Tag: catalyst seed fund

Pathways to Culture Change Report

Posted by on in Upcoming opportunities

The University of Birmingham is pleased to have contributed to a new report from the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). The Pathways to Culture Change report focuses on learning from the 10 Catalyst Seed Fund projects (CSFs), including UoB. The report seeks to ensure that other HEIs can benefit from the insights of all institutions involved by sharing the journeys they have travelled, the learning they have done, and the tools they have generated.

The ten CSF projects were established in 2015 and have evidenced significant impact within their host universities. The Pathways to Culture Change report tells an encouraging story of what can be achieved relatively quickly with a limited budget. The CSF Pathways report provides useful insights for others wanting to develop their own project.

Read it here: Pathways to Culture Change Report

RCUK Catalyst Seed Fund – continuation funding for 2016-17

Posted by on in Funding, News

We are thrilled to announce University of Birmingham has been successful in securing continuation funding of the Research Council UK Catalyst Seed Fund (CSF). Funding has recently been confirmed for a further 12 month period from August 2016.

The RCUK CSF provides flexible funding directly to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to help create a culture where excellent public engagement with research is better embedded within the HEI and appropriately included within its policies, procedures and practices.

“The institutional-level funding complements the support provided to researchers via the project and grant-based approach of individual Research Councils and RCUK PER programmes, as well as policy mechanisms such as the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research, the UK Charter for Science and Society and the Manifesto for Public Engagement. The inclusion of public engagement within Research Councils ‘Pathways to Impact’ and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) also provide drivers to encourage HEIs to value, recognise and support public engagement with research.”

We also look forward to working more closely with RCUK and fellow CSF institutions, as well as key players such as the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) to share best practice and collectively champion for PER to be better rewarded, recognized and valued.

To read about our plans for year two visit this page.

CALLOUT OPEN: LEADING TO ENGAGE (L2E) – All Colleges

Posted by on in Funding, good practice, Upcoming opportunities

RCUK Catalyst Seed Fund:

LEADING TO ENGAGE (L2E)

LEADING TO ENGAGE (L2E) is a pilot programme that will recruit enthusiastic, forward-thinking College representatives with a passion for public engagement with research, civic responsibility and peer-to-peer mentorship. Mid-career candidates are invited to nominate themselves for inclusion in the cohort. Nominations will be reviewed by the Public Engagement with Research Committee (PERC) who will confirm the appropriateness of candidates with Heads of School/College and Directors of Research, who will make final decisions.

Expressions of interest should be sent to Public Engagement with Research Officer, Dr Caroline Gillett c.d.t.gillett@bham.ac.uk  ideally by December 22nd, 2015. Please put ‘L2E’ in the title of your email and provide a brief paragraph explaining your motivation for applying as well as any relevant experience you might already have doing public engagement. [The opportunity is not suitable for PhD/Masters students or Teaching Only staff].

The programme will take a maximum of four candidates per College, therefore candidates are encouraged to get in touch as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to seek approval from DORs etc. The L2E cohort will be announced in early-mid January.

The Programme is designed to catalyse culture change for public engagement with research within the Colleges, using a sustainable model which will enable candidates to take ownership of public engagement with research strategy within their College, helping lead College direction in this area with support from PERC and other relevant parties. The cohort will be invited to join PERC and it is hoped that PERC minutes will feed into Research and Research & Knowledge Transfer Committees.

Candidates are reminded that participation in the Programme will require a definite time commitment which they should be aware of before applying. There will be different phases to the Programme:

Read More “CALLOUT OPEN: LEADING TO ENGAGE (L2E) – All Colleges”

University of Birmingham joins RCUK Catalysts for Public Engagement with Research to deliver culture change

Posted by on in Awards and Prizes, Funding, News, Raising Awareness, Training Event

The University of Birmingham is thrilled to have been successfully awarded the Research Councils UK Public Engagement with Research Catalyst Seed Fund (CSF).

Building on the successes and momentum generated by the Catalyst funding and the Beacons for Public Engagement initiative, this new funding will help to catalyse change by ensuring that engaging the public becomes an integral part of the research process. Specifically, the CSF will provide flexible funding directly to higher education institutions to help create a culture where excellent public engagement with research is better embedded within the institution and appropriately included within its policies, procedures and practices.

University of Birmingham is among ten universities (listed below with their Principal Investigators) that will each receive £65,000 funding for public engagement activities over the next 12 months:

  • University of Birmingham: Professor Michael Whitby
  • University of Cambridge: Professor Lynn Gladden
  • University of Glasgow: Professor Jonathan Cooper
  • Imperial College London: Professor Maggie Dallman
  • King’s College London: Mr Chris Mottershead
  • University of Leeds: Professor David Hogg
  • University of Liverpool: Professor Dinah Birch
  • University of Oxford: Professor Ian Walmsley
  • University of Southampton: Professor Judith Petts
  • University of Warwick: Professor Pam Thomas

Professor John Womersley, RCUK’s Champion for Public Engagement with Research and Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), said: “Public engagement is an integral part of research and improves both its quality and impact. We know that researchers are more likely to participate in public engagement if they have the support of their institution. This Catalyst Seed Funding will support infrastructure and cultural change within the funded universities and help researchers to engage with schools and the wider community.”

Info courtesy of RCUK: http://bit.ly/1F0qzgx

PERC would like to thank RCUK for it’s generous investment and encouragement. More details of the proposal outlined in the RCUK bid will be divulged shortly.