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The UK Medical Research Council's major reform of its grants system, announced last month, has assuaged many scientists, but some still question the new CEO's radical plans to persuade researchers to communicate with the public. The CEO, Oxford University neuroscientist Colin Blakemore, has suffered personally at the hands of animal rights activists. To help researchers avoid such controversies in the future, he proposes that a scientist's public communication plans be evaluated by reviewers. "Referees and boards could be asked to take public communication specifically into account and to rank it as part of the scoring," he says.
Among the MRC's own researchers who take part in extensive reviews, public dialogue will be considered when granting awards, promotions, and appointments, Blakemore adds. Details of the evaluation and the scoring are yet to be worked out. Nevertheless, applicants already are asked to explain how they plan to convey their research to ...
