— Regno Unito Public engagement, social impact, inclusiveness
Campsbourne Community Collective, Haringey, Londra.
Queen’s University, Belfast.
National context and higher education system With a population of around 69 million, the United Kingdom has a wide and well-distributed network of universities across the country, with a strong concentration in the London area. Universities enjoy a high degree of autonomy and considerable freedom in defining their organizational structures, research priorities, and development strategies.
Many UK universities actively participate in international research networks, collaborating with partners across multiple countries and contributing to large-scale scientific projects. The system is also characterized by its strong capacity to attract international students and doctoral candidates, as well as by a diversified funding model combining public resources allocated through evaluation-based mechanisms with external funding sources.
In terms of investment, the UK allocates a significant share of its resources to Research and Development, which amounts to around 2.5% of GDP, thereby reinforcing the role of universities in the country’s socio-economic development.
Community engagement in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, community engagement is promoted in multiple ways and has long been a central component of universities’ missions. Since the 1990s, national policies have encouraged the public role of universities and dialogue between research and society, encouraging institutions to integrate community engagement into their strategies and everyday practices. A key milestone was the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research (2011), which established shared principles and clarified the responsibilities of research funders in fostering closer and more sustained relationships between science and citizens. In recent years, this orientation has been further strengthened by the public engagement strategy developed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which aims to “break down the barriers between research, innovation and society” and to make science more inclusive and accessible. Within this framework, public engagement encompasses a wide range of activities, including collaborative research, citizen involvement, public dialogue, and events held in festivals, museums, laboratories, libraries, and schools. A key reference point is the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement, established in 2008, which supports universities and research institutions in developing engagement practices by providing operational resources, self-assessment tools, and tailored guidance. The Centre also promotes position papers such as the Manifesto for Public Engagement and recognition tools like the Engagement Watermark, which highlight institutions particularly active in this field. Community engagement is supported by a broad range of funding opportunities provided by public agencies, research councils, philanthropic foundations, and universities themselves. National programs fostering dialogue between science and society, thematic initiatives on public issues, and dedicated funding streams make the UK a particularly favorable context for engagement practices. In this landscape, the social value of research is further reinforced by the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which recognizes societal impact as a key evaluation criterion and includes community engagement among the ways universities demonstrate their value to society.
Universities involved in the PLACES project*
The two UK universities involved in the PLACES project adopt partially distinct approaches to community engagement, while sharing a common emphasis on relational continuity. Field interviews indicate that, in both institutions, engagement with local communities is grounded in the development of trust-based relationships and sustained partnerships over time.
In the first university, engagement with the local context is articulated through ongoing collaborations with local authorities, alongside structured interactions with community committees, which facilitate exchanges between researchers and civil society. These partnerships are progressively built through practices of active listening, the identification of shared objectives, and the adaptation of collaborative arrangements to the specific needs of different groups (for instance, in areas such as education, poverty, or environmental issues). This approach contributes to the consolidation of stable and enduring local relationships.
In the second university, greater emphasis is placed on the relational groundwork that precedes the initiation of projects. Dedicated teams and liaison roles operate continuously to establish and maintain trust with local organisations, associations, and third-sector actors, taking into account the constraints under which these actors operate. Within this framework, particular attention is devoted to shaping collaborations that are both realistic and mutually beneficial, thereby creating favourable conditions for the activation of joint initiatives as new opportunities emerge.
* To protect the privacy of the individuals and institutions involved, the names of the universities have been anonymised.