Sense about Science is partnering with the Policy Institute at King’s College London and Wellcome to better understand what makes research communication and engagement effective – and what research leaders stand to gain or lose amid growing ambivalence about institutions and authority.
We’ll be drawing insights from our own experience of effective two-way communication about research as well as looking at other examples of successes and failures. We'll also be launching a nationwide survey to explore whether moral and political identities predict people's attitudes to scientific research and expertise. Do we need to change how we engage and communicate research in response to changing political identities?
"The aim of this collaboration is to remedy the fact that an exceptional two decades of research engagement isn’t well codified, and to figure out how the scope for constructive, socially grounded research might be maintained as people’s attachments and political identities shift" says Tracey Brown, Sense about Science Director.
The project will provide research leaders with evidence-based guidance to develop strategies and focus resources, and with practical approaches that are tuned to trends such as increasing polarization and mistrust of information. You can read more about here: https://senseaboutscience.org/trust-in-science/.
If you have experience or examples you think would be relevant to our work, we would love to hear from you – please email the team at hello@senseaboutscience.org. Thank you.
Best wishes, David Schley
Deputy Director, Sense about Science https://senseaboutscience.org/