Brief History of Public Engagement with Science and Technology in the UK

The UK has a long history of promoting an awareness of science and technology: in 1799, the Royal Institution (RI) was founded and the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA) met for the first time in September 1831. For a long time there was a general perception that science would continue to enhance life, and science and engineering accordingly enjoyed an eminent place in society.

In 1985, the Royal Society (RS) set up a working party to look at the nature and extent of public understanding of science (PUS) in the UK; and PUS delivery mechanisms. One of the outcomes of the resulting 'Bodmer Report' was the establishment, by the RS, RI and BA, of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS).

In 1993, the Science, Engineering and Technology White Paper, Realising our Potential, committed the Government to support a campaign aimed at attracting more of our best people into SET studies and careers, and raising public awareness of the contribution of science, engineering and technology. This led to the establishment of OST's Public Understanding of SET Team, now the Public Engagement with Science and Technology Team.

In recent years there has been a growing recognition in government and the scientific community of the need to move away from the old model of the 'public understanding of science' to one which involves public engagement in science and proper dialogue between scientists and the public. This was set out clearly in the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology report, Science and Society, and the Government's response to this report. The need to develop new channels of communication between the scientific community and the public is also highlighted in the Government White Paper, Excellence and Opportunity - a science and innovation policy for the 21st century.  This was also highlighted in the Prime Minister’s speech, ‘Science Matters’, at the Royal Society on 23 May 2002.

At the request of the Science Minister, Lord Sainsbury, the British Association produced the report ‘Science in Society’ which makes recommendations on how Government might help to increase the impact of science in society activity and ensure that it meets public needs.  Details of the public consultation on OST’s response to this report and OST’s implementation plans can be found by clicking here.

Following the publication of ‘Science in Society’ the RS, RI and BA issued a joint statement on 6 December 2002 announcing that the Copus Council would be stood down.