Who should talk about science?

Excerpt from BEYOND's Public Consultation (1/3)

From September 2023 til June 2024, various stakeholder groups were involved in the public consultation activities of BEYOND. The approach included an anonymous online survey with multiple-choice and open questions (205 participants) and semi-structured in-depth interviews (31). The information you see here is based on the learnings of the public consultation. Find the full report at Zenodo.

We asked the participants of the public consultation about how to foster a dialogue about good research between the scientific community and the broader public. The answers depict a two-way street approach that can guide us towards an increased sense of accountability for raising the quality of science:

1. The society
- Contribute to forming the research agenda, when it’s funded by the public
- Raise scientific literacy in schools and through media
- Embrace an inquiring approach towards science, including research misconduct

2. Scientific community
- Make public involvement opportunities more interactive and accessible
- Explain scientific work in a way that is understandable for a broad audience
- Make space for equal dialogue with society, provide a higher level of transparency

"Public education is needed not only on research ethics but on research in general, as there is currently a noticeable threat to the reputation of science due to a lack of education and understanding — society lacks trust in science and its results."
- Survey respondent