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Engage Watermark

updated on 01 Nov 2023

4 minutes

Our charter mark for universities in recognition of their outstanding strategic support for, and commitment to improving, public engagement.

About Engage Watermark

The Engage Watermark is a national award for public engagement, granted by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement to higher education institutions, research centres and individual faculties or schools. Just as a watermark runs through the fabric of a document, an Engage Watermark indicates that engagement runs through the fabric of an institution.

The Engage Watermark follows a rigorous assessment process leading to a report which provides a synthesis of evidence collected and core recommendations. The resulting action plan is also assessed, enabling institutions to continue to progress in the following years.

The Benefits of the Watermark

Engage Watermark is both a rigorous assessment and a developmental process, It provides a rich source of data and insight, supported by expert recommendations, enabling an institution to further embed its support for impactful public engagement.

Completing the Watermark process will provide:

A focussed ‘stock take’ of existing evidence of the impact of the institution’s support for engagement
Targeted evidence to provide a robust picture of public engagement across the institution
A synthesis and review of that evidence, benchmarked against other HEI’s
Recommendations and tailored advice for how support for engagement could be enhanced
A review of the institution’s action plan, developed in light of the feedback
An opportunity to demonstrate to staff, students, partners and funders the institution’s commitment to public engagement
Compelling evidence to underpin funding applications, REF submissions, and other quality assurance processes

The Award Levels

The Engage Watermark has four levels of award. Based on NCCPE’s EDGE tool, each award level relates to a different stage that an institution has reached in its support for public engagement. The Watermark lasts for three years, after which institutions can apply again and evidence how far they have progressed since their initial assessment.

Bronze award

The institution’s support for public engagement is currently in its early stages, but there is clear commitment to enhance and develop it and a clear understanding of the institution’s current strengths and weaknesses in this area. The bulk of the support is in the ‘embryonic’ and ‘developing’ EDGE tool categories, but there is an action plan in place, with appropriate resources allocated, which will lead to demonstrable improvements if it is implemented.

Silver award

The institution has made progress in addressing its level of support for public engagement. The bulk of its support is in the ‘developing’ and ‘gripping’ EDGE tool categories. The institution is using evidence and intelligence to focus its efforts and future plans. There is an action plan in place, and appropriate resources allocated, to address the areas of weakness and to accelerate momentum in other areas. Clear success measures have been identified and there is a high level of institutional commitment to further improvements.

Gold award

The institution is a beacon of excellence in the support it offers to public engagement. It has invested significant resources over a period of several years to build substantial momentum, and the bulk of its support is in the ‘gripping’ and ‘embedding’ EDGE tool categories. It is ambitious to build on its success, and to address residual areas where development has been identified as necessary. It has an action plan in place which sets ambitious targets with clear measures of success, and it has a strong commitment to sharing its expertise with others.

Platinum award

After three years, institutions with a gold award can apply for a platinum award – evidencing a sustained commitment to public engagement. The institution is maintaining its commitment to engagement. Seen to be leaders in the field, the institution is advancing the practice of engagement, its evaluation and impact, and challenges and inspires other institutions to value engagement as a critical part of their work.

The Watermark Assessment process

Initial evidence gathering

An evidence form invites you to share key documents and data relating to your current support for public and community engagement.

EDGE Tool Assessment

A survey for staff and students, and for partners, will gather insights and perspectives against the EDGE tool categories.

Interviews and focus groups

We add to the evidence base through in-depth interviews and focus groups with key individuals including senior leaders, engagement staff, academics, partners, and ECRs.

Future Action Planning

You will work with our expert assessors to explore the findings, before developing a 3-year action plan.

It was a really useful process for us to go through as an institution, to help us think strategically as University of Derby about what we were doing. It is quite a lot of work, and it happens over a condensed time period, so you get a lot done in a one-year time window. But it’s been positive and has enabled us to think in a much more structured way about how we’re addressing public engagement in the organisation.

Dr Larissa Allwork

Associate Professor of History and Impact, University of Derby

The Award Decision

Queen Mary team accepting 2021 Engage Watermark award

The Award decision is usually made within 6 weeks of your action plan being finalised. Once awarded, we will help you celebrate your achievement.

Considering applying and need more information?

Engage Watermark is a very valuable process for many institutions but we recommend you talk to us before making an application so we can understand your institutional context and can support you to decide how best we can support your engagement work. Get in touch with Katherine Hathaway below.

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