Photo credit: Jessica Loveday – Planet Bee Magazine

The winner of the Science Comms Essay Competition for the Doctoral Academy Graduate Society (DAGS) conference was announced in April as Sarah Harbach for her article on ‘Research and social responsibility’. We caught up with Sarah and asked her a few questions about social responsibility at the University of Manchester. 

1. Pick 3 words to describe social responsibility

Diverse, ethical and engaging

2. What are your favourite social responsibility initiatives in Manchester?

My focus so far has mostly been centred on scientific research and my favourite initiatives reflect that; I am particularly interested in the public engagement aspect of the Manchester 2020 Strategy and the effort to encourage researchers to make their data open access. My faculty provide multiple training opportunities to develop skills in science outreach and public engagement, such as ‘Science Busking’, and there have also been plenty of opportunities within my department and the faculty to volunteer for outreach events. Aside from my focused interests, the university is very successful in the broader aspects of social responsibility, from engaging the community, to encouraging diversity and environmental sustainability, to improving access to the university itself. Social responsibility goes far beyond informing and involving the public, it also encompasses ethical research practices and ensuring that universities are accessible to all.

3. What one piece of advice would you give people looking to improve their social responsibility?

Start small. Start with your interests. Most of what I’ve done so far has been taking part in pre-organised public engagement events, slowly moving onto organising events such as Pint of Science. The university has a broad range of initiatives to get involved in – and it doesn’t have to be engaging with the general public! Personally, I love it, but if talking to 5-year-olds about gut bacteria isn’t really your cup of tea, there are plenty of other things you can get involved in, even if it’s just the organisation and set up of events or advertising/media. You could even start within your own work, by making sure your research is conducted in an ethical manner and putting your data into repositories. Play to your strengths and don’t put yourself off by doing things you know you don’t enjoy!

Photo credit: Jessica Loveday – Planet Bee Magazine

Here’s Sarah’s award winning article:

From a UK perspective, or in fact any country whose education system is publicly funded, our training in science, and perhaps the initial spark to pursue it, is facilitated by public money. The skills and expertise we have and will continue to develop throughout our careers are, at least in part, due to the support the public has knowingly or unknowingly provided. Therefore, we have a responsibility to guide and inform
those who do not have the analytical skills we have honed through scientific pursuit, or the knowledge we have gained through years of study. Furthermore, by showing the general public the wider applications of the skills which science provides, we may inspire those who will form the future generation of scientists beyond those who would naturally pursue it.

Additionally, in a society where more and more information is freely available to the public, data is often misunderstood – especially statistics and risk. Perhaps we have an added responsibility to use our skills in data analysis to inform the general public and speak up when ours or others’ data is misrepresented by lay audiences and the press.

Some would argue that once our research is in the public domain we’ve set it free and, in doing so, we ourselves are free of responsibility for how it is interpreted and used. To a certain extent, in a world where information is so prolifically disseminated, it is impossible to expect scientists to remain under complete control of the reach, understanding and usage of their work. Nevertheless, with publishers and funding bodies increasingly asking for lay abstracts and greater patient participation, there seems to be more of an expectation that scientific research be both more participatory and accessible for a lay audience. In doing this, perhaps we will obviate some of the ability to misinterpret.

On the flip side, the majority of research published in journals is not accessible to the general public, whether that be because they don’t have the skills to search for articles or because it is costly to read papers without a university or company affiliation. The latter is beginning to be addressed, with some publishers encouraging more open access research and initiatives such as Plan S. Nevertheless, there is more we can do to inform the public what we’re researching and why in an accessible way – both in terminology and feasibility. In the same way shareholders are informed of the progress and profits of a company, the public, the ‘shareholders’ of our education and research, should be informed about and involved in its progress, findings and future direction. At a time when the public is already saturated with new information, perhaps there should also be emphasis on succinctness.
With public money funding our education and the push from funders and policy-makers towards more open source research and public engagement, involving as well as informing lay audiences of the outputs and direction of science research should undoubtedly be encompassed within the remit of social responsibility.