championing inclusion – through public discussion, knowledge curation and generation; It enhances the teaching experience we offer Warwick students, as well as contributing towards skills and employability; it informs our research and sharpens our impact, and it gives us a genuine platform for Warwick to play our part even more strongly in national and international debate, social, economic and policy development.

Working hand in hand with our communities is strategically critical for Warwick. Now, in 2020, it is more important than ever for universities to look to nurture future generations passionate about research and innovation, and to listen to public concerns and aspirations. I look forward to seeing much more from WIE and its foundation fellows."

For Society

Engagement work has many benefits for society that we're only just beginning to see recognised. The role of an engaged university is to support society through connection to the important work already going on here. Through this we can:

Inspire the next generation
Keep research relevant and impactful
Include more voices in the important conversations that affect us all
Provide talented graduates with the skills and experience to embed engagement lessons throughout their careers

For more on this, see the NCCPE Case for EngagementLink opens in a new window.

Video: why does public engagement matter for Warwick students?

A student perspective

Public Engagement - when science meets society: What it is, why it matters, and why it's sometimes problematicLink opens in a new window

Public Engagement can even mean getting your hands dirty – as these Fijian scientists did when developing a waste disposal strategy together with some villagers

By Vincent Gerwent

This blog was written by a student on our undergraduate IATL module. To find out about our postgraduate module on Public Engagement, click hereLink opens in a new window.

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