Explore Awards

Supporting public engagement for researchers
Futures2021 festival of discovery.Held as part of European Researchers Night, a range of events featuring academics from the University of Plymouth.Seas the Day (National Marine Aquarium) – world-leading experts from University of Plymouth’s Marine Institute will explore one of the global challenges facing our planet – how to protect our seas – through a range of talks and family activities.

Explore Awards

The Explore Awards aim to assist researchers, with priority for Early Career Researchers, in a range of ways to support their public engagement with research.
Awards of between £3,000 – £6,000 are available.
Applications for 2023/2024 closed on Monday 13 November 2023 and awards will be given in early 2024. 

  • HPre-proposal activity focusing on developing partnerships.

  • HPiloting new ways of working with non-academic partners in collaborative ways, namely community groups and members of the public.

  • HPiloting new public engagement methods that could be embedded in future research.

  • HResearch proposal workshops with non-academic partners (e.g. research prioritisation).

  • HCreating case studies and collating evidence of what works in public engagement with research, to share with others.

  • HDeveloping new resources to support public engagement practice across the University.

Explore Award successes

Congratulations to our 2023/2024 Explore Award winners. Here's more about them and the fantastic projects they're delivering.

The OP Project 

The mainstreaming of identified technology-enabled healthcare in people’s home is an Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) priority. To make the most of data from wearables, smart devices and environmental sensors at home, systems need to ensure several factors including data flow into a “orchestration platform” (OP) which brings together real-time data from application programming interfaces (APIs) with patient records.
This award will provide resource to populate an understanding of the initial priorities and tensions of developing an OP. To build trust with those who will be impacted by an innovation of this design. This work will also provide the necessary PPIE work that is required (pre-award) by NIHR and will inform an application to the Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme. 

Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) Learning

This exciting technology allows individuals to control machines with their minds by translating brain signals into computer commands. Its application can improve various treatments from stroke rehabilitation to surgery augmentation.
This award seeks to work with the public to understand their conceptualisation of BCIs and how they instinctively try to control machines with their minds. This new engagement programme pilot is expected to use the feedback to inform a large-scale study to develop and implement a BCI Learning Protocol. It will also give the foundation to apply for substantial research grants.  

Participatory Project with Wonder Zoo Arts

This project aims to deliver innovation by developing new creative tools, in the form of walking and game play, for engaging participants in place-based research initiatives.
The award will fund Stonehouse residents to go on exploratory walks and note meaningful features of their environment. The participants of these walks will then work with the researcher to abstract their views of the landscape through map-making activities, that then provide the basis for creating board games. The work will conclude with a public sharing and exhibition to play the games that have been developed and hear the stories of the participants who made them.

Engagement Activities with Fishing Communities

The project is aiming to actively engage with fishing communities across the country, providing them opportunities to contribute towards discussions and speak openly and honestly about their visions for their industry developing and adapting to new technologies such as changes to vessel fleets, regulations, and finances.
This funding will create better working relationships, by offering easily accessible meeting times and venues such as local community centres, pubs, cafes, and restaurants. The team will collect information and experiences without judgement and collate fishermen’s views along with ports and harbour staff in a manner that they will recognise as useful for future progress. 

Something Fishy.......

This piece of work is proposing an engagement event at the Plymouth Fish Market to showcase all things FISH across the city. This event will be used to test The Plymouth Fishfinger* prototype with the diverse local audience.
*The Plymouth Fishfinger is an innovation being led by the FoodSEqual Plymouth research team, alongside local stakeholders. The prototype fishfinger will be co-designed and co-produced by school students and it will be both healthy and sustainable, ensuring local fish remains in the local community. The intention is to get this product into the school meal system locally.

Co-creating research outputs with community Collaborators

This project aims to engage community collaborators optimally in the dissemination of tangible research outputs with the objectives to co-create three outputs:
  1. One collaboratively written academic paper with one dissemination method such as a paper / blog, etc (to be decided).
  2. One output from participatory research, to be decided with participants (such as mixing writing with media / video / zine / comic, etc).
  3. Reflection on the collaboration process and collate the learnings on collaborative writing and dissemination into a case study which can be shared amongst the University of Plymouth academic community and beyond. 

Forced Displacement and arts-based Interventions

Forced migrants are five times more likely to experience mental illness than people who have not experienced forced displacement. There is emerging evidence, that creative arts-based interventions help to reduce the symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental health illness.
This project will enable engagement activities to develop partnerships and convene research proposal workshops over two meetings with non-academic partners. The workshops will facilitate gaining a better understanding of the nature and creative arts-based work offered by local service providers.

Community Research Engagement in Aging and the Mind (CREAM)

This award will fund a CREAM Tea event within the local community to hear talks from local researchers and the opportunities to volunteer to help with designing or taking part in future research projects relating to the brain and aging.
This research is currently centred around the longer-term consequences of traumatic brain injury in older people. An important part of designing high-quality studies in this field is understanding what is important to these patients during their recovery and what life might have been like before their brain injury. 

Successful awards 2022 and 2023

In 2022 and 2023, 12 Explore Awards supported researchers across a range of inspiring projects. From a community-led, food themed ‘people’s assembly’, through to innovative ways to identify and engage hard-to-reach people with liver disease. 
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