
Engagement
Through Engagement, we develop the Conservatoire’s relationship with the wider world.
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What We Do
At RCS, Engagement stands alongside Education and Research as a cornerstone of our mission. Engagement is how we share our specialist knowledge and expertise with audiences, learners, businesses and communities beyond the Conservatoire, for wider social, cultural and economic benefit.
We support and celebrate all the big, small, formal and informal ways our engaged practitioners contribute to the development of our sector and communities.
Leading engagement development activity across the Conservatoire, the Engagement Team offers strategic direction and support to RCS staff, students and graduates through focused initiatives and programmes. We empower our community of artists and makers to pursue, develop and scale impactful projects through targeted funding, awards, mentorship, and training. We support company start-up and commercialisation, inspire new collaborations and innovative thinking, and work closely with colleagues from all areas of the institution to drive public engagement initiatives.
Setting up new pathways for success and impact, our engagement work focuses on three main areas of delivery: Creative Enterprise, Innovation, and Public Engagement, each underpinned by targeted funding and support.
Areas of Work

Creative Enterprise
Our Creative Enterprise strand is a catalyst for new artistic ventures and business models, helping the RCS community realise their entrepreneurial ambitions. Through the Creative Enterprise Development Office (CEDO), we provide tailored business support, facilitate introductions to strategic partners, and connect individuals with different funding opportunities.

Innovation
We are deeply committed to driving innovation within the creative sector. Building on the success of our two-year pilot project, we are now focused on growing and embedding Innovation Studio as our flagship programme for supporting creative experimentation, collaboration, and interdisciplinary work.

Public Engagement
Public Engagement is at the heart of our work at RCS. As one of Scotland’s busiest arts venues, the Conservatoire welcomes thousands of audience members every year. In addition, the Engagement team helps develop new initiatives that share expertise and bring meaningful benefits to communities and the wider public.

Funding & Support
A wide range of funding and support opportunities are available to RCS students, staff and alumni. We support work at all stages of development, and the Engagement Team can help determine which offer will best meet the needs of your individual project.

To further strengthen the Conservatoire’s economic and social impact, we recognise the importance of building a strong engagement culture and infrastructure that bridges disciplines, practices and expertise to create positive change for our art forms and across society.
Beyond the Conservatoire, our connections and relationships with the world are rooted locally and extend internationally, with artists and arts organisations, creative companies, local and national government, national and international agencies, businesses, institutions and networks.
We are curious and love to explore new ways of working from one-off micro-projects with individuals to large-scale multi-partner initiatives across a number of years.
Latest Engagement News


Meet the Staff
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Lisa Williams
Impact Officer (Research and Public Engagement)
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Pete Sykes
Research and Knowledge Exchange Administrator
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Shilpa T-Hyland
Exchange Talks Coordinator
Contact Us
Engagement at the Conservatoire reflects a basic artistic impetus: to make a difference. For enquiries, please email engagement@rcs.ac.uk
