Written evidence submitted by the Science Museum Group (DIV0022)

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

a)      This submission concentrates on the last two questions in the call for evidence: what is being done to address underrepresentation of particular groups in STEM roles, and what could and should be done by the UK Government, UKRI and other bodies.

b)      The Science Museum Group is the UK’s national museum of science and industry and the world’s most significant museum group in our field. Promoting equity and diversity in science is among our key strategic priorities.

c)      Diversity in STEM covers complex, intersectional issues, described in two useful recent reports by the APPG on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM.

d)     The Science Museum Group concurs with recommendations in those reports for a more joined-up approach to promoting diversity STEM by the UK Government, including senior leadership.

e)      Increasing diversity in STEM is a long-term goal, which may be at odds with some short-term, project-based resourcing.

f)       The informal STEM learning and engagement sector is a significant element of the UK’s “STEM ecosystem” and the Science Museum Group is a leading player. More, and more systematic, collaboration between the science and innovation system and professional STEM communicators could be effective in increasing diversity in STEM.

g)      The Science Museum Group already does a lot to promote diversity in STEM through its equity-focused approach. This includes education and career programmes as well as building science capital in wider society and is core to our mission to inspire futures. In an extremely tight funding environment, such work is increasingly hard to sustain; increased Grant in Aid funding would enable its continuation and growth.

Science Museum Group

The Science Museum Group comprises: Science Museum, London; Science and Industry Museum, Manchester; National Science and Media Museum, Bradford; National Railway Museum, York and Shildon; National Collections Centre, Wroughton. Collectively, we are the UK’s national museum of science and industry with a mission to inspire futures.

As the world’s leading group of science museums, we share our unparalleled collection spanning science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine with millions of visitors each year and reach millions more online and through touring exhibitions and outreach. Before the pandemic, we welcomed over 600,000 people in education groups annually, with the Science Museum attracting more such visits than any other UK museum. We are working to re-build all our audiences following pandemic closures.

General: A more joined-up approach by UK Government

1)      The evidence call for this enquiry references the Equity in the STEM Workforce[1] report published in 2021 by the APPG on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM. This followed their 2020 report on Equity in STEM Education[2], The Science Museum Group broadly endorses the finding and recommendations in both reports, which evidence the complex, longstanding and intersectional issues around equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) that are not yet fully understood. Good quality data and analysis is a pre-requisite for a developing the broad, strategic approach, with demonstrable Government leadership and robust impact evaluation, that is necessary to address systemic inequity in STEM.

2)      The UK has a rich ecosystem for STEM learning and engagement, both formal and informal, public and private. In the main, this is a strength to be retained, with different players providing different offers (e.g., for specific audiences or in specific locations). However, two key risks arise: i) duplication of effort and re-invention of wheels; and ii) being over-specific regarding target audiences or topics, and/or focused on similar demographics such that some people or communities fall between stools or are insufficiently prioritised.

3)      Achieving a sustainable shift in the make-up of the UK STEM workforce is a long-term goal, but much of the available funding is for short-term projects and initiatives. This discourages longitudinal projects and relationships that are often key to effecting real, lasting change. Constant funding applications also mean additional effort and staff insecurity in relevant organisations. The inclusion of science communication and engagement in the remit of key bodies such as UKRI is very much welcomed and could go further in embedding relevant skills throughout the science and innovation system; more systematic collaboration with the professional STEM engagement sector would be an effective vehicle for this.

Science Museum Group

4)      The following sections outline the Science Museum Group’s interest and activity in diversity in STEM. The purpose is to illustrate the role of the informal STEM engagement sector and the opportunities it affords to promote diversity in STEM as part of a broad STEM ecosystem. It seeks to make a case for additional, sustained resource for informal STEM engagement to enable it to do even more – quantitatively and qualitatively – as part of a concerted national effort – potentially a formal national strategy or similar.

5)      The Science Museum Group has embraced increasing and diversifying funding outside of Grant-in-Aid (GIA) sponsorship via DCMS, and has achieved significant success, but GIA remains our biggest single source of income. The impacts of reduced real-terms GIA, an extremely tight financial climate and pandemic-induced closures have added significantly to our funding challenge and we face difficult choices in maintaining even our valuable core work such as STEM engagement and promoting EDI. Additional GIA to support core work would be an effective way to ensure our contribution can be sustained and would complement continued external fundraising.

Science Museum Group and informal STEM engagement

6)      The Science Museum Group has extensive experience and expertise in informal STEM engagement that is at the heart of our public offer. It complements and amplifies formal education by providing attractive, social experiences in a cultural setting, and by connecting science to everyday lives and emphasising the human stories of practitioners, pioneers and users. We aim to ignite curiosity and feedback tells us that, for many people, the first spark of wonder in science was lit through an encounter with our museums. We are uniquely placed to be a bridge between STEM and society due to the combination of convening power and professional respect with massive reach and public trust.

7)      We are rightly renowned as a place for children and have pioneered hands-on, interactive learning since the inception of the Children’s Gallery in 1931. We are international leaders and innovators in our field and Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery (successor to the Children’s Gallery) at the Science Museum has attracted c. 1.63 million visitors since it was launched as a paid-for attraction in 2016 (free for booked education groups). The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford has its own Wonderlab (free entry) and over the next few years new versions will be created at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the National Railway Museum in York.

8)      Whilst we are very happy to offer that essential, inspirational introduction to science to young people, we are far from ‘just’ for children. Only around a third of the three million+ annual visitors (pre-pandemic) to the Science Museum are children. It is also vital to engage the adults who visit with children in families and education groups so that they can confidently discuss STEM across generations and foster interest and aspirations in STEM throughout education and career choices (see para 17).

9)      The one million or so adults who visit the Science Museum without children each year (pre-pandemic) are equally important. They are continually making choices about their own lives and wider society. An appreciation and understanding of science (in its broadest sense) and related topics such as risk and evidence evaluation enhances participation in the issues and debates that shape our lives and everyone should have a voice. STEM subjects are key to tackling the societal challenges that face humankind, such as climate change and sustainability, health and well-being. The Science Museum committed to a decade of climate action in 2019 that includes many opportunities to engage the public with the science of climate change; at the core are current exhibitions on the Amazon and on carbon capture technology, and a new gallery on energy transition, Energy Revolution: the Adani Green Energy Gallery[3], opening in 2023. We regularly cover current topics both in our museums and online, e.g., recent/current projects examine anti-microbial resistance, the internet of things, cyber-security, autonomous vehicles and AI, robotics, obesity, food sustainability, cancer research and vaccines.

Science Museum Group, equity and science capital

10)  One of the six key priorities in the Science Museum Group’s refreshed long-term strategy, Inspiring Futures 2022-2030[4] focuses on equity, expressed as “Grow science capital through all we do: Our equity-based approach will promote greater inclusion and diversity in science, in culture and in wider society”.

11)  The Science Museum Group adopted science capital as a fundamental principle almost a decade ago. Developed through academic research at Kings’ College London (KCL) and University College London (UCL), science capital provides research-based insights and tools to guide an equity-focused approach and we pioneered its application to informal STEM learning through a 4-year research partnership with KCL, UCL and BP from 2013. By 2017, the first issue of our Inspiring Futures strategy had growing science capital in individuals and society as a strategic priority. It has been extended and amplified in the 2022 update to emphasise our commitment to equity in everything we do and our aspiration to be truly open for all.

12)  The Science Museum Group Equity Framework was published in 2021[5] and our science capital approach is further explained in the leaflet, Engaging All Audiences With STEM [6].

13)  Our science capital insights on equity and social justice are shared widely with science teachers, science communication professionals and researchers through the Science Museum Group Academy of Science Engagement. Since it was founded in September 2018, 3,350 people throughout the world have participated in Academy training, around 2,500 of whom are UK teachers (with estimated reach to 141,000 students) who attend free of charge due to generous support from BP.

14)  Continuation of the Academy programme beyond from 2021/22 is uncertain as funding had not been secured at the time of writing and sponsorship bid is being sought; this illustrates the point made in para 3.

15)  The Science Museum Group’s strategic priority on equity is being delivered through a wide-ranging set of defined actions in both our public programmes and our own operations and practice. Together, the aim is to increase the diversity of people who engage with STEM at all levels – as visitors to our museums and websites and participants in our programmes, as Science Museum Group volunteers, as contributors and partners in our planning, delivery and governance, as employees and as people making choices about their education and career pathways.

Science Museum Group and STEM careers

16)  The Science Museum Group’s purpose is bigger than feeding the education/workforce “pipeline”. Our vision is of society that celebrates science, fostering broader, deeper understanding, confidence and appreciation in all citizens. Nevertheless, we have always encouraged the inclusion of STEM subjects in life decisions at all stages and for all people. We do this in a general way, following our equity-focused approach, through all we do, e.g., the choices we make about what we collect and display, the stories we tell, the language and images we use, the voices we hear, the partners we choose, the people we take on as employees and volunteers, and so on. This work has been brought even more to the fore over the last few years[7] and is amongst our key strategic priorities for the next decade (see paras 9 + 11).

17)  We also apply equity principles more specifically in projects and initiatives that explicitly promote STEM careers and some of these are noted below:

• Autumn 2022 will see the opening of a new gallery, Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery[8], supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. It will highlight the hidden yet vital careers of technicians from the creative arts, manufacturing, health science and renewable energy sectors in an immersive experience that will give a unique insight into these fascinating areas and how the people who work within them affect our everyday lives. Special schools events will let students meet real-life technicians and discover the skills needed to work in their industries and the gallery will support productive careers conversations with young people by offering encounters with a huge range of technical career paths.

• The Trans-Pennine STEM Ambassador Hub is managed by our museums in the north of England on behalf of STEM Learning UK. Over 3,500 STEM Ambassador volunteers from a range of employers delivered c. 8,000 hours of engagement in 2020/21 (including a switch to digital and remote engagement due to pandemic restrictions), reaching 22% of primary schools, 62% of secondary schools and 88% of further education institutions in the region – a considerable achievement given that schools were closed for a large proportion of the year.

• We are developing ambitious plans with Manchester City Council and others to create a STEM education hub that would combine the new Wonderlab (see para 6), a northern locus for the Academy (see para 12) and museum programmes in order to connect young people, education providers, employers and families.

• We regularly support externally-led national initiatives. There are several repeating events, including Black History Month, International Women’s Day[9], British Science Week, National Careers Week and more. There are also one-off initiatives such as the 2018 Year of Engineering, which was launched at the Science Museum and highlights of which included extending the run of our Engineer Your Future gallery (supported by a consortium of funders[10]) at the Science Museum and the launch of an annual festival and special events programme at the National Railway Museum. Such initiatives punctuate our work as welcome opportunities to highlight particular topics or communities, but the risks of short-term, project-led events are mentioned at para 3.

January 2022