In spring 2010 the Science for All Expert Group produced a report which reviewed the current public engagement landscape, outlined a vision for public engagement with the sciences and laid out a roadmap for future development in the area.

The report highlighted a need to 'create a wider understanding of why, when and how the public engages with the sciences' and included an action to 'develop a common framework to describe types/purposes of public engagement'.

In June 2010, the Science for All Follow Up Group decided to develop a practical tool to help people who work in public engagement to have constructive conversations about what type of engagement is appropriate for different aims/situations.

A number of senior practitioners, including Involve Director Simon Burrall, provided input to discussions and a workshop which led to the development of a tool intended to fulfil the above remit. The tool and further details about what it hopes to achieve can be found here.

The Science for All group would now like people who work in public engagement to trial the tool and feedback their thoughts on whether it is a useful tool to help them have a constructive conversation around public engagement.

Involve would like to encourage you to visit the website, download the tool and try it out. Comments and thoughts on the tool are welcomed - these can be submitted either on the website itself or via a short survey linked to the site. The deadline for submission of comments is the 8 October 2010. Please also forward this invitation to anyone else that may have an interest in the development of this tool.