PCER Fund

• Overview
• Aims of the PCER Fund
• Is your project right for this fund?

Overview

The Public and Community Engagement with Research (PCER) team in Research Services invites researchers and public engagement facilitators to apply for funding to support purposeful and responsible public and community engagement with research activities.

The PCER Fund is an internal grant scheme supported by the University’s Higher Education & Innovation Fund (HEIF) allocation and Participatory Research Fund from Research England. It is open to researchers and public engagement facilitators at the University of Oxford at any career stage, and with any level of experience of public and community engagement with research.

Aims of the PCER Fund

The PCER Fund supports researchers to improve their research through public and community engagement activities. We believe that engaged research is better research, because incorporating diverse perspectives improves ideas, makes findings more relevant and maximises the positive differences that research can make to the world.

The fund plays a key role in the new Public and Community Engagement with Research strategy for the University, and its vision for a university where purposeful and responsible engagement with communities and the public is integral to our research, driving collaboration and creating positive change. As well as financial support, the fund provides evaluation support to researchers carrying out engagement activities. The PCER Fund supports projects from all disciplines, and aims to:

• Encourage and support public and community engagement projects that:
• expand upon established ideas; or
• experiment with innovative methodologies and novel approaches, and enhance engagement practices; and/or
• develop external partnerships for future engagement opportunities.
• Engage a diverse range of people with Oxford’s research, including under-engaged groups, bridging the gap between research and the public and communities.
• Develop researchers’ skills in public and community engagement with research.
• Fund projects with the potential to make a difference to members of the public and communities, researchers, and/or their research.

Is your project right for this fund? 

Purpose 

We aim to fund projects across different engagement purposes, practices and participants.

Your project might be building on work that’s already underway or starting something completely new. You might be trying a new, innovative methodology; using tried and tested methods; or even using the funds to develop a relationship for future engagement work.

The fund aims to support projects engaging a diverse range of people, including (but not limited to) groups who may have been under-engaged in the past, through responsible, purposeful methods. Projects should make a positive difference, ideally to all involved, whether members of the public/ a community, researchers or the research itself.

Differences

When you think about the difference your project will make, it may be helpful to consider whether it’s a difference in knowledge/information, skills/capacity, or behaviour/attitudes.

Examples of what difference(s) a project could make to different groups are set out below:

Differences made to Public and community(s)

Type of difference – Knowledge/information

Increase awareness of a research topic or outputs

Type of difference – Skills/capacity

Enable audiences to explore a research topic that is new to them

Type of difference – Behaviour/attitudes

Stimulate new interests or increase self-confidence

Differences made to Researchers

Type of difference – Knowledge/information

Increase awareness of common public attitudes towards their research topic

Type of difference – Skills/capacity

Enable researchers to tailor their approach in the context of common public attitudes towards their research topic

Type of difference – Behaviour/attitudes

Increase fulfilment as researchers feel more connected and responsive to public

Some examples of the kinds of activities you could do to make those differences are:

• Co-creation of research with relevant communities
• Consultation or interviews with public or community contributors to inform your research
• Production of a podcast series or animations to share your research
• Bringing together diverse stakeholders to develop innovative methodologies or tools that address societal challenges

Participatory research

Whilst we fund a whole range of public engaged research, we also strongly encourage applications from participatory research projects.

Vaughn and Jacquez (2020) develop a helpful definition that offers a starting point for reflection, highlighting that in participatory research, knowledge is co-created in collaboration with those with direct, lived- and living- experience of the topic in focus:

“Participatory research (PR) encompasses research designs, methods, and frameworks that use systematic inquiry in direct collaboration with those affected by an issue being studied for the purpose of action or change. PR engages those who are not necessarily trained in research but belong to or represent the interests of the people who are the focus of the research.” (p.1)

You can read more on our website Participatory Research Oxford

Community Engagement 

The term ‘community’ has very different meanings for different people. We understand it as distinct from the general ‘public’, in so far as we think of community as a group connected by a common place, practice, experience or identity.

A community can be any group of people that is connected by place (e.g., a shared geographical location such as people who live in the same town suburb or postcode region), by practice (e.g., a shared profession or activity such as teachers, entrepreneurs), by identity (e.g., gender, ethnicity) and/or experience (e.g. parents, migrants, experience of a particular health condition), or an intersection of more than one of the above (e.g. people in a particular location, with a particular identity who have specific life circumstances) Which community or communities you decide to work with should be influenced by, and in turn influence, your research.

What is distinct about engaging with communities is the purpose and the methods or practices used to do engaged research. Community engagement should be oriented around understanding a community’s needs and improving their circumstances in a co-constructed, non-paternalistic way. As such, community engagement should be built around inclusive, participatory practices and be oriented around consulting and collaborating, rather than informing.

The purpose of engaged research with communities will vary depending on the nature of a given community’s needs and interests. Often, community engaged research can be a catalyst for further activity or social action:

"[Community engagement] often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices."

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Principles of community engagement (1st ed.). Atlanta (GA): CDC/ATSDR Committee on Community Engagement; 1997

Timing 

There’s a deadline for spending the funds so you’ll need to make sure your project can be completed by the end of the financial year you’re applying in (see ‘Key dates’ section for when this is). 

Examples of previously funded projects 

To help you understand whether your project is right for this fund, you may want to look at some previously PCER funded projects (SSO required).

 This is not a complete list of all funded projects. If you would like to see more examples from your department/faculty or division, or if you have any questions about any of these projects, please contact the PCER Team. Your divisional PCER Lead will also be able to help you decide whether your project is right for this fund. See ‘Contact’ section for details of how to get in touch. 

What won’t we fund? 

Projects that aim to target policy makers or engage business and industry are not eligible for the PCER Fund and should apply to the University’s Knowledge Exchange Seed Fund or one of the OPEN policy engagement funding schemes.

Similarly, projects that aim to reach undergraduate students, or where the primary purpose is to increase student applications to the University are not eligible for the fund.

1. Download and complete the Case for support template.

2. Save the completed form as a PDF.

3. Use the University’s Internal Research Award Management System (IRAMS) to complete the online form with further details of your project and budget breakdown.

• Please note: applicants should only fill in budget details in IRAMS for the first financial year (Year 1). More budget lines will appear as you enter budget information.

4. Upload the PDF version of your completed case for support in IRAMS and submit your application.

Your application will be automatically submitted to your department or faculty. We may contact you during the decision-making process to discuss aspects of your application.