Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A funded research team runs public dialogue workshops during the project to shape which questions the study prioritises (‘collaborate’ mode).
- Is an instance
Researchers hold a public talk at a science festival explaining findings from a completed study (‘transmit’ mode).
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A university press release aimed at journalists, with no interactive or listening component, is publicity, not public engagement in the NCCPE two-way sense.
Editorial commentary
Public engagement with research (PER) is engagement activity directly connected to a specific piece of research — involving publics in shaping research questions, dialogue during the research itself, or engagement with findings once produced — as distinct from broader public engagement with higher education or science in general, which need not tie back to any one research project. UKRI uses the PER label specifically to mark this narrower, research-anchored scope.
The NCCPE definition and its ‘two-way’ emphasis
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) defines public engagement as the many ways the activity and benefits of research and higher education can be shared with the public, stressing that engagement is by definition two-way: it involves interaction and listening, aiming for mutual benefit, not one-directional dissemination of findings to a passive audience. That two-way emphasis is what separates ‘engagement’ from simple science communication.
Transmit, consult, collaborate
PER frameworks (NCCPE, Wellcome Trust) commonly describe a spectrum of modes: ‘transmit’ (sharing information one-way, e.g. a public talk or exhibit), ‘consult’ (asking for public input on a defined question, e.g. a survey or focus group), and ‘collaborate’ (publics as active partners shaping the work, closer to co-production). Higher-intensity modes generally require more sustained relationship-building and are harder to scale, which is why most engagement programmes deliberately mix modes rather than aiming for ‘collaborate’ everywhere.
How funders assess it
UKRI and other funders increasingly expect PER activity to be planned, resourced and reported alongside the research itself, rather than treated as an afterthought once findings exist — reflected historically in dedicated grant-application sections (see pathway to impact) and now folded into impact narratives more broadly. PER differs from patient and public involvement in health research specifically in degree and formality: PPI frameworks (NIHR) draw a precise three-way distinction between involvement, engagement and participation that PER’s broader ‘transmit/consult/collaborate’ spectrum doesn’t itself require.
References
- NCCPE, ‘What is public engagement?’; UKRI guidance on public engagement with research; Wellcome Trust, ‘Engaging Science’ strategy.
Also known as
PER · Research-specific public engagement
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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