Communicating your research outside of academia 9th July 2014 Dr Charlotte Mathieson Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick

Public engagement activities Workshop plan: Introduction Warm-up exercise Public engagement activities Radio Blogging Podcasting Discussion: the value of humanities research

Communicating your research outside of academia Starting questions Who is the ‘public’ with which you’re engaging? Why would they want to listen to me? What is the format?

Did you know that…? One fact about your research – something engaging, entertaining, interesting, unknown, culturally relevant

Did you know that…? the ‘hook’ Engage your audience Refocus your perspective

Exercise 1: the radio pitch You have 2 minutes to talk about your research on the radio Summarise your research for a non-specialist audience and communicate the importance and value of your research No going over time!

Exercise 1 (cont…) Some pointers: Front-load No jargon Visualise/conceptualise Use an example Use your ‘did you know?’

Exercise 2: Online writing Blogs (individual) Group/ Association run blogs Magazine-style websites Opinion pieces

Online writing (cont…) How do the writers engage a non-specialist? What techniques/strategies do they use? What is different to a piece of academic writing? Think about: style and tone; language; structure; length

Exercise 3: podcasting your research You have the opportunity to devise a 10 minute audio/ film podcast about your research to a non- specialist audience: what would you focus on? Draft a brief outline of a podcast idea This is about finding one ‘impact nugget’ from your research

Getting started on public engagement as an ECR Think ahead Move out of your comfort zone Find out what’s out there Comms/ press office  Raise your own profile Use your initiative & put yourself forward

Types of impact Audiences Types of impact Government bodies (local, national, international) Informing policy-making, providing evidence Charities, NGOs, voluntary groups Resources for use in campaigns, challenging existing policy General public, communities of interest e.g. swimmers, parents New attitudes and beliefs, challenging conventional wisdom Schools, teachers and learners Teacher training, new teaching resources Practitioners e.g. nurses Changing practice, training Businesses/industry Creation of databases, providing consultancy to improve efficiency Table by Nadine Lewycky, Arts Impact Officer

Impact activities Social and digital media, traditional media Public talks, discussions or debates Participatory dialogue events (focus groups, workshops) Arts events or exhibitions Festivals Schools outreach Conference with external audience members Training, CPD or consultancy Spin out companies or IP

Further resources Arts Faculty Impact Webpage: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/rss/impact/ RCUK Web Page: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/kei/Pages/home.aspx REF 2014 Web Page: http://www.ref.ac.uk/ NCCPE: http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/ Vitae: http://www.vitae.ac.uk/

Impact and ECRs http://phdlife. warwick. ac Impact and ECRs http://phdlife.warwick.ac.uk/2014/01/03/impact-and-early- career-researchers/ Case Study: Impact in the Arts http://phdlife.warwick.ac.uk/2014/01/03/case-study-impact-in- the-arts-and-humanities/ Getting out there with your research http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/2012/03/14/charlotte- mathieson-%E2%80%9Cgetting-out-there%E2%80%9D-with- your-research