Planning an application

We know that you’ve got great ideas for public engagement. To get funding via our competitive peer review process, you need to be able to articulate those ideas clearly.

Whether you’re applying for a dedicated public engagement award, or requesting funding via a research grant/fellowship, what you need to tell us is summed up by three simple concepts: Plan, Do, Review.

Plan

Explain:

Why you’re engaging – what’s your purpose?
Who your audience is – are your plans tailored?
When you’re choosing to engage.

Be clear as to how your plans meet the aims of the STFC public engagement strategy.

Give evidence:

On what are you basing your approach?
What have you learned from experience?

Do

Explain:

How you’re going to engage:

Tailor your approach to your purpose.
Different engagement ‘tools’ are suitable for different engagement activities – be clear why you’ve selected your approach.

Don’t neglect to include sufficient time and expertise for planning and management of the activity – get help from others, and ask for resources if needed.

Review

Explain:

What you expect to happen:

Be able to articulate anticipated outputs, outcomes, and potential impacts from your work.
Consider the outcomes and impacts on the grant holder, their team, institution, and partners, alongside the audience.

Planning for evaluation is vital – show that this is considered and tailored as part of your planning. It’s not an afterthought.