Aim 3: Engaging society

Scene from a dramatic production to illustrate aim 3

To engage with society to foster an informed climate within which biomedical research can flourish

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Progress 2007/2008

During the third year of the Plan we:

delivered a highly successful first year of exhibitions and public events at Wellcome Collection, our new public venue, which was shortlisted for the Art Fund Prize
took forward a range of activities to support and promote science education; highlights included:
* launching Project Enthuse, a £30 million partnership between the Wellcome Trust, Government and industry to support continuing professional development of science teachers via the National Science Learning Centre
* supporting key research to inform education policy - publishing the first opinion pieces in the ‘Perspectives on Education’ series, which focused on science in primary schools
provided over £3 million in grant funding for innovative public engagement activities, and continued to develop our funding schemes; in particular:
* we announced a new annual themed competition for Society Awards, with the topic for 2008/2009 being 'genetic variations and health'
* we launched International Engagement Awards to support public engagement activities relevant to global health issues
funded three major Capital Awards for public engagement totalling nearly £5 million at the Science Museum, Science Gallery Dublin and At-Bristol
supported a range of activities to foster the development of broadcast projects on biomedicine - including through funding Broadcast Development Awards, sponsoring key events, and providing training and development opportunities for broadcasters and scientists
continued to provide training and resources for scientists to engage the public, including launching the Beacons for Public Engagement initiative in partnership with the Higher Education Funding Council for England and Research Councils UK
launched the Wellcome Trust Book Prize to celebrate the best of medicine in literature.

Future plans

During 2008/2009 we intend to:

deliver a broad and innovative series of exhibitions, live events and tours at Wellcome Collection and develop new partnerships with other venues internationally. Exhibitions for 2008/2009 will include:
* 'War and Medicine' (November 2008 to February 2009)
* 'Madness and Modernity' (April to June 2009)
* 'Bobby Baker's Diary Drawings' (March to August 2009)
*'Models' (June to October 2009)
continue to strengthen our work to promote science education, providing continued support for the professional development of science teachers, funding research on key education issues and maximising our impact on science education policy
conduct the first series of Wellcome Monitor surveys to gauge, analyse and disseminate the attitudes of adults and young people to biomedical science
deliver a range of public engagement activities via the Darwin200 initiative, including:
* Darwin's Children - producing a series Darwin-inspired experiments that will be made available to every UK schoolchild
* Darwin and Broadcast - working with broadcast media on programming to engage audiences in Darwin's life and work
* Darwin and Culture - exploring the cultural impact of Darwin's ideas, including through the Darwin's Poets project
take forward further broadcast development projects and activities to increase the quality and coverage of science in broadcast media.

Indicators of progress

Wellcome Collection attracted over 325 000 visitors during 2007/2008, and received widespread and positive media coverage.
Over 1700 teachers participated in training activities provided by the National Science Learning Centre.
Public engagement grants ending in 2007/2008 reached an audience of over 500 000 people.
Examples of public engagement activities supported via Wellcome Trust funding have included:
* innovative arts projects such as Project Façade [PDF 76KB], which tells the story of facial reconstructive surgery undergone by soldiers who were injured in World War I through sculptures constructed from uniforms
* science education projects, including supporting the development of a new AS-level qualification (Perspectives on Science) [PDF68KB], which has now been rolled-out nationally
* drama projects such as ‘Playing God’ [PDF 76KB], a deaf theatre performance exploring the dilemmas facing parents of deaf babies on whether to allow their children to have cochlear implants.