The Collaborative Futures Academy (CFA) was an annual online programme held between 2021 and 2025, that sought to advance the practice of Public Engagement (PE) across academic disciplines, geographic regions, and cultural contexts. Researchers and practitioners worldwide face challenges in designing engagement that is inclusive, ethical, and context sensitive. Using the format of a professional online Academy, CFA explored how engagers can reflect on shared issues, exchange expertise, and build networks to enhance their work.
CFA aimed to strengthen the capacities of researchers and practitioners to design and deliver Public Engagement initiatives that are based on an ethos of care. By focusing on reflection, peer learning and global collaboration, it sought to foster a supportive and nuanced approach to their professional practice.
To do so, each year CFA focused on a shared theme relevant to participants’ work, such as Creativity, Emotions, Ethics & Equity and Place. The Academy explored these themes through a range of methods, including workshops, peer learning groups, case studies, creative exercises, storytelling, forum theatre, co-creation sessions, and reflective practice.
Over five years, CFA engaged over 250 participants from 30+ countries, building a global network of Public Engagement practitioners. The Academy provided a unique professional development opportunity, developing practical skills, ethical awareness, and innovative approaches. Based on the themes, the team also produced several practical outputs to share the learnings with the wider community and advance the field, including the Emotions in Engagement Toolkit (2024) and the collaborative Place in Engagement Encyclopedia (2025).
Partners
The Collaborative Futures Academy was jointly developed and organised by the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and the Public Engagement Team at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with Wellcome Connecting Science, the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public (all UK) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa).
The Collaborative Futures Academy was jointly developed and hosted by the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and The University of Cambridge Public Engagement Team, in partnership with Wellcome Connecting Science, the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public (all UK), and Stellenbosch University (South Africa).