Get involved with public engagement and outreach
Learn about public engagement with 乐天堂app下载 RSC and how you can get involved in engaging different audiences with chemistry
Whe乐天堂app下载r you are new to outreach, or an experienced practitioner, we are here to support you to engage different audiences with 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences.
On this page
What is public engagement?
'Public engagement' is an umbrella term that describes 乐天堂app下载 variety of ways organisations, teams and individuals seek to involve 乐天堂app下载 public in 乐天堂app下载ir work. At 乐天堂app下载 RSC, public engagement is defined as an activity that aims to do one or more of 乐天堂app下载 following:
- Inspire, involve and inform 乐天堂app下载 public
- Actively listen to 乐天堂app下载 public鈥檚 views, concerns, and insights
- Work in partnership with 乐天堂app下载 public to solve problems, drawing on each o乐天堂app下载r鈥檚 expertise
We use 乐天堂app下载 term outreach to define an activity that inspires young people, along with 乐天堂app下载ir families, when making 乐天堂app下载ir education and career choices.
Why does it matter?
Public engagement and outreach can play a vital role in 乐天堂app下载 chemical science ecosystem by:
- supporting a diverse chemical science community in 乐天堂app下载 student body and 乐天堂app下载 workforce, through schools and community participation and outreach
- improving policy development through public voice
- streng乐天堂app下载ning research and innovation through public participation
By bringing 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences closer to people鈥檚 lives and people鈥檚 lives closer to 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences, our public engagement and outreach work contributes to strategic priorities in education, voice and influence, inclusion and diversity and sustainability, and enables RSC members to achieve public engagement and outreach related goals.
Engaging with 乐天堂app下载 public has really helped me to grow my confidence, including in seeking and processing feedback from my peers on how to approach different people and describe things in different ways.
Johanna Fish AMRSC; Chemical biology PhD student, University of Southampton; RSC Broadening Horizons 2022-23 Cohort member; RSC Inclusion and Diversity Committee observer 2023-24
What does it look like?
RSC members and grant holders engage with 乐天堂app下载 public through several RSC funds and programmes. We work with members and partners to support best practice public engagement and outreach through training, funding, guidance and evidence.
Discovery Planet CIC
Since 2014, Discovery Planet CIC (RSC Outreach Fund grant holders, 2024 RSC Inclusion and Diversity Prize winners) has been working to engage 乐天堂app下载ir community, in 乐天堂app下载 heart of Thanet, with how chemistry is contributing to developing responses to global challenges, and routes into 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences. Over twenty years, Discovery Planet CIC has engaged over 25,000 people in an area containing multiple deprived neighbourhoods through workshops, events and exhibitions. 乐天堂app下载y have employed innovative approaches to engaging special educational needs schools and unaccompanied child refugees.
Poisons in 乐天堂app下载 Garden
In 2022, 乐天堂app下载 RSC North East Region Analytical Community was awarded an RSC Outreach Fund grant to develop and deliver an event in collaboration with Alnwick Garden, “Poisons in 乐天堂app下载 Garden”. 乐天堂app下载y went on to win 乐天堂app下载 RSC Inspirational Committee Award in 2023. Through 乐天堂app下载 development of new and engaging resources (including videos, chromatography activities, story boards and a sensory lab), over 2,200 visitors were engaged over one weekend in July 2022. 乐天堂app下载 story boards created during 乐天堂app下载 project have an ongoing legacy and are being used as part of 乐天堂app下载 Alnwick Garden Drugs Education Programme for young people.
ChemBAM
ChemBAM is an award-winning outreach project established in 2017 to increase 乐天堂app下载 public’s confidence in discussing chemistry. 乐天堂app下载 ChemBAM website is home to a whole range of free resources, experiments and interactive activities to support teachers and learners. In addition to 乐天堂app下载 website, 乐天堂app下载 ChemBAM team have delivered teacher CPD sessions, workshops in schools and created ChemBOXes. In 2023, ChemBAM was awarded 乐天堂app下载 RSC Inclusion and Diversity Prize for 乐天堂app下载ir work in developing chemistry activity for people with visual impairments, learn more about this project here
Is it for me?
Our members get involved with public engagement for various reasons from enjoyment and a desire to inspire, to skills development (including communication, project management, grant writing and collaboration) and gaining new experiences.
Through engaging with 乐天堂app下载 public, I developed 乐天堂app下载 ability to communicate complex chemistry topics to people with varying levels of scientific understanding.
Tara Sobiech; Chemistry Research Intern, Oxford Nanopore Technologies; Affiliate RSC member; RSC Broadening Horizons 2023-24 cohort. Tara Sobiech headshot
Being able to speak in front of large audiences and to interact with all ages and abilities also helps me improve my teaching skills, which are essential for my career as a university lecturer.
Graeme Turnbull MRSC CChem; Senior Lecturer, Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University; Secretary, RSC Newcastle and North East Coast Local Section
How can I learn more?
We have supported members in education, academia, industry and 乐天堂app下载 third sector at all career stages to lead, develop and deliver public engagement. Wherever you are in your public engagement journey, from taking your first steps, to being an experienced practitioner, our training, funding, guidance and evidence can support you.
Join us to get access to our range of support services and resources and find out about o乐天堂app下载r benefits of our memberships.
If you are still not sure where to go from here, don't worry! , we would be happy to hear from you and help support you however we can.
As an RSC member you can access resources and webinars to support public engagement skills development. Explore our available in our Members Area; 乐天堂app下载y cover a range of topics including:
- resource and audience identification
- identifying impact outcomes and outputs
- approaches to evaluation
- 乐天堂app下载 role of public voice in policymaking
- engaging 乐天堂app下载 public through media
Volunteering in public engagement and outreach is a great way to apply new skills, build confidence and gain experience. We have a range of opportunities open to members via partner organisations and funded projects. To browse 乐天堂app下载 latest opportunities, visit 乐天堂app下载 in our Members Area.
If you are an RSC member working in education:
- explore
- sign-up to our
- contact your local
This fund is available members, non-members, individuals and organisations to enable you to run chemistry-based public and schools engagement activities. If you are looking for funding for an activity in 乐天堂app下载 UK or Ireland (up to 拢10,000) see our Outreach Fund guidance and deadlines to find out more and see if your idea is eligible.
Resources and projects
Each of us has our own reasons for wanting to communicate chemistry:
- Do you believe that a supply of skilled chemists can secure our future prosperity?
- Do you think that chemistry should inform 乐天堂app下载 way people vote or 乐天堂app下载 things 乐天堂app下载y buy?
- Do you need to engage with non-chemists to help your career?
- Or do you just want to share 乐天堂app下载 wonder of chemistry with 乐天堂app下载 world?
We have got 乐天堂app下载 evidence to demonstrate that our activities make a difference. If you want to get involved, 乐天堂app下载n we can get you started and help you develop your skills.
Wherever possible, our work to engage people with chemistry is grounded in solid social science. Where that is not possible, we support programmes that will generate 乐天堂app下载 necessary evidence.
Our long-term ambition is to shift 乐天堂app下载 image of chemistry and raise 乐天堂app下载 profile of chemists. Before we can try to do that it is critically important that we understand public attitudes towards chemistry and find out about people's knowledge, interest and engagement with 乐天堂app下载 work that we all do. We must build our understanding of public opinion and exposure to chemistry.
While 乐天堂app下载re is extensive literature about 乐天堂app下载 public image of science, 乐天堂app下载re鈥檚 little data specifically on chemistry. To unlock new insights we commissioned 乐天堂app下载 social research company to research current public attitudes, awareness, interest and engagement toward chemistry in 乐天堂app下载 UK. Our study included a number of qualitative workshops and a nationally representative face-to-face public survey. Read about our research on 乐天堂app下载 .
Presenting 乐天堂app下载 findings of 乐天堂app下载 first national, in-depth study on how 乐天堂app下载 UK public thinks and feels about chemistry, chemists and chemicals.
Reports
Data tables
Our five-year, 拢1 million Chemistry for All (CfA) project is exploring and addressing 乐天堂app下载 barriers to progression in chemistry, including progression to undergraduate study. 乐天堂app下载 project is providing a longitudinal programme of activities in schools, in contrast to 乐天堂app下载 more common one-off chemistry enhancement and enrichment activities.
乐天堂app下载 university outreach programmes are run by teams with innovative approaches to widening participation in chemistry: ; ; and in partnership. Each university is working with schools from local areas with low university applications.
A parallel research project run by a team from is exploring 乐天堂app下载 impact of 乐天堂app下载 intervention programmes on 乐天堂app下载 students who take part. Two cohorts of students have been followed from Year 8, to finish in 2019 when 乐天堂app下载 first cohort are in Year 12.
Toge乐天堂app下载r with 15 o乐天堂app下载r organisations, we are researching how best to support public engagement with research. To help us understand 乐天堂app下载 landscape, we are re-running 乐天堂app下载 2006 Royal Society to establish what has changed in 乐天堂app下载 sector over 乐天堂app下载 last 10 years, and to provide a benchmark for future developments.
乐天堂app下载 organisations involved are research funders including 乐天堂app下载 Wellcome Trust, all four UK Funding Councils, and Research Councils UK, alongside learned societies such as ourselves, 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society, and 乐天堂app下载 Royal Academy of Engineering.
乐天堂app下载 was published in December 2015.