CaSE conducted a major study of public opinion as part of its Discovery Decade programme. This study spans 14 focus groups and four nationally-representative polls spread across almost a year in 2022-2023, anchored by a landmark 8,000-person poll in July 2022.
This briefing series covers the key findings for different actors and groups involved in funding or carrying out R&D, the main topics of concern for the public, and how attitudes differ depending on audience demographics. These summaries aim to complement the full data, which is discussed in more detail on our Public Attitudes to R&D pages.
R&D actors
A range of institutions and individuals fund and carry out R&D in the UK. Our research sought to understand the public’s attitudes towards these R&D actors, and these briefings examine four key groups: universities, the private sector, governments and charities.
Public Attitudes to R&D and Universities
18 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings for universities from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study
Public Attitudes to R&D and Businesses
18 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings for businesses from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study
Public Attitudes to R&D and Governments and Politicians
20 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings for governments and politicians from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.
Public Attitudes to R&D and Charities
20 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings for charities from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.
Topics
Our research identified a range of issues of concern to the public across the UK, and explored how attitudes to R&D were influenced by the problems that research was seeking to address. These briefings examine attitudes towards R&D and three of the top concerns – climate change and energy; healthcare and cost of living – and views on local, national and international impact.
Public Attitudes to R&D and Healthcare
25 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings on healthcare from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.
Public Attitudes to R&D and Environment
25 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings on the environment from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.
Public Attitudes to R&D and Cost of Living
27 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings on the cost of living from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.
Public Attitudes to R&D and Locality
27 Apr 2023
This briefing covers key findings on public attitudes towards the locality of R&D’s benefits from CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 study.
Audiences & Language
Understanding how different groups of people think and feel, and how they respond to different messaging, is vital for effective engagement. These briefings explore core elements of getting the right message: demographic trends identified through our research and the most effective types of language and messaging.
Public Attitudes to R&D: Audience demographics
22 Jun 2023
This briefing considers demographic differences in attitudes to R&D in CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.
Public Attitudes to R&D: Terminology
05 Dec 2023
This briefing covers responses to terminologies tested in CaSE’s Discovery Decade 2022-23 public attitudes study.