Why should you engage?

Engagement and 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 Engagement and the Civic University Agreement - 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."

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Engagement and funders

The NCCPE (National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement) have also summarised "the case for engagement" as many funders and universities see it in the following five arguments:

Accountability

• Increasingly, institutions need to be open and transparent about what they are spending public money on – and why.

• The process of public engagement – open, two-way conversations about what we do and why – helps to build understanding and appreciation of universities and help universities to better fit their work to the expectations of wider society.

Values and purpose

• Increasingly, organisations are expected to ‘live’ their values. Many feel that universities have lost their way in the pursuit of narrowly defined notions of excellence and need to re-connect with their roots, to demonstrate more clearly their commitment to public good.

• The values that drive public engagement – commitment to wider social benefit, to dialogue and to mutuality – are ones that help re-balance the modern university and reconnect it to its roots.

Trust

• Trust is hard won and easily eroded – evidenced in crises like the MMR debate, GM crops and climate science. Universities need to be part of the debate on the social and ethical implications of research.

• Public engagement is a mind-set that acknowledges that the public have a genuine stake in the work of universities – and wisdom and sensitivities that must be listened to and acknowledged. Investing the time to genuinely engage with the public is a critical way of negotiating universities’ precious licence to practice.

Relevance

• How knowledge is generated and consumed has seen massive change in the last 30 years – for instance in the transformation of the media and the explosion of new ways of accessing and sharing expertise. Without engagement, universities risk appearing out of touch and increasingly irrelevant.

• Dialogue and through, open-ended, curiosity-driven conversations and collaborations which respect the insights, experiences and expertise of the wider public enrich the focus, clarity and relevance of research and teaching.

Responsiveness

• Public institutions and businesses can no longer offer their services on their own terms. Students, the wider public, and policy makers are increasingly making their voices heard about the future of universities.

• At the root of these changes is a re-balancing of power between institutions and citizens. Public engagement helps universities respond positively – by building relationships animated by dialogue, partnership and co-production, rather than simply by customer satisfaction.

Source: NCCPE 2020, Why Does Public Engagement Matter

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Engagement and 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 students (and staff!) for getting involved with engagement, including:

• Personal enrichment (many people enjoy their engagement work and find it very rewarding)
• Stronger research more connected to society
• Opportunity to have a real impact with your coursework and see how your degree connects 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

Testimonials

In the below videos colleagues from across the institution share their reflections on why engagement matters to them and their research.

The final two videos provide a more in depth view of why these academics do engagement and the type of engagement they are involved in