Evaluation of Explore Awards &
Get Involved Awards
Client: Public Engagement Team - University of Plymouth
Duration: 3 years
Funder: University of Plymouth
Evaluation approach
The Social Research Unit conduct semi-structured interviews with researchers involved across both awards, and community groups involved in the Get Involved Awards at the end of the project funding period, and 6 and 12 months after the projects have finished. These interviews explore:
Experiences of being involved in the awards
What worked well/less well
Challenges/barriers in delivering the projects
The immediate and ongoing longer term impacts of the projects, for example, whether the project led to further funding, further research, further collaborations, career progression etc.
Suggestions to help maximize the impact of the awards in the future
Any personal learning as a result of being involved
Overview
As part of the strategic objective to embed a public engagement culture within the University of Plymouth, the Public Engagement team deliver two internally funded awards – the Explore Awards and the Get Involved Awards. The awards support researchers across the university in developing, collaborating and delivering public engagement.
With an aim to encourage a culture of public engagement, the Explore Awards invite researchers to apply for funds to support with their public engagement with research in a range of ways. The awards support researchers, with priority for early career researchers, to undertake pilot engagement activities, build partnerships, refine research questions and scope potential future research opportunities.
The Get Involved Awards are community led awards, supporting collaboration between researchers and communities to address local challenges and gain valuable insights. Community groups, charities and social enterprises can apply to work with University of Plymouth’s researchers, to better understand a problem in their local area and to gain valuable insights. By developing new projects, the Public Engagement team aim to build a network of community groups working with academics to exchange ideas and respond to real community challenges for the city.
The Explore Awards and the Get Involved Awards have run since 2021/22 with 4-8 projects being awarded each year for each scheme.