Public Engagement

A commitment to understanding the distinct features of public engagement with research at Bath Spa University.

Determining how our strong emphasis on practice-based research might make our engagement opportunities distinct, and linking our understanding to other areas across the University, such as widening participation and REF Impact.

A commitment to celebrating our successes and learning from the challenges we have faced.

This aim to raise the profile of our research will enable us to add value to our staff’s research, and help to communicate our successes to some of the audiences which we may wish to work with in future.

A commitment to developing institutional support for engagement with research.

Aiming to coordinate activities across the University, and work with both internal and external stakeholders to maximise our impact. To empower staff to gain training, advice and support where needed to enhance their engagement activities.

A commitment to learn from our activities and their evaluation, and to develop our engagement offering.

We must ensure that best practice is at the heart of our public engagement development, and that our interactions are partner-focused and meaningful, providing safe spaces for knowledge exchange and two-way learning.

The University’s public engagement activities are framed by our commitment to leveraging our research expertise. The following examples all illustrate the powerful impact of our work with different communities.

• Changing the way that we view video games and their effects
  Professor Peter Etchells’ programme of research and public engagement has enhanced our understanding of how video game play specifically, and screen time more generally, affect behaviour and health.

• Increasing Resilience in Remote Societies
  BSU researchers Rich Johnson and Sara Penrhyn-Jones worked with remote communities in India and Kiribati to produce a series of bilingual documentary films that amplify their voice in understanding climate change and environmental hazards.

• The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak
  Dr Laura Purcell Gate’s work with Wattle and Daub Theatre Company performed the story of Tarrare, using puppetry to explore our perceptions of non-normative bodies. Working with medical and nursing students on the show also helped to shape their own understanding of the relationship between medical professional and patient.

• Multi-Media Histories
  Dr Richard White’s walking arts practice has shaped the way in which key heritage sites in the south west of England now engage their visitors, particularly in terms of how the heritage of Bath’s slave-ownership is presented to and discussed with the public.

• Shextreme Festival
  Shextreme Film Festival is the world’s first film festival celebrating women in adventure, held in Bristol every year since 2015, with Shextreme Film Tours in the UK and France.

• Forest of Imagination
  Forest of Imagination is a partnership with local businesses and civic authorities which uses creativity to transform urban spaces in an effort to change lives, communities, cities and economies

We work closely with a number of organisations to help ensure that we are maximising our reach into the community:

• The National Co-Ordinating Centre for Public Engagement
  We are signatories of the NCCPE’s Manifesto for Public Engagement

• The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
  Providing research for Parliament and parliamentary audiences

• The Universities Policy Engagement Network
  Contributing evidence to the policymaking process

We are always delighted to meet any members of the community who would like to get involved in co-creating research, performances, reports, workshops or similar with our staff and students.

Please contact our Research Support Office:
researchsupportoffice@bathspa.ac.uk