Reminder for researchers and PS colleagues to submit public engagement data to HESA

18 Sep 2026

The deadline for submitting public engagement information to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is Thursday 1 October.

Every year, the University is required to submit its social, community and cultural engagement statistics to HESA as part of our annual statutory returns. If you are an academic who has engaged the public with research between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2026, or a PS colleague submitting this data on behalf of academic colleagues in your School/department/institute etc, please provide this information by Thursday 1 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 public, and you do not need to submit work that took place with colleagues in your School, department or institute, with our students or with primary and secondary schools and colleges. Only include conference presentations if the session was open to the public.

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).

How do I provide the data?

To submit your data, download and complete the data spreadsheet and email it to Roz Webster, Faculty Social Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability Manager, by Thursday 1 October.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Roz.