CENTRE FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Professor Anthony HollanderAs scientists, we're sometimes viewed as another species. I'm on a bit of a mission to break down that stereotype by showing that I'm a human being.
School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Big bubbles - funded in partnership with the British Science Association >
Funding
There are a number of ways to fund your public engagement work:
We receive regular updates about funding opportunities; please contact us if you have something specific in mind. Please also sign up for the Engagers’ Digest to receive news of general public engagement funding opportunities, including latest funding updates.
Research Grants
The ‘research impact’ agenda relates to funding agencies wanting to recognise and realise ‘the contribution of excellent research’. Read more about the research impact agenda and how it might affect researchers. Public engagement is a legitimate element and cost to include in a grant application. These costs might include – training, venue hire, design, publicity, materials (exhibits, displays, hands-on activities), volunteer costs (refreshments, T-shirts), transportation, evaluation and consultant fees.
Specific funding for public engagement
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement maintains an up-to-date list of national funding opportunities for public engagement. These include the Research Councils, Wellcome Trust and other professional bodies such as the Institute of Physics and the Royal Academy of Engineering. The University’s Research and Enterprise Development (RED) office keeps track of research-related funding opportunities, some of which may include knowledge exchange (contact Andrew Wray; email: andrew.wray@bristol.ac.uk), or public engagement components.
Potential local (Bristol) funding sources include:
- Quartet Community Foundation
- University of Bristol Alumni Foundation
- Science City Bristol
- South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA).
Partnering
Partnering with other organisations can be key to developing and running successful public engagement projects. Partnering will not necessarily eliminate the need for funding, but it can have multiple benefits, some of which may form ‘in-kind’ contributions. Potential benefits include:
- Increasing the relevance of the event, through appropriate targeting and collaborative development - for example, by contributing to an ongoing programme of events such as science cafés
- Increasing the success of the events/activities, though access to partners' audiences and wider publicity
- Building good relationships outside the University
- Reducing the cost of events, through access to venues etc.
- Sharing the load.
The Centre for Public Engagement is making and fostering links with partners across the city and region, through, for example, Engaged University Fora, managed by the Engaged University Steering Group (EUSG). Please contact us if you are looking for a specific organisation, or type of organisation to partner with.