Public Engagement and Partnerships
Public engagement is a core strand of the current Science and Society work and will be explored further in the consultation on developing a Science and Society strategy for the UK.
It is all about raising public awareness, engagement and support for science and technology by enabling citizens across all social groups to engage with science constructively and ensuring that scientists and policy makers recognize and address the public's priorities and concerns.
Public Dialogue on Science and Technology
The ten year framework highlighted the importance that the Government attaches to greater public confidence and improved engagement in scientific research and its innovative applications. Greater engagement will identify public aspirations and concerns regarding the health, safety, environmental, ethical and social issues related to science and technology. It will help to inform Government policy and decision-making, and will also build understanding and appreciation of the wider benefits of science and technology to society.
The ten year framework set an objective to:
- Demonstrate improvement against a variety of measures, such as trends in public attitudes, public confidence, media coverage, and acknowledgements and responsiveness to public concerns by policy-makers and scientists
Achieving this objective is a long-term challenge and one of the biggest faced by both Government and the scientific community. In order to meet this, it is important to acknowledge that the public largely forms its opinions on the basis of issues that impact on their own experience. Action is therefore taking place across Government to establish meaningful indicators that are relevant to the public, scientists and policy-makers alike.
The Government's flagship programme for promoting public dialogue in science is the Sciencewise Export Resource Centre.
