We were one of 12 institutions selected by RCUK for funding within their 2017 SEE-PER Call. Our project was one of five selected to address specific PER support challenges, in order to expand existing knowledge of 'what works'.
SEE-PER Southampton: 'Enhancing the take up of training and CPD for PER, and the quality of provision. What are the barriers which lead to low uptake of training, and how might these be addressed?'
(October 2017 - December 2019)
This project brought together colleagues from the Public Engagement with Research unit (PERu), the Centre for Higher Education Practice (CHEP), and researchers and academic staff working within various disciplinary themes, in collaborative work to:
- review training/CPD needs within the themes
- design and pilot new/enhanced development approaches and interventions
- catalyse the review, design, provision and embedding of PER training/CPD more broadly
- inform the broader CHEP mission to develop a distributed, collaborative model for researcher and academic development
Publication of the final report for this project is expected during 2020; more information in the meantime is available via the NCCPE.
Catalyst Seed Fund (CSF)
In 2015 we were one of ten universities selected by RCUK for targetted support to embed a culture of public engagement with research into their institutions. Our Catalyst Seed Fund Project ran in two stages:
Stage 1
(August 2015 - September 2016)
- Step-change and support for UoS Science & Engineering Festival and Being Human Festival
- Strategic connection with Southampton Cultural Quarter developments via UoS Arts & Culture Strategy
- Expand Spectrum of Engagement offer for all career stages; pilot novel activities across UoS
- Produce web and print material illustrating pathways to engagement via UoS case studies
- Exploit local and national opportunities for shared learning (eg via NCCPE-hosted events)
- Commissioned evaluation work related to flagship/core PER activities
Stage 2
(October 2016 - September 2017)
- Develop collaborative links with Public Policy unit, via shared administrative officer
- Targetted work on evaluation of public engagement, including development of on-line toolkit and training resources
- Targetted work on digital engagement strategies, particularly for connecting to new audiences