Public fears over industry ties

The public's trust in the work of university researchers could be compromised by their accepting money from industry, a psychologist claimed this week.

"University scientists are quite highly trusted," said Dick Shepherd of the University of Surrey. "Traditionally, they are seen as independent. But with the media discussing how scientists get money from various different sources, there is the potential that people's trust in researchers could be damaged."

People look at whether a source is knowledgeable and has expertise before deciding whether to trust the information it supplies, Dr Shepherd said. Industry and government departments such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are seen as pushing specific agendas, he said. "There are issues about accountability and vested interests."

The finding comes as a blow to the government, which is trying to raise public confidence by making its decision-making processes more transparent while also asking researchers to work more closely with industry.

Recently, the government accepted Pounds 400 million from the Wellcome Trust, a medical research charity that owns 4.7 per cent of pharmaceuticals giant Glaxo Wellcome. Three quarters of this money will go to refurbish university labs, and the trust will oversee its allocation.

The government is planning a public consultation to help allay concerns. It wants to get a picture of the public's perceptions of the biosciences and its views of the government's role.

The consultation's planning group met this week to consider how to achieve this. About 1,000 people will be surveyed and regional focus groups established. The planning group will report the results to science minister Lord Sainsbury in April.

One of the biggest public concerns is over the safety of genetically modified crops, Dr Shepherd said.

The country's leading publicly funded research centre working on genetically modified crops is the John Innes Centre in Norwich. More than 10 per cent of its funding comes from industry, including Monsanto, and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, which was set up by the Sainsbury family.

The centre has the Sainsbury Laboratory as a sister organisation on the same site.

In fact, the five research institutes that receive the most money from the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council attracted Pounds 19 million from industry and other non-governmental sources last year, equivalent to almost a fifth of their income. About half their funding came from the BBSRC, and a fifth from MAFF.

Dr Shepherd said that people are wary of genetically modified crops because they are seen as posing unknown risks. "If you ask about a product such as genetically modified tomato puree, people can see that it has some benefits and can weigh up those benefits against the perceived risk," he said.

"When things are presented in the abstract, such as genetically modified plants in general, people are less happy. People don't have a single view on genetically modified food, they have as many views as there are examples."

Discussing problems in the media helps to win public confidence. "One of the worst ways of dealing with (public perceptions of risk) is to keep your head down," Dr Shepherd said. People are happier when they can see what is going on, he added.