Public Engagement and Science Funding

Vocabulary flashcards related to public engagement, science funding, and related case studies.

Aims of Public Engagement

To inform and educate, entertain, justify funding and research, remove fears and scepticisms, and inspire and encourage.

Methods of Public Engagement

Meetings, museums, media and events, institutes, and hospitals.

Importance of Public Engagement

NGOs, learning societies, and professional bodies.

Government Policy

The formal and informal decisions made by a public authority in relation to carrying out their duties.

Policy for Science vs. Science for Policy

Policy that is not always made with science in mind but for the progression of other agendas.

Organizations that advise government policy and research.

UKRI and CRUK

Impact Factor

A metric used to measure the importance of a journal by calculating the average number of citations received in the journal over a 2-year period.

Citation Fishing

The practice of unnecessarily or strategically including citations to boost the impact or perceived prestige of a journal or group.

Human Capital Theory

Humans can increase their productive capacity through education and skills training.

Interior design of the Francis Crick Institute

Few individual offices and an open plan workspace.

Public Engagement (PE) at the Francis Crick Institute

Free exhibitions, open lab life to the public, inclusivity and outreach programs, and free conferences.

Positions of Leaders at Francis Crick Institute - PRO/CON

Swift transfer of knowledge and variety but instability makes the job less attractive.

Pitfalls of external funding

Businesses want profits from products, make patents for rights on research; limits to who can access intellectual property.

Grant Process

Collect data (1 yr), write proposal (1 yr), submit grant – wait 6 months.

Grant Evaluations

Anonymous peer review and Grant committee (10-20 senior members).

Criteria for Grant Evaluations

Novel, feasible, track record, relevance to priorities, impact.

Roles of a PI (Principal Investigator)

Major time commitment, necessary to fund future projects; grant income + paper = success of PI.

DORA (Declaration on Research Assessment)

Advocates for a shift in how research is evaluated and funded and rejects journal-based metrics.

The Wellcome Trust Framework:

supports research, policy, initiatives, PE

Wellcome Collection

Contains 3 exhibits, dealing with history, philosophy + future of biomedical science and a major public library.

GDP = Gross Domestic Product

Household spending + investment + government spending + net exports.

Sources of Science Investment

Private non-profit (e.g., charities), private sector, public sector/research councils, and international sources.

Employment in the Life Sciences Sector

Pharmaceuticals, Medical Biotech, Industrial Biotech, and Medical tech.

Citizen Science at the NHM

Using the public to participate and gather data.

Haldane Principle for R&D

Government decides sectors they fund through policy, panels of experts/scientists decide on individual projects.

Academic Research Funding

The government makes up some shortfall in quality-related funding.

Public Attitudes Towards Science Survey

Public attitudes towards science range from 40 to 55% from 2005 to 2014.

Public Engagement in a Pandemic Case Study: WHO in COVID-19

Government and independent sources; daily briefings and info on progression of disease at a global level; free online courses.

Student Fees

Interconnected with research funding; £3.8 billion provided by international fees.

Brexit impact on science

Decreased collaborations with EU countries.

Government Policies and Science

Ministers are informed of good quality scientific information and expertise.

Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST)

Advises MPs and Lords on science issues and provides reports and briefs on a range of scientific issues of interest to legislators.

Select Committees (HoC and HoL)

Made up of MPs or Lords who represent all political parties; inquiries include research funding by security, public health, and new technologies.

The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CASE)

Lobbies on behalf of scientists to persuade politicians to support particular interests or policies; supported by many UK universities and companies.

Case study: Rothamsted Gm crops controversy

Demonstrated scientific priority and government support may not be enough without public support as well.

The Royal Institute mission

Building on heritage to create opportunities to discover, discuss, examine science and support scientists to engage with the public.

Key features of the Science Gallery

Interdisciplinary, interactive exhibits and art installations, public participation in policy debates, community collaboration, and youth engagement.