![\"Monty](\"http:\/\/www.revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Monty-Python-1024x614.jpg\")
<\/a>Monty Python\u2019s Life of Brian (1979) Photograph: Allstar\/Cinetext\/PYTHON<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWhat have the Romans ever done for us?\u201d John Cleese\u2019s famous question from Monty Python\u2019s\u00a0Life of Brian<\/a>\u00a0has been in my thoughts over the past couple of weeks. Back came the answer, \u201cThe aqueduct.\u201d \u201cOh, yeah, yeah. They did give us that.\u201d \u201cAnd there\u2019s sanitation…\u201d You get the picture.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been recalling lines from Monty Python thanks to the\u00a0House of Commons select committee on science and technology<\/a>, which today begins a round of public hearings for its latest\u00a0inquiry<\/a>\u00a0into science communication. In essence, the committee is asking: \u201cWhat has science communication ever done for us?\u201d<\/p>\n Over recent weeks, I\u2019ve worked with colleagues from three organisations to respond to the committee\u2019s call for evidence:\u00a0AsSIST-UK<\/a>\u00a0the UK national professional association for social studies of science and technology;\u00a0Science in Public<\/a>, a UK-based research network; and the international Public Communication of Science and Technology Network (PCST<\/a>).<\/p>\n So what do we think science communication has ever done for us? Here are five suggestions:<\/p>\n An evidence-base<\/strong>\u00a0of more than 25 years of rigorous\u00a0social science research<\/a>. Generally speaking, this evidence critiques the idea that there is a single public, waiting passively to receive authoritative scientific information. Put simply, toknow science<\/a>\u00a0is not necessarily to love it. Rather,\u00a0science communication research<\/a>\u00a0has identified numerous, localised publics, often with context-specific knowledge that can be shared with scientists and policy makers to solve challenges of mutual interest. The challenge we face as science communicators, policy makers and citizens is in finding effective, non-hierarchical ways to exchange these diverse forms of knowledge.<\/p>\n A practice base<\/strong>\u00a0of more than fifteen years of experience in knowledge exchange and dialogue around science issues. Much of this work has been experimental in nature; for examples see\u00a0Sciencewise<\/a>, the\u00a0NCCPE<\/a>, and\u00a0Connected Communities<\/a>. This work has identified the need for effective\u00a0upstream planning<\/a>, engaged governance, and downstream project management. We now know that transparency in the\u00a0processes of knowledge exchange<\/a>, allied with fairness in therules of engagement<\/a>, are required for scientists to work with policy makers and relevant publics in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n Quality assurance measures<\/strong>\u00a0that have helped to raise the quality of communication and engagement practices.\u00a0Social science research<\/a>\u00a0has helped to identify criteria to assess excellence in science communication and engagement. Knowing what works (and what doesn\u2019t) in the short and longer-term helps organisations to embed the principles of engagement within\u00a0cultures of research<\/a>, opening up new\u00a0career pathways<\/a>.<\/p>\n An aspirational culture<\/strong>\u00a0for science communication and engagement. For too long, research has shown that science communication is seen as a\u00a0second-class option<\/a>for academics. The development of structured career development programmes has increased the capacity, confidence and quality of science communication and engagement. There is still work to be done to ensure that\u00a0excellence rather than acceptability<\/a>\u00a0becomes the hallmark of these activities. The introduction of new ways to\u00a0discuss<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0publish the outputs<\/a>\u00a0from research, and alternative mechanisms for\u00a0reward<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0recognition<\/a>\u00a0suggest that a shift in this direction is underway.<\/p>\n A vision for citizenship\u00a0<\/strong>that moves beyond programmes for \u2018gifted and talented<\/a>\u2019 children and young people. The\u00a0Schools-University Partnership Initiative<\/a>\u00a0has shown that academics engaging with schools can contribute to efforts to\u00a0widen participation<\/a>. There is a growing appetite for structured programmes that connect young people, authentic research and the citizenship agenda. In particular, the introduction of\u00a0information literacy<\/a>\u00a0programmes can develop skills in accessing, analysing and responding to the diverse sources of information now available. To paraphrase the old adage: \u201cGive a child a piece of information and they\u2019ll be informed for a day; teach them how to access information in sophisticated ways and they\u2019ll have the core skills for making informed decisions forever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right\u201d, you might say, \u201cbut apart from the evidence base, the practice base, the quality assurance measures, the aspirational culture, and a vision for citizenship for all, what has science communication ever done for us?\u201d<\/p>\n More than anything else, science communication research and practice has helped to move us towards a research culture where different stakeholders have a say in how priorities are framed, how research is practiced and governed, and how its findings are shared. This process of\u00a0culture change<\/a>\u00a0is far from complete. It requires leadership, courage and vision from the top down to the bottom up. My hope is that this latest parliamentary\u00a0inquiry<\/a>\u00a0into science communication takes us another step along the road.<\/p>\n Richard Holliman is\u00a0professor of engaged research<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in the\u00a0School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences<\/a><\/em>\u00a0at the\u00a0Open University<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This article argues that there\u2019s been a revolution in the way researchers think about science and engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[615,616],"class_list":["post-5457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-more-news","tag-richard-holliman","tag-the-guardian-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5457"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5463,"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5457\/revisions\/5463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistahcsm.coc.fiocruz.br\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}