We are EMBL: Briony Jackson on community-focused public engagement
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Public Engagement Officer Briony Jackson is building lasting relationships with local communities to make science accessible and engaging for all
Bridging the gap between scientists and the public sparks curiosity and helps people see the relevance of science to their own lives. This is especially important for communities that have limited exposure to science.
Briony Jackson leads EMBL-EBI’s public engagement. By collaborating with local community organisations, Jackson develops opportunities that bring people together to learn from each other and share ideas about science and technology. In this interview, she discusses the importance of making science accessible and bringing communities together.
What is public engagement?
There are various definitions, but for me, it’s a two-way process that brings together people who work in science and those who don’t. It’s about both parties learning from each other and recognising that everyone has expertise and something to bring to the table. The job of public engagement teams is to create spaces and opportunities where that can happen, supporting colleagues in having those conversations and interactions.
Why is it important for scientists to engage with the public?
On a personal level, it’s useful to bring together people who wouldn’t otherwise meet, allowing them to understand each other better. It’s a chance for scientists to see their work in a new light, from the perspective of others. This can be particularly valuable in science, where much of the work is highly specialised. It stimulates creativity and re-energises the mind.
For the public groups we engage with, it builds a sense of connection to science. By involving the public, we acknowledge that science impacts everyone and that their insights and experiences are valuable.
On a practical level, EMBL’s work is funded by the public, so we have a responsibility to share our work openly. Public engagement aligns with our commitment to making science open to all. Funders are also increasingly explicit about the importance of public engagement, especially participatory and co-developed projects. This emphasis helps ensure that budget and time for public engagement are included in scientific grants, which helps embed it into scientific practice.
Who do you think should get involved in public engagement activities?
Public engagement is not just for scientists and researchers. It’s for anyone working in science and technology, whether it’s administrators, HR, software developers, technicians or something else. It’s a way to show our audiences that science relies on a multitude of skills and offers lots of career options.
What is EMBL-EBI’s approach to engaging with local groups?
We take a community-focused approach to public engagement. This involves building connections with local non-profit and charity organisations. We try to address the specific needs and interests of that community, through ongoing interactions over time where we continually learn from each other.
A project that highlights this is our work with the Lincolnshire Travellers Initiative (LTI). The children in this community are amazing; enthusiastic, curious, and they ask great questions. We collaborate with the LTI to deliver activities focusing on IT skills and creative writing inspired by scientific images from the BioImage Archive.
Can you tell us more about your role as Public Engagement Officer at EMBL-EBI?
I work with colleagues at EMBL-EBI to raise awareness of public engagement and our strategic focus in this area. I strive to create a supportive culture that encourages colleagues to get involved in public engagement. This includes promoting access to resources and supporting practical considerations. I also work with our community partners to develop bespoke activities.
Can you tell us about EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement (SEPE) team and how you work together?
The SEPE team focuses on outreach and public engagement across EMBL sites and member states. They also work with secondary schools, offering training and resources to teachers and educational engagement opportunities for students. We work together closely, for example, to offer teacher training activities to UK teachers and internationally to extend our reach and impact in EMBL member states. We recently worked together on a professional development session for Greek high school teachers delivered in their first language. We support each other by sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices, which is really important in this field, just like in science.
What impact does EMBL’s public engagement have on the public?
We aim to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and those with little access to or understanding of science and how it could change the world we live in. Our key focus is reaching out to communities not usually exposed to science and technology, ensuring these areas are accessible and relevant to them.
We have had groups visit the Wellcome Genome Campus, where EMBL-EBI is located. Just visiting the campus, meeting EMBL-EBI colleagues, and finding out what they do helped them feel welcome and showed them that science is fun and accessible. Some of the children we’ve worked with have said that participating in our public engagement activities allowed them to “get answers to questions they’ve always wanted answered.” Receiving feedback like this is incredibly rewarding.
Another example comes from our past work with ACCESS, a charity that supports adult migrant communities. After we ran activities in the participants’ first languages – Polish and Russian – one participant said it was the first time in their 15 years living in the town that there had been an opportunity to attend an activity in their native language, which made it a very meaningful experience.
What do you find most rewarding about what you do?
I love connecting people – finding out that someone has an idea, someone else has resources, and figuring out how to bring it all together. I also love when colleagues tell me how much they enjoyed participating in our activities and when the people we engage with are excited by or interested in the work we do and see their place in it.
Seeing the enjoyment of the communities we work with is also amazing. Our partners have told us that by creating meaningful, bespoke experiences for their communities, we’re making them feel valued.
What ongoing projects are you excited about?
The World of Molecular Biology exhibition in the Heidelberg Imaging Centre is a two-floor exhibition that engages visitors in all areas of EMBL’s work. We’re currently working on creating a mini version of the exhibition at EMBL-EBI. We’re installing beautiful audiovisual exhibits on topics like artificial intelligence and genomics. It’s an interactive way for visitors to explore our work.
We also have ongoing work with the Suffolk Family Carers, a charity that supports those who care for a family member with an illness or disability. We just ran the Science Spooktacular, a Halloween-themed event with hands-on activities including glow-in-the-dark experiments, slime-making, and interactive bioinformatics-themed games. It’s an opportunity to engage not just the young carers but their families as well, making science accessible and enjoyable for everyone involved.
What advice would you give other organisations that want to engage the public?
Learn from others who are doing it well. Seek out best practices and talk to public engagement professionals. If you don’t approach public engagement thoughtfully, you can inadvertently do more harm than good.
Focus on small, impactful engagements rather than worrying about large numbers. Think about what aligns with your organisation’s values and what benefits both you and the communities you want to reach.
What hobbies or interests do you enjoy outside of work?
I have a horse and two dogs, so caring for them takes up a lot of my time. I’ve had my horse since I was 22, so he’s a big part of my life. I enjoy looking after him and going for rides in the forest. Baking is another hobby, mostly because I love eating cakes! Recently, we’ve gotten into paddleboarding, which is great fun and a really peaceful way to spend time in nature.
Find out more about Public Engagement at EMBL-EBI and take a look at some of our most recent activities.