Sense about Science

This resource provides you with key questions to ask yourself when communicating data and risk to check your efforts are matching communities’ needs. We hope this resource will provide you with practical questions to review your communications: what do you know about the context you are putting information into, and what information do you need to provide for people to make sense of your risk calculations?

Holly Monkhouse Holly completed the final term of her PhD programme in Medical Science at the University of Cambridge while interning with Sense about Science. She helped support our flagship event, Evidence Week, as well as various other projects while working with us from April to July 2026. Read the fifth entry of our internship experience blog here.

Throughout history, courageous individuals have put sound science and the public good first in the face of intimidation and hostility. The annual John Maddox Prize is now open to receive nominations, celebrating the work of researchers who have championed evidence when the powerful – and sometimes even the public – didn’t want to listen.

Policy engagement insights from Deputy Chief Social Researcher, Louise Scott Dr Louise Scott answers key questions about policy engagement for researchers. Dr Louise Scott is the Deputy Chief Researcher at the Scottish Government, where she’s held various research posts over the past 20 years. Before working in Government, she was a Research Fellow at Loughborough University.

The sound use of evidence in policymaking isn’t something any of us can afford to take lightly – because what gets counted and the way that data is interpreted affects real lives in profound ways. Evidence Week in Parliament, which closes today (Friday 10 July) is Sense about Science’s annual ‘festival of evidence’, where we connect researchers with politicians and the public to promote the sound understanding and use of evidence.

The use of personalised medicine and AI in healthcare has the potential to revolutionise the way patients across the UK receive care. Sense about Science supports the public interest in sound science and evidence in decision-making, particularly in relation to technologies like AI, which can be difficult to navigate.

Since 2021 the Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication, jointly sponsored by the Statistical Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, the Science Media Centre and Sense about Science, has recognised excellence in communicating complex subjects clearly and responsibly.

This week, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published an opinion piece by Sense about Science Chair, Simon Denegri, regarding the new Government Health Bill which has undergone a second reading in the House of Commons.

This resource provides you with key questions to ask when adopting AI in your research to streamline your decision-making process. We hope this resource will help you find the information you need to critically evaluate which AI tools are best suited to your work. Better understanding of the AI tools you use can also help you explain your research to other scientists and the public.

With sadness we mourn the passing of our co-founder, and Vice Chair and mentor of over 20 years. Bridget was an accomplished parasitologist, a global leader in structuring and funding scientific research to deliver improved health, and the daughter of a sheep farmer from the Australian bush. She schooled us with all of those things – her deep wisdom, kindness and a sharp rejection of arrogance and pomp.