10 July, 2026

This week, we came across an interesting article by Mark Henderson of Wellcome, a long-standing client of ours, examining public trust in science in the UK.

Despite trust in many institutions declining, science remains a rare source of optimism and confidence. However, the research suggests this trust may be more fragile than it appears. While scientists enjoy high levels of trust overall, confidence has fallen since 2020 and is significantly lower among some groups of the population. Additionally, of those polled, 34% said that they trust science ‘a lot’, down from 63% in 2020.

The author argues that scientists should be mindful of three risks: assuming their own views are more widely shared than they are, blurring the line between evidence and value judgements, and becoming associated with a particular political identity. His advice is simple but important: listen to a broad range of perspectives, respect differing values, and avoid taking public trust for granted.

We think there is an important lesson here for businesses too. Whether communicating about sustainability, public health, or other societal issues, trust is built by engaging people where they are, not where we assume them to be. Evidence matters, as does understanding different worldviews, avoiding perceived partisanship, and recognising that broad public support cannot be sustained by appealing only to those who already agree with us.

By Emma Alajarin