SMASHfestUK : A participatory action research programme resulting in the development of a novel model, ‘SCENE’ for inclusive public engagement with research
- Submitting institution
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University of Greenwich
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 26720
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
-
-
- Location
- -
- Brief description of type
- A multicomponent output
- Open access status
- -
- Month
- January
- Year
- 2020
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
-
-
- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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1
- Research group(s)
-
-
- Proposed double-weighted
- Yes
- Double-weighted statement
- The double-weighted multi-component output covers an extensive body of work occurring between 2015 and 2020. SMASHfestUK, a festival that is the subject of the MCO, was created as an event, and as a platform for action-research exploring barriers to public engagement with research (PER) for marginalised communities. The research took place in co-designed iterative cycles, with each the production of each annual event being followed by an extensive evaluation and feedback cycle, leading to the next iteration/prototype (festival, event or activity). A model for inclusive engagement was derived from multiple prototyping and iteration cycles.
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Keith developed an innovative science/technology/engineering/arts/maths (STEAM) festival (SMASHfestUK) based on community-based participatory-action-research using inclusive, co-design approach methods. SMASHfestUK explored the under-representation of white working-class and Black, Asian and BAME people in arts/cultural spaces and informal science learning, creating, prototyping and testing solutions. Keith developed the dynamic model, “SCENE,” for inclusive public-engagement. SCENE uses narratives, community-co-design, enquiry, entertainment and hyper-local approaches to engage publics. This pioneering model was developed dynamically over annual iterations
SMASHfestUK designed co-design workshops with stakeholders (school pupils, families, scientists, academics, engineers, students, teachers, researchers) prior to each festival. Workshop results informed the engagement model so each festival reflected stakeholder input. After each festival independent evaluations using front-end and summative methods captured quantitative comparative data ending with qualitative reflection. Findings fed into SCENE. Inputs were mapped against outcomes in a theory-of-change model revealing leverage points where smallest inputs yielded largest results. These changes, aimed at improving and deepening engagement of WWC and BAME audiences, were incorporated into PAR and co-design for the next festival/iteration.
The significance of SMASHfestUK and SCENE is evidenced by changing practice and policy and impact of outcomes. SCENE resulted in 71% black/black heritage under 16s at SMASHfestUK, (compare to 11% at the British Science Festival). Changing practice: UK Science Festivals Network now actively promotes co-design methods. Keith was consulted/quoted in UKRI ‘Museums of the Future’ report and was a panelist at NESTA ‘Everyone Makes Innovation Policy’ event, and contributed to the All Party Parliamentary Group on STEM Inclusion/Diversity. SMASHfestUK was consulted for STFC new Public Engagement Strategy (2017) and ‘Wonder’ initiative to reach underserved audiences. It was presented at ERASMUS+NATRISK (http://natrisk.ni.ac.rs/) as a method for engaging publics in disaster planning. Findings from SCENE are also incorporated into the ‘Tomorrow’s Engineers’ code of practice involving 100 organisations including Engineering UK, BP, Shell, RAE and DfE.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -
