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These resources were shared on the event sign up form, please add your favourite resources!

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These resources were shared on the event sign up form, please add your favourite resources!

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Unexpected needs for Academics tend to be things that fall outside a PEP's usual area of expertise, e.g. making podcasts. Often people draw on external partners or expertise for this.

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How can we get academics to attend training? (Sarah)

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How can we get academics to attend training? (Sarah)

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How can we effectively share PE training provision between universities? (Jackie and Gemma) 

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How can we effectively share PE training provision between universities? (Jackie and Gemma) 

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How do we balance diversity and commonality across disciplines, career stages or institutions within PE training settings? (Victoria and Jana)

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How do we balance diversity and commonality across disciplines, career stages or institutions within PE training settings? (Victoria and Jana)

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The Berlin School connects people and research. We create incentives, opportunities, and competencies for collaboration between stakeholders, publics, and researchers at all career levels. To this end, the Berlin School offers training and consultancy for researchers at all career levels in research institutions worldwide, and to Public Engagement professionals in Germany, to build capacity and competence for Public Engagement and participation with research.

Our offers include:

Researcher Training Portfolio
A modular training programme to support researchers at every stage of their Public Engagement journey. Core modules offer an introduction into Public Engagement and building blocks of engaged research, with flexible options supporting practical skills and application.

Bespoke training and consultation.
Tailored support for individuals, projects and institutions seeking to advance their engagement practice and structures. These individually designed sessions bring together training and practical expertise to help identify challenges and achieve goals.

Community building
In addition to the core training offers, we host an annual, internationally attended Academy for researchers, which interrogates and expands the borders of Public Engagement practice. Furthermore, we offer an annual Academy for Public Engagement professionals, which supports institutional embedding of engagement and builds a practice community for Public Engagement.

Our training centers on strategic approaches to Public Engagement and societal participation with research. In addition, we work with institutions to support a culture of engagement that rewards and incentivises engagement to make it a sustainable aspect of academic careers.

Please do get in touch with us if you are interested in our training or consultation, or if you want to discuss potential collaborations.

The Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science started as a collaborative project between the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and the Robert Bosch Stiftung (2020-2023) with funding provided by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The Berlin School is embedded in the Public Engagement and Impact Unit within the Society and Nature Science Programme of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.

Resources

Principles for Public Engagement

The Principles for Public Engagement (in German: Public Engagement-Kodex) serve as a guiding document for people who shape the dialogue between research and society. The Principles are intended to help establish and professionalise Public Engagement in Germany so that interaction between society and research becomes an integral part of the research culture. The mission, vision and principles were co-created by Public Engagement practitioners in an open and iterative consultation process led by the Berlin School and Cyber Valley. These principles constitute an evolving document under periodic review and interested parties are cordially invited to help shape and expand it.

Our Training Porfolio - Information (German only)

Here you can find information about the Public Engagement Training Portfolio - our annual training offer for researchers at German institutions. It gives an overview of the topics we cover and how it works to take part.

Please note: the recruitment for the 2024/25 cycle has now finished. For institutions who would like to become future partners, please contact us on berlinschooltraining@mfn.berlin.

The Emotions in Engagement Toolkit

This toolkit brings together the learning from our 2024 Collaborative Futures Academy (CFA) on the topic of Emotions in Public Engagement. CFA is an annual academy programme hosted by the Berlin School together with partners from the UK (The University of Cambridge, Wellcome Connecting Science and the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public) and South Africa (Stellenbosch University). Over three days, a global cohort of engaged researchers and practitioners come together online to explore a particular topic common to their work, through case studies, workshops, group sharing and personal reflection. The toolkit captures reflections and activities from this year's academy, with the aim to share the conversation more widely.

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Berlin School of Public Engagement und Open Science

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The Berlin School connects people and research. We create incentives, opportunities, and competencies for collaboration between stakeholders, publics, and researchers at all career levels. To this end, the Berlin School offers training and consultancy for researchers at all career levels in research institutions worldwide, and to Public Engagement professionals in Germany, to build capacity and competence for Public Engagement and participation with research.

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A training course for academics seeking to deliver co-production in research using linked data https://dataciseopenlearning.org/courses/navigating-co-production-with-linked-data/ it covers some of the basics like defining engagement/involvement/co-production, and introduces some useful tools such as PIRIT happy to speak a little about how we found developing the training, which we tried out on other early career researchers we work with.

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https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/ for courses regarding PPI (some are free, others paid for)

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I often use https://xkcd.com/simplewriter/  as a light hearted but practical presentation break activity  to explore communication. 

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I often use https://xkcd.com/simplewriter/  as a light hearted but practical presentation break activity  to explore communication. 

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Rough guide: running training for public engagement

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The NCCPE works with universities to build inclusive knowledge through public engagement.

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Lessons for enriching and embedding cultures within HEIs where excellent public engagement with research is supported, valued, rewarded and integrated.

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Lessons for enriching and embedding cultures within HEIs where excellent public engagement with research is supported, valued, rewarded and integrated.

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The NCCPE works with universities to build inclusive knowledge through public engagement.

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What engagement skills do academics really need? How can we provide the right opportunities for them? (Maddy)

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What engagement skills do academics really need? How can we provide the right opportunities for them? (Maddy)

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What skills do PEPs need to train academics in engagement and how can we develop these? (Zoe)

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What skills do PEPs need to train academics in engagement and how can we develop these? (Zoe)

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Understanding that you don't have academic subject knowledge but that's ok

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Understanding that you don't have academic subject knowledge but that's ok

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How do you know all the answers to the questions?

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How do you know all the answers to the questions?

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Don't need to! You can just support people to find their own answers, be an enabler rather than a teacher.

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For me, underpinning knowledge is important - the sense that there is a body of expertise that people can draw on - it might come from you the trainer but it might also be you directing people towards other sources

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Internal mapping to understand who has experience in delivering training/ certain areas of expertise

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Internal mapping to understand who has experience in delivering training/ certain areas of expertise

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Alternatives to training (room 4): 1-1 meetings in the form of semi-structured interviews to build relationships. Analysis via AI, and send the report back to them. People more likely to come to training because they engaged with PE professional beforehand. But time consuming.

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Asset based approach- building on participants' skills has worked well

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Asset based approach- building on participants' skills has worked well

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Room 4: Podcast style recordings e.g. how to do things, what not to do, accessibility, inclusivity, etc. Then directed people to online training. Then answer quiz that covers aspects of engaged research. Then get a certificate. Trying out first time. Time consuming.

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sharing PE training internationally can be challenging, due to variation across countries

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sharing PE training internationally can be challenging, due to variation across countries

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Supporting academics to understand how engagement affects teaching learning

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Supporting academics to understand how engagement affects teaching learning

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4: Escape room style meetings- mixing researchers and community members together. Advertised it as a team building day. Not framing it as a training. More like knowledge sharing

University of Glasgow - Schools - School of Health & Wellbeing - Byres Community Hub - Community engagement updates - Byres Hub June

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How to do that practically? What does that look like? Communication across institutions? If coming from senior leaders, not all are as far ahead

Regional networks or through NCCPE? Uploading resources to a portal? Can contribute to Watermark Platinum award. Example-Queen Mary resources

Lancaster- Engagement portal- signposting to other resources but if wanted to share own resources there may be resistance. Can lean on reputational gains- sector leaders

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Drop-ins or pre-scheduled Advice sessions e.g. if you have an idea for engagement , general advice and workshopping ideas.

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understand their role and where they're coming from

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and prioritisation!

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Sometimes particular training requests come from misunderstandings

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Sometimes particular training requests come from misunderstandings

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Sometimes academics ask for training that is outside of a PEP's scope because they have a misunderstanding of what Public Engagement is. For example, commercialising their research

Sometimes it's a misunderstanding of a process, or not quite knowing the root of their problem and what they want to know. For example: 'How do I prove the impact of this thing I've done?' This type of request often needs reworking from the start. Retracing their steps to the basics, the 'why'. If they had engaged with a PEP earlier in the process they wouldn't have this particular 'need' for training, as their engagement would already be working well for them!

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Speak to people doing PE ' find your people' gather them together, get out of silos

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1-1: in-depth interviews set up by PE professional, recorded, and send report at the end. Good for building relationships. Then interviewees where more likely to attend training sessions because of the relationship.

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Or other opportunities to increase attendance.

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Sometimes academics want really bespoke training, such as how to communicate effectively with a particular community group. In these cases, it's really helpful to try and link them with other academics who are already/have in the past worked with that group.

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Who can help promote/ present etc.

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Can the training be specially run for a team? Other times it can be good to have a broad session so people can meet and network.

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Online toolkit / guides.

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Pre-recorded training can be an option.

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Create safe opportunities where failing doesn't matter

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Create safe opportunities where failing doesn't matter

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Where can your training programme offer opportunities to try out public engagement where the stakes aren't so high?

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What's the difference? How do you do both?

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Share case studies from other academics, but keep it varied!

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Share case studies from other academics, but keep it varied!

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Showing academics that their peers are doing engagement work is really valuable - often they don't know what's already happening within their own department.

However, when showcasing engagement practice it's easy to use the same case studies over and over again - academics notice this! Try not to privilege particular people or examples. Use a diversity of approaches that show a range of partners, budgets, outcomes, etc.

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How to establish your training (from scratch) and weave in to existing networks and offers? 

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How to establish your training (from scratch) and weave in to existing networks and offers? 

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How effective can an online only approach be?

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How effective can an online only approach be?

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Experiment with different formats e.g. panel discussions, networking etc

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Barrier to sharing: leadership not wanting to share resources they've invested in

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Barrier to sharing: leadership not wanting to share resources they've invested in

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It's good for reputation to share high quality resources. Can build a regional hub of activity and reputation.

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We talked about the benefits and that really exciting conversations happen and it keeps Victoria and Jana on their toes!

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How to move from delivery into enabling? (How can a team of one amplify their impact?!)

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How to move from delivery into enabling? (How can a team of one amplify their impact?!)

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Victoria and Jana are starting to think about pathways and the current approach may not be the way it stays but for now bringing people out of disciplinary silos is part of the goal.

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Online training but foster local networking and conversations. See what is already there, connecting the dots

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Internal networks with representatives from different departments. Opportunities for them to do PE themselves and learn from peers!

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Risk is that in trying to do something for everyone you don't meet expectations - this is hard to manage.

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Formal training sessions re peer to peer sessions

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Formal training sessions re peer to peer sessions

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Victoria and Jana worry less about people not attending the more informal peer to peer action learning sessions. What matters is getting the right people in the room even if there is less of them.

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Often PGRs are interested in how to network, or how to connect with others. Does anyone have any suggestions for methods of training for these skills?

Some suggestions from an NCCPE Engage Academy session.

Building rapport and trust:

active listening skills - understanding your counterpart

understanding yourself and how you prefer to communicate. How do other people experience this?

reflecting the communication patterns of other people; adapting to their communication preferences

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Think about how scary some terminology can be for academics! E.g. 'networking' or 'cocreation' - both things actually come down to building relationships. So might be better to bill training as 'how to develop effective relationships' and then show how these skills can be applied in other processes.

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Think about the fundamentals, not the different agendas they apply to

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Think about the fundamentals, not the different agendas they apply to

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Lots of engagement training is framed in different ways, but it all has the same fundamentals. For example, training in 'High Quality Public Engagement', 'Knowledge Exchange' and 'Measuring Impact' often start with the same building blocks. If academics aren't familiar with the different agendas or terminology they might feel they have to attend all the training, and get overwhelmed.

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Academics can find it isolating to work in relational ways. Connect academics together in small groups to share experiences and practice.

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Attendance and Commitment:

Difficulty in getting academics to sign up, attend, and commit to the full training, with drop-off rates and low attendance being common issues.

Time Constraints:

Academics’ busy schedules and lack of time, often working unusual hours, make it hard to prioritize engagement training.

Recognising Value:

Challenges in getting academics to see the importance and value of engagement training, especially senior academics who may not fully understand public engagement or knowledge exchange.

Awareness and Promotion:

Ensuring academics are aware of available training and promoting it effectively to capture interest.

Engagement and Participation:

Engaging a small and varied group with differing levels of experience, making it difficult to meet the wide variety of needs.

Understanding Public Engagement:

Some academics don’t know what public engagement is or have a narrow view of it, leading to difficulties in convincing them of its relevance.

Impact and Evaluation:

Measuring the impact of the training and achieving a shared understanding of high-quality public engagement.

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Low Initial Expectations:

Many academics expect engagement training to be less useful than it actually is and are often surprised by its value and enjoyment.

Lack of Knowledge and Misconceptions:

Academics often have lower baseline knowledge about engagement than expected, with misconceptions about public engagement (PE), audience needs, and the importance of evaluation.

Reluctance and Pushback:

Some academics are hesitant to engage or don’t prioritise their own development, PhD students especially pushing back on the value of engagement.

Creativity and Collaboration:

Academics may have untapped creativity but fear being creative, and they often overlook collaborative opportunities, assuming they must do everything themselves.

Focus on Personal Needs:

Many come to training focused on their own questions or challenges rather than audience needs or mutual benefits in engagement.

Unawareness of Opportunities:

Academics are often unaware of existing engagement opportunities and are surprised by the range of skills required for effective engagement.

Workload and Time Constraints:

Workload and lack of time are significant barriers to attending training and investing in engagement.

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Understand and Adapt:

Spend time understanding academics' needs, expectations, and existing knowledge, and tailor the training accordingly to their career level, discipline, and goals.

Be Engaging and Practical:

Make the training interactive, practical, and relevant to their work, using activities rather than just slides to demonstrate engagement techniques.

Emphasize Value and Applicability:

Highlight the wide applicability of the skills they’ll develop and show how public engagement (PE) is relevant to their roles and university objectives.

Build Relationships and Trust:

Be patient, empathetic, and consistent, creating a supportive environment that builds trust over time.

Keep it Simple and Convenient:

Start small, keep sessions short, and make them as convenient as possible, showing that PE doesn't have to be complicated.

Leverage Existing Resources:

Access and learn from existing resources and successful examples of engagement to enhance training.

Create a Genuine Connection:

Be open, personable, and genuine, allowing time to get to know academics personally and make them feel valued.

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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Atmosphere

Intention

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Work with other teams across the institution

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Work with other teams across the institution

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Consider running sessions where academics can talk about engagement practice with other departments in the room - for example, research support staff. Central teams can also learn more, but will have insights to offer into the realistic processes and systems that support these ways of working

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Effective Methods and Approaches:

Interest in learning what methods work for engagement training and how others approach it, including creative and novel evaluation methods.

Challenges in Attendance and Engagement:

How to get academics, especially busy and experienced ones, to attend training and stay engaged, ensuring diverse participation beyond just early-career researchers.

Reaching Hard-to-Reach Audiences:

How to engage hard-to-reach departments or disciplines and ensure not just the same people are involved.

Sustainability and Long-term Impact:

Ensuring the training leads to sustainable changes in practice and supports long-term public engagement as part of academic careers.

Tailoring Training:

How to cater to different levels of experience (from beginners to experienced academics) and make training relevant to varied disciplines.

Evidencing Success:

How to measure the success of engagement training beyond simple feedback and demonstrate its impact on academics’ work.

Training Content and Needs:

What topics and skills should be covered in the training, and how to meet academics’ expectations and current trends in engagement practices.

Institutional Support and Resource Sharing:

Interest in how other institutions promote and support engagement training, pooling resources, and managing training logistics.

Communication and Framing:

How to speak the language of academics, making the case for the value of engagement and convincing them of its benefits to their careers.

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What are the alternatives to training sessions?  (i.e. if we want to develop skills, share best practice and encourage a reflective culture around public engagement)  (Debbie)

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What are the alternatives to training sessions?  (i.e. if we want to develop skills, share best practice and encourage a reflective culture around public engagement)  (Debbie)

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session

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This is a summary of the mentimeter quiz at the start of the session