PCER Fund
Who the fund is for
Any researcher or public engagement professional at the University of Oxford from any discipline or research area can apply as Principal Investigator (PI). PIs are accountable for the project.
As PI, you can submit applications with co-applicants. Co-applicants may be other staff members (e.g., researchers, DPhil students, teaching staff, public engagement professionals, museum staff) or external partners (e.g. representatives from patient and community groups, teachers, etc).
Both newcomers and those experienced in public engagement with research are encouraged to apply.
Eligibility requirements:
- A University cost centre is required to host an award. College-based activities are possible, but funds must be managed through a faculty or department.
- At least one applicant (either the PI or a co-applicant) must be a researcher at the University of Oxford.
Available funds
There is a total of £100,000 available for the 2024/2025 academic year. You can apply for up to £6,000 for your project.
We aim to fund a balanced portfolio of projects from across the university. To manage this across the termly application deadlines, we reserve the right to hold funding in anticipation of receiving applications from a currently under-represented division.
Funds must be spent before the end of June in the financial year they are received. See ‘Key dates’ section for details of application and spending deadlines.
Key dates
Applications can be submitted at any time while the fund is open, and will be reviewed in three termly application review windows.
Michaelmas term 2024
Application deadline 28 October 2024
Funding decisions* 3 December 2024
Evaluation workshop 8 January 2025
Spending deadline 30 June 2025
Final report deadline 1 September 2025
Hilary term 2025
Application deadline: noon on 20 January 2025
Funding decisions* 25 February 2025
Evaluation workshop 26 March 2025
Spending deadline 30 June 2025
Final report deadline 1 September 2025
Trinity term 2025
Application deadline: noon on 19 May 2025
Funding decisions* 24 June 2025
Evaluation workshop 23 July 2025
Spending deadline 30 June 2026
Final report deadline 1 September 2026
*We aim to share budget codes with successful applicants within 6-8 weeks of announcing funding decisions. However, we cannot guarantee budget code timeframes as this process is not managed by the PCER Team. If there are any delays in getting your budget codes to you and your project is likely to suffer as a result, you may need to speak to your department about underwriting costs. This is particularly relevant to applicants applying in the Trinity term 2025 deadline who intend to spend funds in August and September 2025, ahead of the next financial year's budget codes being confirmed. The PCER Team will support PIs in liaising with departmental finance teams to plan for and manage spending during this period.
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.
What costs we’ll cover
All funds requested should be spent on the development, delivery and evaluation of your project and justified in the budget section of your application.
The kinds of costs that can be applied for may include (but are not limited to):
- Equipment and materials costs*
- Reasonable travel costs in line with the University’s travel policy
- Venue and catering costs (e.g. for engagement workshops)
- Recognising and rewarding community contributors for their time and expenses
- Promoting or advertising engagement opportunities
*The University has equipment available to hire (free of charge) for engagement activities through the PERShare website, from cameras and microphones to gazebos and tables. We recommend exploring what is available before including costs for equipment in your application.
Application support
When preparing your application, the following resources may be helpful:
- Frequently Asked Questions – ask a question and find answers
- Responsible Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Framework
- Participatory Research Oxford resources
- Further resources for planning public engagement with research activities on the PCER Fund padlet.
For support in planning your project and preparing your application, we suggest speaking to the Public Engagement Lead in your division:
- Humanities: Dr Victoria McGuinness (Head of Public Engagement)
- Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences: Dr Michaela Livingstone-Banks (Head of Public and Community Engagement with Research)
- Medical Sciences: Naomi Gibson (Public and Policy Engagement Facilitator)
- Social Sciences: Aileen Marshall-Brown (Head of Engagement)
- Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM): Dr Harriet Warburton (Head of Research and Impact Management)
How applications are assessed
Assessment criteria
Panels reviewing applications will consider whether a project:
1. Is meeting a need that is important to the groups involved, and is connected to applicant’s broader research (Q3 of application form)
Reviewers will consider questions like:
- Why is this project needed?
- Is the project addressing an important issue for the group(s) involved?
- Is this connected to the applicant’s broader research?
2. Could make a positive difference to the engaged group(s), the research and/or researchers (Q4, 5, 6)
Reviewers will consider questions like:
- Is the project activity likely to improve the research?
- Will it make a positive difference for the group(s) involved, like learning new things, getting better at something, or changing how they think or act?
- Could this project help researchers gain more knowledge or skills?
3. Uses methods that are relevant and appropriate to the difference(s) the project aims to make and the engaged group(s) (Q7, 8)
Reviewers will consider questions like:
- Do the planned activities seem suitable for the group(s) involved?
- Is it clear how the activities could lead to the difference(s) the project aims to make?
- Do activities seem well planned, and achievable in the timeframe?
- Are engaged groups consulted throughout the project?
- Does the choice of engaged group(s) make sense to the project's difference(s) the project aims to make?
4. Is engaging responsibly with the group(s) involved (Q7, 8, 9)
Reviewers will consider questions like:
- Where applicable, does the applicant already know the group(s) involved? Have they talked to them to make sure they support the activity?
- Will applicants work ethically with group(s)? For example, will they explain what will happen with the information or data given by participants? Are they aware of any risks to participants and handling these carefully?
- Will the group(s) be paid or rewarded for their time, contributions, and expenses?
- Are the project activities inclusive and accessible, from recruitment to communication with the group(s)?
- Does the applicant consider equity and diversity?
- Does the applicant show respect for the group(s)’ specific context, culture, and power dynamics?
5. Will be able to know if they have made the difference(s) they aim to (Q10)
Reviewers will consider questions like:
- Do applicants have a plan to find out if they have made the difference(s) they aim to?
- Will they involve engaged group(s) in any evaluation of the activities and/or difference(s) made?
6. Could make a long-term difference on the engaged group(s) and/or research (Q11)
Reviewers will consider questions like:
- Could the project have a long-term effect on the engaged group(s)? Is there a plan to stay in touch with them about this work?
- Are there any materials from the activities, like resources or videos, that can be used in the future?
- Is there a chance the activities could continue after the funding ends?
7. Is achieving good value for money (Q12)
The review panels
Applications will be assessed against the criteria by members of two separate groups of reviewers, who will come together at a final recommendation meeting to help reach a decision on which projects to fund. These groups are:
- Public & Community (P&C) Panel: community members external to the University who have experience engaging with research (more details about this panel and its activity on page 9 of PCER Fund call).
- Internal reviewers: public engagement professionals across the University, including divisional PCER leads, Public Engagement Facilitators and researchers.
You’ll hear from our team on the outcome of your application by email five weeks after the application deadline.
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.
If you have any questions about this fund, please contact Faye Shelbourne ([email protected]) in the Public and Community Engagement with Research Team in Research Services.
For support in planning your project and preparing your application, we suggest speaking to the Public Engagement Lead in your division:
- Humanities: Dr Victoria McGuinness (Head of Public Engagement)
- Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences: Dr Michaela Livingstone-Banks (Head of Public and Community Engagement with Research)
- Medical Sciences: Naomi Gibson (Public and Policy Engagement Facilitator)
- Social Sciences: Aileen Marshall-Brown (Head of Engagement)
- Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM): Dr Harriet Warburton (Head of Research and Impact Management)