Nottingham Catalyst

Engaging the public with research

Public engagement is a highly important aspect of research and describes the variety of ways in which the activity and benefits of higher education and research can be shared with the public. The University of Nottingham is committed to sharing its knowledge, skills, resources and research and has therefore signed up to the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement's Manifesto for Public Engagement. 

Benefits of Public Engagement

Public engagement brings a host of benefits - to the university, to staff and students, and to the wider public:

• Enriches research, teaching and learning
• Generates exciting outcomes, and stimulates creativity and innovation in research
• Helps the University and academic staff to demonstrate research impact
• Increases public appreciation and support for the University of Nottingham and its research
• Transforms the educational experience and helps staff and students to engage with wider social concerns and to support real-world problem solving
• Contributes to social justice and corporate responsibility

Nottingham Catalyst

The Nottingham Catalyst programme was funded by Research Councils UK (now UK Research and Innovation) from April 2012 to March 2015 and worked to link research and public engagement across all faculties and schools at the University of Nottingham.

A priority of the programme was to access hard to reach communities that do not traditionally engage with Higher Education, including Third Sector organisations (voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises), Health Users and communities, and the "Citizen on the street".

Nottingham Catalyst also sought to promote an environment offering recognition and reward for public engagement activity amongst academic staff and researchers.

Although the Nottingham Catalyst programme has ended we are still committed to making our research accessible to the general public.

 Nottingham Catalyst Partnership Fund

The Nottingham Catalyst Partnership Fund was set up to provide charitable and community organisations with the opportunity to share the benefits of University of Nottingham’s research and to participate in research activity.

The University of Nottingham on Tour

The University of Nottingham on Tour was created as a pilot project by the Nottingham Catalyst team. The pilot has now come to a close, and you can view examples of our past events for further details on the activities that have taken place.