Upstream Engagement is a new strategic priority for us in the Public Engagement Unit, it is another tool that helps us fulfil our aim of improving research for everyone. We want to understand what upstream work already happens at the University of Bath, what capacity and capability exists among researchers and professional services staff, and how we can build the conditions for more and better upstream engagement.
But why upstream engagement? And how is this already changing how we work?
Why Upstream Engagement?
Upstream engagement means working early and proactively, where influence is greatest and before momentum takes hold. Like standing near the source of a river, it allows us to help shape the direction of travel, rather than trying to alter its course once it is already flowing downstream. By engaging upstream, we can direct resources, attention and support towards those who need them most, helping to create better outcomes for all and reduce the need for later interventions.
We define upstream engagement as working with individuals and communities from outside research in the early stages of research (usually before you apply for research funding).
We have seen an increased need for upstream engagement across the University of Bath. This includes a whole range of activities from citizens panels to deliberative engagement to patient and early public involvement and engagement (PPIE). What all of these have in common is an ambition to influence what research is done and how it is done so that it is more inclusive, impactful and responsive to societal and public needs.
We also know that publics want to be involved at the early stages of research. Publics expect to have input on the key questions that are answered in the early stages of research. Questions like: what are the research questions? What methodology will be used? What are the intended outcomes? Who will be involved in the research and how?
Once the research is funded it’s much harder to change the answer to these questions. So, if we want our research to be responsive to public needs, to be impactful and to be inclusive of those affected by and interested in the research then we need to engage and involve people upstream. If we only engage publics in a downstream way we often can’t make the changes that publics expect and we risk losing the benefits of involvement/engagement and public trust in research and research institutions.
How are we working differently?
This approach to upstream engagement has already prompted the PEU to work differently. Usually we work in a supportive, capacity building way. We don’t do engagement or involvement ourselves, we support researchers and professional services staff to do it.
However, for our new Upstream Engagement Pilot we are changing that. We are supporting three projects to run a series of three upstream engagement community workshops. As Upstream Engagement Manager, I will be supporting the building and holding of relationships with public groups and offering a substantial amount of my time and expertise to design, facilitate and evaluate these workshops
Why are we doing this?
In the earlier phases of ParticipatoryResearch@Bath we have seen that researchers don’t always have the capacity and capability to create and hold ethical relationships with public groups. We know that researchers struggle with ‘getting out there’ and forming relationships that could benefit their research at the upstream stage. This is often because we don't have the right support and infrastructure to enable researchers to do this work. It is a priority for us to change this.
We also know that when these relationships go wrong not only can you lose the benefits of good engagement/involvement, but you can actively harm communities. This could be through extracting knowledge and/or resources without compensating them, disappearing halfway through a project/relationship and leaving communities exposed or ending relationships badly without outputs for communities or a clear sense of what difference their contributions have made.
By holding these relationships ourselves alongside researchers we are making sure that we take an ethical approach to these relationships. It also means that researchers get to be participants alongside the public contributors. This gives them space to reflect and be part of the dialogue with public contributors without having to worry about holding the space and facilitating that dialogue.
Whilst I am by no means a neutral facilitator (I still work for the University of Bath), I am separate from the research project itself helping us to flatten power dynamics usually present in researcher led events. Our expertise in facilitation and relational work means we can set these workshops up for success.
Being on the ground in this way is also vital for us to learn more about upstream engagement at the University of Bath. What kind of support and infrastructure does the University need to let projects like these thrive? This new way of working might feel unfamiliar, but it helps us capture the learning we need to make an institutional case for upstream engagement.
What’s next?
The three upstream engagement pilot projects are underway. We’ll be collecting the learning from them as we go alongside reviewing what we already know about upstream engagement from our other programmes. We’ll be sharing more reflections as we go.
A prompt for anyone interested in this work. Have you ever changed the way you work to respond to a new priority? This could be upstream engagement, responsible research and innovation, PPIE or something completely different. What made you decide you needed to work in a different way and how did it affect the results?
Rob Cooper is the Upstream Engagement Manager at the University of Bath.
Respond
