A three-tiered approach was implemented to engage with the public:

• Creative workshops with communities and public groups – using storytelling techniques to start a conversation with Corby residents about Re-cognition technology and the future it might create.
• Creative activities were held at Liberty Festival in Corby – a big cultural festival hosted in Corby.
• Digital Survey and Digital Video – a focused survey disseminated to Corby residents.

This project employed a variety of creative activities for public groups to get involved with, including storytelling techniques, an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience, recorded interviews with Corby residents and arts and craft activities. All activities focused on making RE-COGNITION technology a tangible concept for public groups to engage with. The activities were also focused on starting conversations with Corby residents about their thoughts and opinions on the RE-COGNITION technology.

Some of the most powerful aspects of this project were the use of virtual reality. Leo&Hyde worked to create a virtual futuristic landscape of Corby that had some of the Re-cognition technology featured in the landscape. The public could then put on virtual reality headsets to participate in a sensory, interactive experience and physically experience what Corby might look like in the future and the role Re-cognition technology might play. After the public had taken part in this activity, they were then asked the public feedback questions, where they could contribute meaningful and insightful feedback.

In addition, this virtual reality landscape was converted into video form. This video then accompanied a digital survey disseminated as part of the project so that respondents could watch the video, build an understanding of the technology and then answer some really specific questions about the Re-cognition technology.

In total, 13 different Public Engagement activities took place, 30 hours of engagement activities were delivered and 406 members of the Corby community were engaged throughout this project.