New report: Scientists on Public Engagement: from Communication to Deliberation? (SCoPE)

ScoPE, funded by the Wellcome Trust, was a three year social science research project,conducted in the BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience,Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society at the London School of Economics and Political Science by Sarah Franklin, Kevin Burchell and Kerry Holden. The research objective of ScoPE was to provide a data-led sociological analysis of the understandings, views, perspectives, judgements and experiences

The findings of the ScoPE project confirm the significance of a major shift or ‘sea change’ in professional scientific culture toward an endorsement of, and participation in, public engagement as a key component of scientific research and innovation. More firmly than in the past, public engagement emerges from the interview data as a matter of professional scientific commitment and as a valuable part of the everyday practice of professional science. Indeed, on the basis of the ScoPE interviews, public engagement skills are increasingly seen by scientists to be as important to a successful scientific career as scientific, clinical and teaching skills.

Download the full report (external website)