Presentation by Sir Mark Walport at the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) conference on 26 September 2013.

1. Engaging the Nation with Science
and Research: A Vision for the Future
Sir Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government

2. Faraday at the Royal Institution (Credit: Royal Institution)
Engaging the nation with science is not about
‘correcting the deficit’
2 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
(Credit: Science Museum)

3. 3 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Public engagement needs to stimulate interest,
demonstrate relevance, and show where it might
lead…
Could the naked
mole rat help find
a cure for cancer?
Should we do GM
research - what are
the risks and
benefits
Is nuclear fission the energy of the
future?

4. Three areas for scientific engagement:
Things that are interesting:
• Fundamental science: the Higgs
boson, genetics and genome
science, and how the brain
works
Things that affect us directly:
• e.g. medical science
Things where an informed public
has societal benefits:
• e.g. environmental issues,
climate change, vaccination…
(Credit: BBC)
(Credit: Advanced Cell Technology)
(Credit: BBC)

5. The scientific consensus on climate change is
overwhelming
IPCC report on the physical science basis
of climate change due out shortly
This is the most authoritative and
comprehensive report to date of scientists’
understanding of how the climate is
changing and the causes
The science is robust and there is an
overwhelming scientific consensus that
human emissions of greenhouse gases
are warming the climate
5 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future

6. 6 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Source: Poortinga et al (2013)
As far as you know, do you personally think that the world’s climate is changing? (in %)
Although a clear majority of the public still think the climate is
changing, there has been a downward trend in public belief in the
reality of climate change
The level of consensus among the public is divided

7. Concern about climate change among the
public has also decreased
7 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Source: Poortinga et al (2013)
Concern about climate change (in %)

8. Although those who think there is a human
component to climate change has remained
fairly stable
8 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Source: Poortinga et al (2013)
Thinking about the causes of climate change, which, if any, of the following
best describes your opinion?

9. Presentation title - edit in Header and Footer9 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Possible Explanations
• Global economic downturn
• Sceptic voices in the media
• Increasing climate fatigue
From Poortinga et al, 2013
The reasons for decrease in belief in, and concern
about, climate change are likely to be manifold
(Credit: PA)
(Credit: REUTERS)

10. Public perceptions of climate change are
important
• The scale of transformation required for a low carbon
economy is likely to require behaviour change
• Political will depends on public attitudes, so we need a
public that is well-informed, both about the risks, and the
options for responding
10 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
(Credit: Ulverstan Green Party)(Credit: Action Tracker) (Credit: Jeremy Hughes)

11. www.myclimateandme.com

12. Climate change: science to policy issues
We need to understand public concerns
12 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Nick Pidgeon et al

13. Reducing the use of
finite resources
Reducing overall
levels of energy use
Efficient
Environmental
protection
Avoiding waste
Capturing
opportunities
Naturalness and
Nature
Availability and
Affordability
Reliability
Safety
Autonomy and Freedom
Choice and Control
Social Justice
Fairness, Honesty &
Transparency
Long-term
trajectories
Interconnected
Improvement and
quality
(Source: Cardiff University, 2013)
Energy policy needs to take account of public
values
13 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future

14. Biofuels
Environmental harm,
pollution?
Clean, efficient?
Waste products reused?
Grown for purpose in
UK?
Conflict with food
systems (unfair)?
Safe?
Security?
It’s not just about the technologies, it’s also
about the values that they symbolise for people
Carbon capture and
storage
Climate change: science to policy issues14 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Negative
emissions

15. Presentation title - edit in Header and Footer15 Engaging the nation with science and research: a vision for the future
Public attitudes are susceptible to change – public
dialogue on science and policy should be an on-
going process
Source: Poortinga et al (2013)
Percentage of respondents having mainly or very favourable opinions or
impressions of different energy sources for producing electricity

16. We don’t do ourselves any favours
communicating complex information
Mitigation/adaptation, Discount rate, pH, Gigatonnes, Petagrams, Billion tonnes (of
carbon, carbon dioxide), PPM, eqCO2, Attribution, Negative emissions, Climate
sensitivity, Anthropogenic, Multi-decadal oscillation, Datasets, Urban heat island,
NOAA...
Switch off words….
Excellent in one context, challenging in public engagement!

17. www.my2050.decc.gov.uk

18. We all need to communicate more!
- but the direction of travel is good
• Academia – engagement now commonly
tied to research funding
• The media – long history and excellent
examples, but also some very bad
examples…
• Government – open policy making and
Civil Service Reform, reinforce need and
capability to engage
• Wider society are already there and can
help the rest of us

19. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material.
We apologise for any errors or omissions in the included attributions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections
that should be incorporated in future versions of this slide set. We can be contacted through enquiries@bis.gsi.gov.uk .
@uksciencechief
www.bis.gov.uk/go-science