The Sciencewise programme aims to improve policy-making involving science and technology across government. It seeks to do this by increasing the effectiveness and use of public dialogues.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) –  which later merged with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to become the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – commissioned a public dialogue to explore public views on emerging areas of policy. It aimed to highlight potential priority areas for future Sciencewise public dialogues. 

One-day public dialogue workshops were held in three different locations across the UK (London, Manchester and Cambridge), with a total of 43 public participants. A smaller group of participants from these events also attended a half-day reconvened workshop in London. The public dialogue workshops were delivered by Ipsos Mori and were independently evaluated by the University of Cardiff and PIER Logistics.

The findings from the workshops have informed the strategic priorities of the Sciencewise programme. Additionally, the findings were shared with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).