The Wellcome Genome Campus Public Engagement Team supports researchers who work in genomics and biodata at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute to engage with a range of public and schools audiences.

Responsible Research was contacted in 2018, having provided training for an academic research establishment where the Head of Public Engagement had previously worked.

The Challenge: The public engagement team had undertaken a major project to help researchers at the Wellcome Genome Campus to discuss the difficult topic of genome editing with the public. Having identified a need for a workshop or training programme, they were initially seeking advice on how to shape their training. An opportunity then arose to run a training workshop, but with a short deadline for completion of just three months.

The Solution: By providing advice we were quickly able to define the target audience and training objectives. An outline proposal for a ‘Discussing Controversial Topics’ training workshop was then provided. A second discussion was all that was required to book a date to deliver the training, finalise the workshops content, and initiate the creation of the bespoke training material.

How We Added Value: The short delivery timescale and novel subject area for this training meant that a transparent process and timely communication was essential for success. We offer SKYPE calls as an alternative to face to face meetings when this is more convenient to our clients. As soon as training content development begins our clients also receive secure online access to all material. This means that they can monitor progress and be as involved as they wish during the development process.

The Result: The workshop was delivered on time using the onsite training facilities at the Wellcome Genome Campus. It was well attended with participants based onsite and from other local research establishments. Feedback was positive with all participants finding the course enjoyable and useful with many recommending for others to attend the course in the future.

Responsible Research were good to work with and developed a great training workshop. The knowledge and experience they brought to the project helped us to develop a comprehensive workshop that was well received and valued by our researchers. Regular communication helped to ensure that we could provide feedback and ensure the course met our objectives whilst being delivered on schedule.

- Dr Steve Scott, Senior Public Engagement Coordinator