The Public Engagement Unit have been working with researchers since 2012 to support a positive culture of public engagement with research. Over this period we believe that public engagement can:

• improve the quality and impact of your research
• increase the visibility of your research
  
• support your skills development and enhance your career and promotion prospects

Improving the quality and impact of your research

Engaging public groups with your research can offer fresh perspectives on your work in a variety of ways for example engagement can help shape your research questions as well as challenge any assumptions you have about your research or the methods you are using. Ultimately engagement has the potential to enrich the focus, clarity and relevance of your research. Impact is the change to society or the economy that comes from your research and whilst public engagement itself is not always impact engaging public groups with your work can also be a valuable route to generating that change.

If you are interested in finding out more about how public engagement can be a rout to impact the Research and Innovation Services have a Planning for Impact Toolkit to help you to think through who might benefit from your research and how.

For further information on the benefits of public engagement for you, see the UK Research and Innovation’s 'What's in it for me?' guide.

Work by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement with universities and research institutions have revealed some of the key benefits to people and communities of engaging with research. Public engagement can help:

• increase the accountability and transparency of research
• help research and universities respond to social needs locally, nationally and globally
• help to build trust and mutual understanding

Major funding organisations such as UK Research and Innovation are committed to supporting and rewarding researchers to engage people, communities and society with their research aiming to achieve a culture where public engagement is embedded alongside research and valued as an important activity. As such the Research Councils are signatories of the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research, which outlines the expectations and responsibilities of research funders with respect to public engagement.

Effective public engagement can be a route to impact which can be included in the Pathways to Impact section of the Research Councils’ grant applications.

Impact is the change to society or the economy that comes from your research. Public engagement can be a rewarding and useful way to generate that change and public engagement activity can be included your Pathways to Impact section of a Research Councils' grant applications. If you are interested in including public engagement in your Impact Summary the Research and Innovation Services have a Planning for Impact Toolkit to support you to think through who might benefit from your research and how. The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement also have a useful guide on Pathways to Impact.