The mantra used by Government during the COVID pandemic was to ‘follow the science’. And, the majority of people did exactly that because they trusted the scientists and what they were advising. The pandemic, probably more than any other event in recent times, pushed scientists and researchers to the fore to be some of the highest profile and respected figures on our TV screens during that period.
Six years later on and with the pandemic behind us, science continues to make headlines with the progress being made in many different sectors. Science is now regarded as one of the UK’s strongest pillars of global expertise so it is important to nurture this position and continue to share news of ground-breaking discoveries with the wider public. Trust in science is paramount if we want to make the progress we think is possible.
Two recent pieces of research, one from the Wellcome Trust/More in Common (April 2026) and one from the Campaign for Science and Engineering (November 2025), show that trust in UK science remains high, with 84% of the public reporting at least some trust.
However, that trust needs to be protected by the way we communicate about it. Whilst the public show strong support for government investment in science and R&D, with 88% saying it is important, only around 29% feel connected. Many people struggle to articulate any tangible benefits, especially at a local level.
Science remains one of the most trusted domains in public life. But science and R&D can often feel distant and abstract. Trust increases when people see clear relevance to their individual lives, communities and local areas. Science needs to embrace storytelling, where emotional connections can be made and where it can demonstrate real impact to individuals and their communities.
At Norwich Research Park, our teams of scientists and researchers are very conscious of the need to showcase how the research they are doing delivers real-world impacts. The majority of research conducted here is publicly funded through the BBSRC and Innovate UK, so there is an obligation to share how that money is invested to create solutions to some of the critical challenges we face in agriculture, public health and climate change.
One of the ways to achieve this is by the creation of a campus-wide ecosystem that provides a fertile environment for new start-up businesses to translate the research into a commercial product or service that can help solve some of the serious global challenges.
Here are a few examples.
Tropic, which has been based at Norwich Research Park for more than 10 years, is the world leader in applying gene editing to improve and safeguard the Cavendish variety of banana, which accounts for 95% of the world’s banana crop. Last year it launched its first commercial product which was a banana that doesn’t brown after being peeled for up to 12 hours. This means that bananas can be transported further, this opening up new geographic markets for growers. It also means bananas can be more widely used in the cut fruit market, have a longer shelf-life and reduce waste. Tropic is also working on making bananas resistant to Panama disease which can devast banana crops throughout the world.
Another company that at Norwich Research Park is ALORA. It is looking to use gene editing to improve the heat resistance of rice enabling it to be grown in higher temperatures.
QuberTech is a new start-up looking to develop an alternative source for natural rubber from dandelions. They aim to achieve this by growing the dandelions in aeroponic farming environments that enable them to grow without soil. Dandelions naturally produce latex but, historically, were seen as too low to be commercially viable and environmentally sustainable. However, this innovation could offer a sustainable UK-based supply of a valuable global commodity which is at risk due to climate change and supply chain vulnerabilities.
Another great example of scientists at Norwich Research Park partnering with industry is the three-year partnership between the John Innes Centre, Tropic and British Sugar. Originally initiated by Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management organisation for Norwich Research Park, and the British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO) that’s based on campus, the project is using gene editing technology to build genetic resistance to the Virus Yellows disease that attacks sugar beet, which can cause 25 per cent yield losses at a cost of £43m to growers.
One Defra-funded project aims to commercialise the ‘Sunshine Tomato’, a gene-edited vitamin-enriched tomato that addresses the critical global health challenge of vitamin D deficiency. The tomato, produced by researchers at the John Innes Centre, is set to become one of the first food crops approved under new UK precision breeding legislation. The project will help to ensure that consumers get the benefits delivered by the planned new products that include fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and plant-derived vitamin D supplements.
Going back to the surveys, the results indicated that the public still has an appetite for involvement and engagement in both research and policy decisions. Around two-thirds want a say in what R&D is funded.
Norwich Research Park offers many people the opportunity to participate in research projects. Often participation is as simple as keeping a diary of food intake, exercise or observations on how you are feeling. Sometimes it’s eating specific foods or having drinks. The opportunities are there for the people of Norfolk to play an active role in current research that’s looking to improve our future lives.
A good example is the biofortified tomatoes project in which members of the public consumed a portion of biofortified tomato soup every day for a month to measure the impact it had on their vitamin D levels.
At a local level, the challenge for the community of researchers and scientists on campus is to demonstrate the impact they make for local people in their everyday lives. Examples of their work, such as the projects mentioned above, should go a long way towards meeting this requirement, and equally there is an onus on us all to take an interest in our collective futures which, thanks to science, should be healthier, more nutritious and have better sustainability.
References
· Wellcome Trust & More in Common (2026). Britain Talks Trust in Science.
· Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) (2025). Public Attitudes to R&D 2025.
