Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research
QMU is committed to the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research. Public engagement is a broad term for a number of activities aimed at sharing research with the public. It is an exchange of knowledge, allowing researchers to meet with the wider community, to interact, listen and learn about who might benefit from their research, and how their research might meet the needs of society. Public engagement is also a way of encouraging people to take an active interest in research.
The Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research outlines the expectations and responsibilities of research funders with respect to public engagement, to help embed public engagement in universities and research institutes. This will enhance the future of research and benefit the UK society and economy.
By setting out clear expectations for research organisations, researcher managers and supporters and researchers themselves, the Concordat aims to strengthen existing good practice in public engagement by ensuring it is valued, recognised and supported.
Edinburgh Beltane Public Engagement Network
The Beltane Public Engagement Network is a partnership between Edinburgh Napier University, Heriot-Watt University, Queen Margaret University and The University of Edinburgh. The mission of the Beltane Network is to support and advance a culture of public engagement with research at its partner universities.
In support of this, QMU is a signatory to the Manifesto of the Beltane Public Engagement Network (external PDF). The Manifesto outlines the form, mission, identity, principles and values of the Beltane Public Engagement Network from November 2018 onwards. It has been drafted by public engagement professionals at the four universities in Edinburgh and approved by the academic leads for public engagement at those institutions.
National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE)
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement provides a ‘one stop shop’ for anyone in the university sector to access expertise and resources to support public engagement. We support public engagement with research through the NCCPE.
NCCPE’s Manifesto for Public Engagement
QMU was delighted to become a signatory to the NCCPE’s Manifesto for Public Engagement. Engagement has always been an integral part of our mission. Becoming a signatory to the NCCPE Manifesto gave us an opportunity to re-state this commitment, exploring how these principles could become embedded within our research culture, incorporating the perspectives of stakeholders, user communities and members of the public.
QMU is dedicated to improving quality of life and building the evidence-base for policy and practice through world leading multidisciplinary, translational research and international collaboration. We initiate and share research ideas that are demand led and focused on a broader perspective. The value of our work is measured by its impact and the social usefulness, practicality and applicability of its outcomes.
We are committed to working at the intersection of conventional disciplinary groupings to create innovative approaches to contemporary societal challenges and public discourse; and to making a significant contribution to the creation and sharing of knowledge that reaches and influences a broad range of regional and international stakeholders.
