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Submit a nomination for Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards

What you need to do to get involved and nominate your public engagement work for the Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards

White male standing next to a banner than reads Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards.
Past winner of the Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards Paul Shepherd (Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering)

The Vice-Chancellor’s Engage Awards aims to celebrate the achievements of colleagues from across the University of Bath working to involve and engage people with their research.

Public involvement and engagement with research

For us, high-quality public involvement and engagement with research allow people to discover, use, discuss, participate in and/or create research in ways that are meaningful for them.

It is an activity that generates mutual benefit to you and/or your research and the people you involve, and that helps them meet their goals as individuals and within their communities.

When we talk about public involvement and engagement, we know it can encompass a diverse set of activities, the nature of which will vary depending on the discipline you are working in. You may have encountered or be familiar with public involvement and engagement practices, they include patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), participatory research and citizen science, to name a few. However, for us at the University of Bath, these activities have several features in common. These activities should:

  • relate to active and specific research,

  • involve people outside academia in spaces or at times where they can choose to participate,

  • be relevant (in terms of interests, needs and goals) to the people involved and/or engaged,

  • be beneficial for the people involved and/or engaged as well as for you and/or your research.

Award categories

The Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards 2025 invites nominations by individuals or teams for projects or activities in one of four categories. Three of these categories reflect the broad areas of public involvement/engagement work (Informing, Involving, and Collaborating), while the local and civic engagement category focuses on engagement specific to the Bath and North East Somerset area.

  • Informing - activities that share and tell people about your research.

  • Involving - activities where people have meaningful roles in your research.

  • Collaborating - activities where people are equal partners with you in your research.

  • Local and Civic Engagement - for work, teams and individuals that have made outstanding civic contributions on behalf of the University through engaging with local civil society organisations, community groups, residents and charities.

Who can apply

The Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards 2025 are open to all staff from the Education and Research (including doctoral students) and Technical and Experimental job families. We also welcome submissions from staff in the Management Specialist and Administration job family who support and input into research.

Winners from previous years can apply for the Awards if the nomination is for new work and not work previously recognised.

Unsuccessful applicants from previous years can apply for the awards if they meet the criteria.

Nomination criteria - Informing, Involving and Collaborating categories

The following criteria apply to the Informing, Involving and Collaborating categories only.

  • A strong relationship between high-quality involvement/engagement and high-quality research.

  • Demonstrate what you have learnt about your public involvement/engagement activities and how you’ve put that learning into practice.

  • Involvement/engagement activities that generate mutual benefit. This should be clearly described and supported by evidence concerning:

    • you and / or your research
    • the public group or community you engaged

Below are some examples to consider when thinking about the outcomes and benefits of public engagement projects to:

  • Research: co-production of research ideas, refinement of research questions, development of research methodologies, enhanced dissemination opportunities.

  • Researchers: improved visibility on- and off-campus, development of new skills or enhancement of existing skills, improved confidence/motivation, enhanced collaborative working, creativity, and improved quality of grant applications.

  • Public groups: enjoyment, development of skills, raised profile, validation that their experiences/ knowledge are important to research, changes to work/leisure practices, feelings of empowerment.

Nomination critiera - Local and Civic Engagement category

The Local and Civic Engagement category rewards projects that address a public group or need unique to the Bath and North East Somerset area.

The following criteria apply to the Local and Civic Engagement category only.

  • Have a strong focus on the local communities’ or civil society organisations' needs with clear evidence of how this activity / project has met those needs.

  • Be focused in the Bath and North East Somerset region, including towns surrounding the local authority.

  • Demonstrate how the activities / project has benefited the University. This could benefit you personally, your research or teaching (if applicable) or meet a strategic need within your department or faculty.

Nomination process

Nominations for the Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards should be self-nominations, but nominations from others will also be accepted.

Nomination forms

For nominations to the Informing, Involving and Collaborating categories, please use the Engage Awards nomination form.

For nominations to the Local and Civic Engagement category, please use the Engage Awards Local and Civic nomination form.

Submission

Nominees should submit their nomination form directly to the Public Engagement Unit via email public-engagement@bath.ac.uk. With the nomination category in the subject line by Thursday 10 April 2025, 4pm.

Assessment process

Nominations will be assessed by a panel of internal and external experts in public engagement with research. The judging panel are:

  • Professor Julie Barnett (Chair) - Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)

  • Dr Christina Hovarth (Winner of Leadership category 2023) - Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies

  • David Jenkins (Social Prescribing Project Manager) - 3SG

  • Dr Andy Watts (Director of Knowledge Exchange for the Faculty of Science) Department of Life Sciences

A shortlist of up to three candidates per category will have their projects featured in a short video at the Engage Awards presentation event on Wednesday 25 June 2025. The judging panel will announce the winner of the awards at this event.

The judging panel considers all shortlisted candidates worthy of the award.

The winners will be asked to contribute to University websites and other materials related to their award or public engagement activities. This may take several forms, including a video, case study, or spotlight article.

Deadline

Completed nomination forms must be received by Thursday 10 April 2025, 4pm.

Key dates

  • Nominations open – Monday 27 January 2025

  • Nominations close – Thursday 10 April 2025, 4pm

  • Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards presentation and Showcase - Wednesday 25 June 2025

Enquiries

If you are interested in finding out more about the Vice-Chancellor's Engage Awards, drop us a line.