Award recognises commitment to openness

The award in the website category recognises the University’s efforts to provide online information about its research.

Public information

Judges commented that the University site is “engaging and easy to navigate with lots of information on the 3Rs and case studies showing the breadth of research carried out.”

In 2016, the University created publically-accessible web pages to provide details of how research involving animals is regulated.

Progress

The site also features news stories to showcase how the University’s research is making progress in understanding the body in health and disease.

People can also find information about the number and species of animals that are involved in research at Edinburgh.

Openness Awards

The Commendation was awarded at the third annual Openness Awards, which were set up to celebrate the commitment of organisations to being more transparent about their use of animals in science.

A committee of judges selected the winners as examples of best practice that they felt were appropriate to a range of audiences, and which had a component that was original or truly leading in terms of institutional practice.

Categories

The Medical Research Council also received a Commendation in the website category, with Manchester University named as the overall winner.

Other categories recognised efforts in public engagement, media relations and internal or sector engagement, as well as an Individual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Openness in Animal Research.

Scientific lecture

Presentation of the awards was followed by a scientific lecture from Professor Sir Mark Walport, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, about attitudes towards animal research through history to the present day.