‘With public engagement we elicit trust’
Four researchers explain how they involve a broad public in their research
At the faculty of Veterinary Medicine, we encourage broad public involvement in our research. That could be citizens but also civil society organisations, entrepreneurs, schools, industry or the government. We keep our eyes and ears open for their questions, ideas and concerns. And we incorporate these in our research to achieve as much societal impact as possible. What does that look like? Below you will find four examples of this approach.
'I let children think about the use of laboratory animals'
Monique Janssens manages to make children think about the use of laboratoryl animals by playing a game with cuddly toys. As an ethicist and communication advisor, she challenges children to make their own choices about difficult dilemmas.
There are five cuddly toys on the table: a dog, a rat, a monkey, a fish, and a rabbit. There is also an Erlenmeyer flask from the laboratory and a laptop. The children sit at the table and Janssens presents the dilemmas to them. For example: ‘You are a smart scientist and you have developed a medicine against headache. How will you test whether this medicine is safe?’ The children are allowed to choose one of the objects on the table and explain their choice. ‘I was surprised about the responses’, says Janssens. ‘The children are very nuanced and think carefully about the pros and cons.’ Next, she makes the game more difficult and she poses questions about diseases like cancer or smoking addiction.
Animal experiments against smoking addiction
‘The tensest moment is always when we reach the subject of smoking addiction. Most of the children think it is not fair that animals should have to pay for that. Next, I introduce the idea that addiction is also a sort of illness. That gets them doubting. Sometimes a child comes with the proposal of testing the safety of the substance on smokers or we seek volunteers from among the adults who are also sitting at the table. With this approach, I give children insight into the dilemmas involved and the ethical assessment of animal experiments.’ Janssens believes that public engagement is important. ‘I think it helps to generate understanding and elicit trust.’
Video of the game
Janssens produced a video in which she plays the game with experts. See Youtube to watch the video (English subtitles available via the settings of the video).
'Fifteen-year-old teenagers were wildly enthusiastic'
Researcher Vivian Goerlich involves school pupils in her research into feral pigeons. Secondary school students help her with observing and counting the birds.
Goerlich developed two programmes to involve students in her research. Together with the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Museum Utrecht, she produced a two-hour online teaching programme in which the students become researchers themselves. They devise a research question about pigeons and try to answer this by counting and observing the birds in Dutch cities. Next year, Goerlich will go a step further with the second programme. ‘I will involve a class in my research for three months. For that, I will work together with teachers. They know the students well and will give the lessons.’
Will they like it?
It was the first time that Goerlich had worked together with students. Therefore she was quite nervous when the first class set to work with the teaching programme. ‘They were 15-year-old teenagers and I doubted whether they would like it, but they proved to be wildly enthusiastic! Research should not be limited to your office at the university. I have noticed that our research themes about the human-animal relationship are a major societal issue.’
Accurate picture of science
According to Goerlich, public engagement is a win-win situation. On the one hand, it is valuable for both her and society. ‘The secondary school students collect data about pigeons that I can use in my research. Furthermore, by studying the feral pigeons, the students gain more appreciation for the pigeons and the natural world. That is important because young people are the nature conservationists of the future.’ On the other hand, it is also useful for the students. ‘They acquire an accurate picture of what science entails because I tell them about everyday life of a researcher.’
'I received 130 unique research questions'
In the winter, many people burn wood in their stove or open fire. It is really warm and cosy but also a source of nuisance due to the wood smoke. PhD student Fleur Froeling, together with about 100 citizens, is investigating the effects of wood smoke on health.
‘We are involving citizens from the start to the end of our research’, says Froeling. ‘First, we jointly examine which questions we would like to answer. That is realised via meetings, newsletters and social media.’ A total of 130 unique research questions were received and Froeling selected the most important ones during meetings with citizens. Examples are: What are the physical consequences of inhaling wood smoke in the short and long term? And: Is there a sustainable way of burning wood?
What do citizens find important?
Next, the citizens think with Froeling about the best way of answering the questions, help with collecting and analysing data, co-author publications and even communicate about the final results. Froeling: ‘It offers new perspectives and a good insight into what citizens consider important. They, in turn, gain insight into our work. In this way, we can learn from each other.’
'Art and science can strengthen each other'
At the end of a PhD research, Nikae te Moller decided to involve the public in her research in an original manner. How? With dance.
The young scientist produced a dance about osteoarthritis and used this to tell the story of her research into this condition. Te Moller, who also joins in the performance of the dance: ‘I wanted to share my research with the public in a creative and accessible way and, simultaneously, gain attention for research into osteoarthritis. I also wanted to inspire other scientists to share their work in a creative manner. Science and art can strengthen each other.’
Smart questions from kids
Te Moller worked together with the dancers and a choreographer to make a video and create a live performance. The performance could be seen, for example, during the Weekend of Science, an event during which Dutch universities open their doors to the public. After the dance performance, she talked with the public about osteoarthritis. ‘It was fantastic to talk about my research with kids. And their smart questions revealed that they had clearly understood the abstract portrayal of the joint and the problems that arise with osteoarthritis.’
Watch the dance video
Watch the video ‘’ on YouTube.