Consulting on our new strategy

Almost a year ago, we shared a blog post about our relaunched public engagement support at UCL and our hopes for the future. We’re really pleased to share that, in collaboration with colleagues from across UCL, we have now developed a draft strategy for consultation.

This is a strategy for the UCL Public Engagement Team for the next two years (2026-2028) and will focus on connecting the team to the rest of UCL, building and embedding practical support for public engagement, and ensuring staff and students at all levels are rewarded and recognised for their public engagement work. The short timescale is deliberate, and will allow us to get stuck in to the practical aspects of public engagement support while building plans for the future.

The three themes of our draft strategy are:

1. Connecting with UCL and embedding our approach: Support for public engagement at UCL will be aligned with institutional and sector-wide priorities, connecting across departments and campuses to foster interdisciplinary learning and collaboration.
2. Enabling purposeful engagement: We will have a shared understanding of public engagement across UCL, with visible examples of best practice to support staff and students when developing their own projects, regardless of career stage or level of experience.
3. Supporting skills and career development: Public engagement will be embedded in professional development and career progression opportunities, enabling staff and students at all levels to grow and develop in their engagement practice. 

How did we get here?

This draft strategy has been developed in consultation with over 50 representatives from different faculties, teams and departments at UCL, as well as key external partners. Through 1:1 consultations and collaborative workshops, we asked about the current perception of support for public engagement at UCL, as well as potential threats and opportunities for the future.

 

How can you help?

Our consultation has now closed – thank you to everyone who responded! We will launch our new strategy in early 2026.

 

 

Image by Hannah Sibayan on Unsplash