Stakeholder Engagement, ethical and inclusive in practice.
A working course on stakeholder engagement for academics, R and D professionals and post-graduate researchers. Stakeholder mapping, feedback mechanisms, the ethical and social dimensions of engaging the people your research affects.
How to take this course
Commission it for your cohort.
ORBIT paid courses are delivered bespoke for groups: cohort size, dates, exercises and case studies are tailored before delivery. We do not sell individual seats. Tell us what you are planning and we will reply within one working day with a suggested fit and a fixed quote.
Have an access code?
If your organisation has already commissioned this course and given you an ORBIT access code, you can open your lessons straight away. No account, no sign-up - the code unlocks the courses chosen for you.
Lost your code? Email contact@orbit-rri.org.What the workshop delivers.
The course works through stakeholder engagement as a discipline, not a checkbox. We cover the difference between stakeholder engagement and public engagement, when each is appropriate, and what good practice looks like in research where the stakeholder list extends beyond the obvious.
The afternoon is hands-on. Participants run a stakeholder mapping exercise on their own projects, design feedback mechanisms that actually generate usable input, and build follow-up plans that survive after the research moves on.
Learning outcomes
- 01Understand the social and ethical dimensions of engaging diverse stakeholders, and the responsibilities that follow.
- 02Develop responsible engagement strategies grounded in case studies, applicable across academic and commercial settings.
- 03Apply stakeholder-mapping, feedback and follow-up tools to your own work.
- 04Recognise the political economy of engagement, including how funder expectations and institutional politics shape who gets heard.
Who the course is for.
Built for academic and industry researchers at every career stage, including those new to engagement work and those with existing experience who want a more deliberate framework. It suits PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, PIs, R and D professionals and the engagement leads inside research offices and CDTs.
Particularly useful for cohorts moving into patient and public involvement (PPIE), policy engagement, or industry-partnered research where the stakeholder field is broad and the politics of engagement is live.
Format and pricing.
We deliver in person at your institution. The standard format is a one-day workshop, 10:00 to 16:00, for up to fifteen participants. Multi-session and cross-CDT formats are available; see the For CDTs page for the full range.
ORBIT is a UK not-for-profit. Pricing reflects delivery cost, sits comfortably within standard EPSRC training budgets, and is quoted in writing within a few working days. Talk to us to start the conversation.
Common questions.
What is the difference between stakeholder engagement and public engagement?
Public engagement usually refers to communication and dialogue between researchers and broad publics or non-specialist audiences. Stakeholder engagement is more targeted, focusing on the specific groups and people affected by, or with influence over, a piece of research. The two often overlap, particularly under the RRI umbrella.
Why does stakeholder engagement matter for responsible innovation?
Engagement opens up the assumptions and choices inside a research project to the people they will affect. Done well, it surfaces concerns and ideas researchers cannot reach from inside their own discipline, and it increases the legitimacy and uptake of the work that follows.
Can this be commissioned for a single research project rather than a whole CDT?
Yes. We deliver the course at three scales: cohort training, project-team training for a single grant, and institution-wide training for research offices and engagement leads.
Pair with.
Courses that work well alongside Stakeholder Engagement:
Talk to us about your cohort.
Tell us the cohort, the topics you need covered and rough timing. We reply within one working day.