{"id":959,"date":"2022-11-25T08:22:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T08:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/publicengagement\/?p=959"},"modified":"2022-11-25T11:01:12","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T11:01:12","slug":"zero-public-engagement-in-ref-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/publicengagement\/2022\/11\/25\/zero-public-engagement-in-ref-2028\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 in REF 2028?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though the results from the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021<\/a> are only just out, after an event I recently attended, I\u2019ve been thinking about the next one, and how there needs to be less use of the term \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 in the impact case studies. In fact, I want to see none.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ok, so let me explain.<\/p>\n

Public Engagement in the REF 2021<\/h1>\n

The event, hosted by the Royal Society and the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement,\u00a0 was looking at Public Engagement in the REF 2021. The session was attended by a range of senior people in academia, funders, and learned societies. It was also great to see a good representation of Public Engagement Professionals in the room.<\/p>\n

There was a prevalence throughout the day in the plenary and small group sessions to hear the use of the catch-all term of \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 - not surprising, it was an event about public engagement!<\/p>\n

But, as readers of this blog will know, \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 isn\u2019t a singular thing: it works through a diverse set of activities, it has (too) many agendas to speak to, it involves many (not one singular) publics, and has many potential outcomes.<\/p>\n

A problematic umbrella term<\/h1>\n

The use of this umbrella term, I think, is now causing problems. Each time anyone reads, hears, or uses it, they have to interpret what it means for themselves by understanding the context it is being used in.<\/p>\n

If you say \u201cI did some public engagement\u201d you\u2019re potentially doing a disservice to your work, it says nothing at all about what you actually did, who was involved, or why you were doing it.<\/p>\n

Did you work with a museum curator who used your research in an exhibition? Did you have some meetings with someone? Did you create an interactive display in a pop-up shop? Did you create a physical theatre performance? Were you interviewed for a documentary or a news programme?<\/p>\n

In the discussions we had at the event, it was clear that the lack of precision about what was actually done and why, had a significant impact on how well the public engagement was described, understood and, importantly for the REF, assessed.<\/p>\n

When talking with people about why public engagement is important, I often place public engagement alongside the other broad \u201cpathways to impact\u201d of policy, industry, and media. We will find teams of people in universities who are responsible for these areas and may well have parallel terms like Policy Engagement in their job\/team titles.<\/p>\n

But if you search through the bank of Impact Case Studies you won\u2019t find case studies stating that the academics did \u201cpolicy engagement\u201d or \u201cindustry engagement\u201d. You\u2019ll find precise language of the activity that took place, going on placements, contributing to an All-Party Parliamentary Groups, using Knowledge Transfer Partnerships or undertaking Collaborative Research. Yet, we can find many impact case studies that use the term \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 (or similarly vague terms like \u2018Community Engagement').<\/p>\n

Is it really a validation of our work?<\/h1>\n

In fact, about half of the Impact Case Studies in both REF2014 and REF2021 featured the term \u2018Public Engagement\u2019. \u00a0Some might have been hoping for an increase. I can see why. Many of us have spent years advocating for public engagement with research and an increase in public engagement in the REF could be seen as a validation of our work.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019m not so sure.<\/p>\n

Our language reflects our thinking and our understanding, does the continued use of this broad term demonstrate a sector that hasn\u2019t interrogated the practice(s) of public engagement robustly enough to develop a common language that accurately describes the range and complexity of activity that is currently delivered under this umbrella term?<\/p>\n

Down with \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 (the term, not the practice)<\/h1>\n

With this in mind, I have come away with a desire to see a significant drop (maybe to zero) in the number of times we see the phrase \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 in the Impact Case Studies for REF2028.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that public engagement isn\u2019t important. It\u2019s vital if we are to deliver our ambitions to \u201cforge much deeper connections with wider society\u201d [UKRI PE Strategy]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But we should be able to do better in how we describe our work. Being clear about who we are engaging, why, what interventions were delivered, and demonstrating the value of that engagement is essential. Continuing to use the umbrella term \u2018Public Engagement\u2019, rather than being precise about what has been done, obscures some amazing work (and can also elevate poor practice).<\/p>\n

Personally, I will be encouraging my colleagues to stop using the term \u2018Public Engagement\u2019 in their planning for the next REF.<\/p>\n

Helen Featherstone is Head of Public Engagement at the University of Bath<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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