- Investing in R&D is seen as the most effective way to address global issues
- The public want counties to collaborate to solve problems
- The public view R&D as a global endeavour and believe the UK investing in research will help solve global problems
- Many are willing to accept long timeframes and most think UK-based R&D will have a positive impact on global issues within 10 years
- Many prioritise AI R&D and expect it to have most impact, most quickly
- The public think R&D on global issues will create UK jobs and improve international relationships, and support the UK hosting infrastructure
Learn more about this project
This work was part of a 2024 project CaSE ran to understand more about public attitudes to global-facing R&D.
Read moreWould you like to engage the public with global-facing R&D?
To support the R&D and development sectors, CaSE has developed a Guide for Engaging the Public with Global-Facing R&D.
We advise emphasising partnerships, pride and pay-offs in messaging about global-facing R&D, while directly engaging with common messaging challenges.
Related resources
Public Attitudes to R&D and the Government’s Missions
18 March 2025
This briefing summarises attitudes to the UK Government’s missions from CaSE’s September 2024 public attitudes study.
What do the public think about R&D and the UK Government’s missions?
27 February 2025
Analysis and highlights from CaSE’s research into public attitudes towards R&D and the Government’s missions.
Mission Critical R&D
26 February 2025
This report sets out evidence on the integral role of R&D in driving progress on the UK Government’s missions.
Research Develop Thrive: uniting the R&D sector
12 January 2025
The R&D sector has a public image problem. Research Develop Thrive is here to change that – This post originally appeared in the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) insights magazine on 12th December 2024.