Public Engagement

Actively involving individuals, communities, or stakeholders in decision-making, discussions, or activities that affect them.

Bright Culture's consultants have all been appointed to the Heritage Fund's Register of Support Services (RoSS) for Public Engagement with Heritage. We have developed, delivered, and worked on a wide range of Heritage Fund projects and can support and advise you on your project.

blue box with question written on it and pens and medals in front.

Public engagement emphasizes ongoing interaction, collaboration, and participation, aiming to build a meaningful relationship between organisations and the public. It can involve education, dialogue, co-creation of ideas, and shared decision-making.

Public engagement aims to:

  • Foster two-way communication: Encouraging dialogue and collaboration between the public and decision-makers.
  • Build trust and accountability: Strengthening relationships through transparency and inclusive participation.
  • Enhance community involvement: Enabling communities to shape decisions, policies, or projects actively.
  • Promote shared understanding: Facilitating the exchange of knowledge, concerns, and ideas to develop mutual respect and understanding.

When delivering public engagement and consultation, we work openly, creatively and responsively in partnership with clients and stakeholders to ensure all voices are heard.

Our Services include

  • Planning, recruiting, and delivering in-person and online workshops, focus groups, and forums to understand people’s views and perspectives on different topics and subject matter.
  • Running drop in public consultation spaces and activities.
  • Designing bespoke online surveys.
  • Audience development research, consultation and planning with both new and existing audiences.
  • Researching and testing proposed ideas for the Heritage Fund applications with proposed audiences and co-curating the development of these.
  • Planning and writing the Heritage Fund applications that are ambitious and create real change while being responsive to the audience’s needs, interests, and potential barriers to engagement.
  • Mentoring staff and volunteer teams in public engagement approaches.

Public Engagement Case Studies

 

Esther worked with us on our groundbreaking national disability history project ‘History of Place’ during our development phase.  She was instrumental in us achieving our Round Two funding application of £878,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.  She has extensive experience in supporting organisations in their development of HLF applications and her insights and knowledge were extremely valuable.

Esther Fox, Head of Accentuate Programme   Screen South