Eggs and chickens, what comes first, involvement or engagement?

2014 Conference

Abstract:  Public engagement with science and research has traditionally consisted, for the most part, of telling people what they ought to understand (particularly about the importance of research). Because of this it has tended to follow research rather than precede it. It has also been seen as something very different from involvement, the public in engagement are passive receivers of information rather than active contributors to knowledge. But is that really engaging? Does engagement require researchers to receive as well as transmit? If we would like more and different people to become involved in health research, do researchers need to engage with them first? If that is the case, what does encourage people to engage and to become involved, and what gets in the way?

This workshop is based on the results of six months talking to both researchers and members of the public about these questions. In the first ten minutes I will outline some of the ideas and issues that people have identified. The following fifty minutes will be spent, in small groups, looking at and discussing some ideas for engaging activities which, hopefully, will prompt some ideas of your own.