The top 15 funders of publicly-funded research in the UK are working together in a Consortium to review the current state of public engagement with research within higher education, research institutes and clinical settings across the UK.
The Consortium has commissioned research company, TNS-BMRB to carry out an attitudinal survey of researchers, and those working in a public engagement enabler role, along with some in-depth telephone interviews. The work will focus on developing a robust evidence base around the understanding of and participation in public engagement with research. The survey will build on the Royal Society survey of factors affecting science communication(opens in a new tab) from 2006, to ascertain changes in the sector since then and to provide a benchmark for future developments. It will include all academic disciplines with a view to highlighting the importance of public engagement and learning how to overcome barriers to it.
The 16 organisations in the Consortium are:
The survey will commence in late May 2015, with results due to be announced in the autumn.