What you see isn’t always what you get!

Public engagement can take many different forms, but essentially, it’s about engaging and involving people in a process of sharing information, knowledge and experience to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. It involves two-way communication between you and the people you engage with. But all too often, and too easily, it can fall into the trap of simply becoming one-way communication, and then you’re missing out on the all the insights and benefits real engagement can bring. Or sometimes people are just confused about how it differs from good, engaging communications. This course introduces the basics of public engagement and walks you through the five essential steps you need to follow to make sure your path to public engagement is effective.
Let’s go!

What you’ll learn

By the end of the course you’ll be able to

  • Explain what public engagement is

    Learn about the difference between public engagement and communication, and the impact effective engagement can have

  • Develop highly effective public engagement activities

    Explore the steps that lead to successful engagement and how to apply them to your work or project

  • Identify wider examples of best practice

    Understand the value of sharing learning to benefit your own work and that of others

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction

    • About You
    • About You: Survey
    • Welcome to An Introduction to Effective Public Engagement
    • Resources for the course
    • Course Workbook
  • 2

    The Basics of Public Engagement

    • What is Public Engagement and Why Is It Important?
    • What Can Public Engagement Do For You?
    • The Path of Public Engagement
    • QUIZ 1 Introduction
    • QUIZ 1
    • Recap
  • 3

    What and Who Are You Aiming For?

    • What and Who Are You Aiming For: Overview
    • Step 1: Set Clear Aims and Objectives
    • Step 1 Action
    • Step 2: Hone Your Audience
    • Examples of Target Audiences
    • Task 1 Introduction
    • Task 1 Worksheet
    • Task 1 Outline
  • 4

    Developing an Engagement Activity

    • Developing an Engagement Activity: Overview
    • Review of Task 1
    • Step 3: Assess Different Methods of Engagement
    • Step 4: Relationship-building Is Key
    • Task 2 Introduction
    • Task 2 Worksheet
    • Task 2 Outline
  • 5

    Final Destination: Evaluate, Learn and Share

    • Final Destination: Evaluate, Learn and Share Overview
    • Review of Task 2
    • Step 5: Evaluate Your Activity and the Impact of Your Engagement
    • Sharing Learning and Informing Future Plans
  • 6

    Reflecting on the Journey

    • Looking Back on the Path of Effective Public Engagement
    • Further Information and Examples
    • QUIZ 2 Introduction
    • QUIZ 2
    • Course Takeaways
    • Course Completion
    • Feedback

About the course leader

Caroline Philpott

Marketing, communications and engagement expert, Caroline, has crafted her expertise over 20 years of supporting private, public sector and non-profit organisations, including Forestry England, the NHS (National Health Service), the UK’s leading breast cancer charity, and Cancer Research UK (the world’s leading independent cancer research charity). Constantly at the forefront of public engagement, she’s designed and delivered everything from localised, community-based activities, and driving take up of stop smoking services, through to England’s national programme of cancer awareness campaigns alongside Public Health England, the Department of Health and NHS England. She’s also led public relations for a range of IT and telecommunications clients. Here, she shares her expertise to expand your knowledge of public engagement and teach you how to design your own effective public engagement strategy.

Course features

  • Access anywhere, anyhow, anytime

    Our courses are available on PC, Mac, tablet and mobile and can be accessed at any time that suits you

  • Multimedia tools and resources

    Learn through on-demand videos, articles, downloadable resources, quizzes and assignments. Join conversations and share ideas our closed group forum

  • Confirmation of completion

    Receive digital confirmation of course completion

Who is this course for?

  • Anyone wanting to understand or deliver public engagement

  • Anyone interested in learning something new

What else do I need to know?

  • Are there any course requirements?

    Anyone is welcome to participate in this course and no prior knowledge is required.

  • How long will it take to complete the course?

    The course will take approximately 6.5 hours to complete. But you can pause your learning at any time and pick up where you left off later to allow you to work at your own pace. By the end of the course we hope you’ll have gained the basic skills to feel more confident in planning your own public engagement activities, as well as be more successful.

Sign up today!

And discover the path to effective public engagement

Get started now

Related courses

You might also like

  • All Courses

    The Basics of Science Communication

    There are a number of basics to master if you want to have the right impact. This course walks you through the art of communicating science, the six elements of good science communication, and looking beyond communicating.

    44 Lessons $99.00
    The Basics of Science Communication
View more courses