Relevant to: Research, Policy, Practice, General Public
Sector: Cross-sectoral
Summary: The United Kingdom’s National Coordinating Council for Public Engagement (NCCPE) argues that engaging with the public is of increasing strategic importance for the higher education sector. This article provides a broad definition and case studies of public engagement, as well as practical tools for public engagement.

This article provides a broad definition of public engagement, as used by the National Coordinating Council for Public Engagement (NCCPE) in the United Kingdom. The NCCPE provides case studies of public engagement activities, as well as tools and techniques for public engagement.

According to the NCCPE, public engagement is defined as:

Public engagement describes the myriad of ways in which the activity and benefits of higher education and research can be shared with the public. Engagement is by definition a twoway process, involving interaction and listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit.

This definition of public engagement is consistent with the NCCPE’s core aim:

To create a culture within UK higher education where public engagement is formalised and embedded as a valued and recognised activity for staff at all levels and for students

Thus the NCCPE is not only seeking to encourage public engagement in the higher education sector, but to see a culture shift that re-connects universities with their roots and clearly demonstrates their commitment to the public good.

The NCCPE argues that engaging with the public is of increasing strategic importance for the higher education sector as it strengthens relevance, responsiveness and accountability, as well as builds trust. Public engagement can also enrich and animate the work of universities with new ideas, critical challenges and curiosity.

This article was developed based on the video, what is public engagement, developed by the NCCPE:
https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/about-engagement/what-public-engagement
Accessed on 28/01/2018