Reminder for researchers and PS colleagues to submit public engagement data

14 Aug 2025

Submit data for the Higher Education Business-Community Interaction Survey by Friday, 31 October.

Every year, the University is required to submit its social, community and cultural engagement statistics to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) as part of our annual statutory returns. If you are an academic who has engaged the public with research between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025, or a PS colleague submitting this data on behalf of academic colleagues in your School/department/institution, make sure to submit this information via the submissions form by Friday, 31 October.

What data should be submitted?

We are interested in how our academic staff engaged with the public and communicated their research outside of academia, for example, through public lectures, exhibitions, museum education and performance arts.

Please note that activities only need to be submitted if they were open to the general public, and you do not need to submit work that took place with colleagues in your School, department or institute, or with our students.

We can only report on academic staff, so events delivered by postgraduate researchers, undergraduates or PS/technical staff do not need to be submitted.

Why do we need this data?

The data we submit as part of our HESA return directly impacts the amount of funding we receive from Research England, as well as our performance in the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF). The funding we receive currently supports a broad range of knowledge exchange activities across the University, and without this, many programmes would be impacted.

To submit data, complete the Qualtrics form.

If you would like more information on what data HESA requests, view their guidance document. If you have any questions, please contact Roz Webster, Faculty Social Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability Manager.