Outreach and public engagement
Public engagement and outreach activities are important to universities and are often driven by funder expectations or a need to increase and diversify student recruitment. There is a growing need for accountability on the part of universities and researchers regarding research.
Questions are also asked about research, what is being done, how is it being done, who for and why. Researchers therefore have a social responsibility to explain the research so that everyone can understand research and have a say in whether they wish it to continue. Researchers should explain how their research is relevant to all. There remains mistrust of researchers amongst some members of the population. Public trust is essential to research, without it researchers will struggle to convince governments to invest in research and some research requires recruitment and engagement of the public to succeed.
Outreach and public engagement events also inspire the next generation of researchers. Public engagement and outreach can help meet these expectations. However, only if they reach all people, communities and groups. Failure to adopt diverse and inclusive approaches to these activities, or simply ignoring some groups altogether, will leave some feeling ostracised and that their views and feelings are irrelevant.
It can be difficult to think about how to engage everyone and there is rarely a one size fits all solution. Activities and events will need to understand the needs of the potential audience and what they want to get from an event or activity. It therefore is useful to do a bit of research in advance and spend some time thinking about what we are trying to achieve with an activity and why. Thinking about our aims in advance will also help us how and what we will measure to determine whether we have achieved our aims.
Diversifying outreach checklist
- Have you considered the diversity of the groups and people who will potentially benefit, or be impacted (negatively and positively), by your research, people and groups, concerning demographic measures such as age, gender, socio-economic indices, ethnicity, disability, education, sexual orientation?
- Have you considered creating a public engagement forum?
- How will you communicate your research to the diversity of taxpayers, and potential beneficiaries, people and groups, concerning demographic measures such as age, gender, socio-economic indices, ethnicity, disability, education, and sexual orientation?
- Have you considered different types of outreach activities to reach a more diverse audience?
- Have you considered the language, imagery, accessibility and diversity of examples used in your outreach materials e.g., vlogs, websites, leaflets, posters, talks, interactive exhibits and workshops?
- Do you consider the diverse needs of potential audiences to ensure your outreach activities are inclusive and accessible e.g., location, time, cost, building accessibility (such wheelchair accessible, accessible toilet facilities, hearing loops, stream capture of text, sign language, microphones, brail), cultural needs, caring responsibilities, inclusive dietary and cultural needs for refreshments, other cultural, inclusive and support needs such as breastfeeding rooms, quiet rooms or areas, gender neutral toilets, use of pronouns?
- What have you done to understand the needs and interests of your potential audience?
- Have you adapted your activities and materials to the needs and interests of your audience?
- Do you assess and reflect upon the diversity of attendees at outreach activities?
- How do advertise outreach activities or agree to invitations for activities? Do these represent a diverse population of people?
- Do your public-facing materials e.g., webpages, demonstrate your team’s commitment to EDI?