Evaluating contemporary science

Effective communication is at the heart of good science. For as long as humans have tried to understand the natural world they have shared information and ideas, with a view to improving our collective understanding.

With the widespread adoption of digital tools for communication the potential for citizens to contribute to the sciences has never been greater.

The Open University has recently published a new Open Learn course that will help you to explore the evolving landscape of science communication, developing skills in critical evaluation, communication and engagement, whilst exploring a range of contemporary topics in science.

You can access the course here: Assessing Contemporary Science.

A longer version of these materials is available as an Open University module: Evaluating contemporary science.

Supporting the digitally-engaged scholar

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

Earlier this year, as part of the Open University’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, the Graduate School ran a film-making project for 50 postgraduate researchers.

As part of the follow-up to this activity I ran two workshops yesterday to explore how researchers can develop a digitally-engaged strategy for communication and engagement.

The workshops are described below, and a copy of the slides is provided. If you’re looking for online resources to support the digitally-engaged scholar, this is a good place to start:

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Exploring engaged research & knowledge exchange

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

I’m off to the University of East London (UEL) today to deliver a keynote presentation at their 2019 Research and Knowledge Exchange Conference.

Thanks to UEL’s Head of Research & Knowledge Exchange Support, Matthew Whyte, I’ve had a chance to look at the abstracts for the conference. This has really helped in informing the talk I’m planning to deliver.

In working through your abstracts, I was impressed by the knowledge exchange work that is being undertaken by UEL researchers, who are engaging with a wide range of publics, community organisations, stakeholders and end-users.

2019 Research and Knowledge Exchange Conference

In particular, I was struck by how many of the abstract sought to address issues of social justice, not least because this echoes the mission of the Open University.

As a result, I’ll be exploring some of the similarities between the UEL and the Open University in terms of our research and knowledge exchange work.

I’ll argue that, to deliver on an ambitious programme of fairness in knowledge, requires a more nuanced take on what it means to increase our reach in our research and knowledge exchange activities, allied with a commitment to Engaged Research Design.

If you’d like to download a copy of my slides, select: Promoting epistemic justice through knowledge exchange.

Engaged Research: Why does this matter?

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

Under the leadership of Sandy Oliver, Sophie Duncan and Pat Gordon-Smith, UCL Institute of Education, NCCPE and UCL IOE Press are running an all-day seminar on 7 May 2019.

We will be discussing progress to date, and the possible futures for Research for All, an open-access peer-reviewed international journal that launched in 2017.

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The free movement of people and ideas

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

Just over two weeks ago, I delivered my inaugural lecture on ‘Fairness in knowing’. It was such an honour to be part of this 50th anniversary programme of lectures.

Fairness in knowing: How should we engage with the sciences?

If you’d like to watch a replay of the lecture, it’s available here: Fairness in knowing.

A sub-titled version of the lecture will be made available in due course.

I’m also planning to write up the key ideas from the lecture for publication.

I argued in the lecture that a key part of ‘fairness in knowing’ is recognising how ideas are generated and developed.

This is one of the really exciting things for me about being an academic; to see how knowledge and ideas travel across both national and cultural borders, and how they morph and adapt as they’re applied in a new context.

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Fairness in knowing: How should we engage with the sciences?

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

This year, The Open University celebrates its 50th anniversary. Happy birthday to us!

As part of this celebration, the university is hosting an exciting programme of events and activities.

Yesterday I watched my colleague Martin Weller discuss the ongoing (and increasing influence) of openness in education. (You can access a recording of Martin’s lecture from the link in the previous sentence. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to watch the recording.)

It seems fitting, given the complementary nature of our work, that I was scheduled to deliver my inaugural lecture in this programme shortly after Martin.

Watching the lecture
If you’d like to attend the lecture on 12th March (6-7pm GMT) in person, select How to register. (It’s free to attend, but you need a ticket.)

From 5pm on the day, colleagues will be demonstrating various examples of engagement outside the lecture theatre.

To watch the lecture online, select Watch the webinar. The link will become live shortly before the start of the event. You can submit questions via email or Twitter from the same page.

The lecture will be recorded and made freely available after 12 March.

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The OU at 50: redefining openness and engagement

The Open University, 50th Anniversary #OU50

The Open University is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

To mark this landmark birthday, the OU is building an exciting programme of events and activities that will shine a light on the staff, students, donors and partners who have shaped our much-loved institution.

Select #OU50 for more details about this programme.

When the OU was founded, it was underpinned by a mission for social justice that informs everything we do; to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.

Since that time, the ways that we realise our mission have changed. We now talk of open and engaged research, involving stakeholders, end-users and members of the public over any or all stages of a research process.

Professor Mary Kellett, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University.

“We remain committed to creating the conditions where high-quality engagement can flourish and where excellence is recognised and valued. In embedding the principles, values and reflective practices of engagement within The Open University, we want to ensure that our academic work has relevance in wider society, embracing an ‘ecology of openness’ aligned with our long-standing mission to promote social justice.”

Professor Mary Kellett, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University

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Navigating engagement in a (mainly) UK context

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

‘Navigating change as we face the future’ was the core theme of the UK’s NCCPE-organised conference in Edinburgh, Scotland last week. For those reading this post from without or without the UK, it’s an appropriate theme. (To that end, we were joined at the conference by colleagues from Thailand, Korea, Canada, South Africa and India.)

Politically as a nation (and nations), the UK is obviously facing unprecedented change at the moment. That, thankfully, is for another day. Rather, the discussions at the Engage Conference focused on the challenges of navigating change to further improve mutually beneficial relations between universities and wider society.

Why focus on change? One of the key reasons is that it is 10 years since the introduction of the NCCPE. If you organise the conference, it seems reasonable that you have a primary role in deciding the theme. After eight national conferences exploring the theme of engagement, this was an opportunity to take stock, set priorities and plan the next steps.

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Navigating pathways to research impact

Pathways to Excellence in Public Engagement (STFC, 2018).

Recent STFC-sponsored research explored how physical science researchers in the UK are responding to the requirements to plan for, assess, monitor and report impact (Holliman et al. 2018).

The STFC-sponsored research found that the current system of Pathways to Impact Planning is struggling to consistently deliver rigorous, well-resourced programmes of impact-generating activity, including public engagement.

Upstream planning for pathways is a key requirement for improving the overall quality of the peer review system that underpins impact. How might this be achieved?

‘Navigating pathways to research impact’ is a short video offering entry-level advice on how to plan upstream for Pathways to Impact within the context of an application for research funding.

To access a copy of the transcript for the video, select: Navigating pathways to research impact’ is a short video offering entry-level advice on how to plan for Pathways to Impact (Transcript).

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Pathways to excellence in public engagement: A noble ‘PEACE prize’

Professor Richard Holliman, The Open University.

Over recent years, STFC’s Public Engagement Team has undertaken a series of strategic reviews to better understand and refine the systems used to create, support, and evaluate high-quality public engagement in the STFC community. (STFC is the Science and Technology Facilities Council.) The most recent of these is called Pathways to Excellence in Public Engagement.

A Catalyst for PEACE
Given my previous role as the operational lead on the OU’s Public Engagement with Research (PER) Catalyst, An Open Research University, I was delighted to be involved in two of these important reviews.

In the first instance, I was a member of the review team that produced the PEACE Report (Public Engagement: Attitudes, Culture and Ethos).

Public Engagement: Attitudes, Culture and Ethos (STFC, 2016).

This review uncovered STFC researchers’ perceptions of the challenges and opportunities they faced in the course of balancing engagement activities alongside their scientific and engineering careers (see ‘Give PEACE a chance’).

Together with the findings from the PER Catalyst programme (NCCPE, 2016), the PEACE report answered some significant questions in relation to how researchers are adapting to the routine requirements to plan for, enact and evidence impacts derived from publicly-funded research.

Collectively, these pieces of work also raised other important questions, not least in relation to whether Pathways to Impact Planning in its current form was consistently delivering rigorous, well-resourced programmes of impact-generating activity.

Pathways to Excellence in Public Engagement

It is in this context that I was asked by the STFC Public Engagement Team to lead a review to explore these important issues. The recently published PEPE Report (Pathways to Excellence in Public Engagement) Report is the result of this review.

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Engaging Research

An Open Research University: Embedding public engagement within the research culture of the OU

Evaluating contemporary science

Supporting the digitally-engaged scholar

Exploring engaged research & knowledge exchange

Engaged Research: Why does this matter?

The free movement of people and ideas

Fairness in knowing: How should we engage with the sciences?

The OU at 50: redefining openness and engagement

Navigating engagement in a (mainly) UK context

Navigating pathways to research impact

Pathways to excellence in public engagement: A noble ‘PEACE prize’