Bright Club: Creative Communication and Public Engagement Through the EPSRC IAA
One of Lancaster University’s flagship training and development opportunities is Bright Club, supported by the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) and open to researchers across disciplines. The programme offers an innovative approach to public engagement, helping researchers and professional services staff alike build confidence and communication skills by presenting their work through comedy to live audiences. Described by participants and attendees as ‘brave and brilliant’, ‘hilarious’, and ‘absolutely marvellous’, Bright Club emboldens Lancaster staff while sharing the culture of the university with the wider community.
Delivered with training from Dr Steve Cross and creative support from Dee Hennessy, Bright Club guides participants through the process of translating complex research and university systems into clear, engaging and accessible narratives. The emphasis is not only on performance, but on reframing ideas for non-specialist audiences in ways that are both accurate and entertaining. Performers have spanned faculties and disciplines, from romantic literature and gender studies to epidemiology and anatomy.
The programme has been widely valued by participants for its impact on confidence, creativity and public speaking skills. It also fosters a strong peer community, bringing researchers together across disciplines and career stages, and strengthening connections that extend beyond the sessions themselves. Alongside public engagement outcomes, Bright Club contributes to broader professional development, supporting skills that are relevant to teaching, dissemination, collaboration and research impact.
One participant reflected on the wider value of the programme:
“Knowing that Bright Club was part of something bigger and becoming part of a network across the UK and the world has been really great. There’s a real prestige about putting Bright Club on your CV and it’s great for student recruitment and research collaborations. It’s been the best thing I’ve done, and it makes Lancaster feel like a really fun place to be.”
Through initiatives like Bright Club, the EPSRC IAA supports researchers to explore new modes of communication that complement traditional academic outputs. By combining training, creative practice and live performance, the programme helps researchers engage new audiences while developing transferable skills that strengthen both academic and public-facing aspects of their work.
More broadly, Bright Club sits within a wider IAA portfolio that supports researchers to experiment with different routes to impact - whether through innovation collaborations, public engagement, or creative knowledge exchange - ensuring research can be shared in ways that are both meaningful and accessible.
