NCCPE report on Public Engagement with Physics and Engineering in the REF

With the increased focus on public engagement under the proposed People, Culture and Environment (PCE) strand of REF2029, The Ogden Trust and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (part of UK Research and Innovation), with the involvement of the Institute of Physics, commissioned the NCCPE to analyse the physics and engineering ICS to reveal the ‘state of play’ of public engagement policies and practices and identify gaps and priorities for future work. 

The report found that in REF 2021, UK universities submitted more than 6700 Impact Case Studies (ICS). Around 170 of those ICS concerned research in physics and 390 research in engineering. In physics, about half of the ICS mention engagement as a pathway to creating impact. The proportion is much smaller in engineering, at around five percent of ICS. 

Most ICS are about public engagement with the outcomes of research in physics and engineering but a small number are focussed on research in public engagement through the medium of physics or engineering.

The findings show that engagement motivations differ for physics and engineering. In physics, priorities are raising awareness and increasing knowledge and understanding, closing the science skills gap by supporting teachers, and inspiring the next generation of scientists. Engineering has a much stronger focus on influencing government policies.

The report concludes that both physics and engineering departments, that are already gearing up for REF2029, need to formulate strategic approaches to planning, evaluating, and evidencing the impacts of public engagement, sustained by funding for specialist support, resources, training and guidance for evidencing impact and creating supportive institutional cultures.