Public backing for research is “broad but shallow”, with less than a third of Britons able to list how it helps the UK, their region or their family, suggests new polling that shows support for state investment is “fragile”.

In one of the  on public attitudes towards research and development (R&D), the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) polled more than 8,000 people on the visibility of research and whether it was seen as a worthwhile investment.

Although 88 per cent of respondents said it was at least somewhat important for the government to invest money into R&D, and 71 per cent thought ministers should either increase or maintain levels of R&D investment, only about four in 10 (41 per cent) said R&D was relevant to their life, and just 29 per cent said they felt connected to it.

Less than a third could immediately think of lots of ways R&D benefits the UK (29 per cent say they could) or their region (22 per cent), the polling found. Just 18 per cent said they could explain how research had benefited their local area or their family.

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Those results suggest that public support for R&D is “broad but shallow”, explains the report published on 11 November, which highlights how a high level of “instinctive support” does not necessarily lead to strong recognition of the benefits of R&D.

Those levels of support differed markedly depending on socio-economic group, geography and voting intentions, the study founds. Some 65 per cent of those in the AB category (managerial and professional occupations) could list some ways in which they or their family had benefited from research – a score that fell to 38 per cent for DE categories (semi-skilled or unskilled workers).

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Those living in cities were almost twice as likely to say they had benefited personally from R&D compared with those in rural areas (67 per cent versus 37 per cent).

Some 66 per cent of Labour voters could list some benefits of research to their family or themselves compared with 55 per cent of Conservative voters and 39 per cent of Reform voters.

Rebecca Hill, public opinion and involvement manager at CaSE, said many of the findings from CaSE’s latest research are positive “but the overriding message is one of caution”.

“At times of political change, our sector needs public advocates more than ever. However, we cannot assume the public’s support when R&D and its benefits feel vague, intangible and removed from people’s everyday lives,” she said.

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“To earn public support, our sector must build stronger and deeper connections with the public, offering transparency and genuine engagement, while making R&D feel more human, more local, and more relevant,” added Hill.

Drawing on the findings of the report, which also included nationally representative polling, focus groups and individual interviews undertaken by the consultancy Icaro and Deltapoll this summer, CaSE called for “collective action” from the R&D sector over the next three years.

Noting that the R&D sector “cannot assume the public will continue to back investment into something that doesn’t feel tangible”, which could pose “a risk for political buy-in,” CaSE said further work to make R&D feel more local and more relevant to priority issues was required.

To this end, “sustained resourcing for public communication, engagement and involvement in R&D”, trials of local engagement and mapping of resources on public attitudes across the sector” were necessary, it added.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com