Engineering biology public trust survey findings
DSIT is publishing findings of a survey run between 9-19 August 2024 on public trust in engineering biology. 3,000 UK adults, aged between 18-65+ were surveyed online to gain insight on how much they know about engineering biology.
Documents
Details
In the National Vision for Engineering biology, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) committed to developing robust insights into public attitudes towards engineering biology. DSIT commissioned Deltapoll to conduct a survey on public perceptions of engineering biology in five application areas:
- health
- agriculture and food
- low carbon fuels
- chemicals and materials
- waste and environment.
Key findings
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The majority of respondents felt comfortable with using new and emerging technologies on a day-to-day basis, but relatively few could explain what engineering biology is.
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There was a strong belief amongst respondents that applications of engineering biology could be useful. Similarly, the majority were comfortable with each of the specific applications and believe that they will be positive for society.
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There was a widely-held belief that engineering biology will have a positive impact on science over the next ten years.
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Respondents reported a key priority is ensuring that engineering biology products are verified as safe for consumption and use, across all applications.
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There was strong agreement that transparency is important and it should be made clear when engineering biology is used and the information on engineering biology should be readily available to the public.
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There was broad agreement that the government is well placed to make decisions about the use of engineering biology but the public should also be involved in decision making.
Methodology
Deltapoll surveyed online 3,000 UK adults, aged between 18-65+ to gain insight on how much they know about engineering biology. The data has been weighted to be representative of the UK adult population as a whole.