Education and Public Outreach Advisory Committee

The purpose of the Education and Public Outreach Advisory Committee (EPOAC) will be to advise Council on strategies for maintaining aspects of the overall health of the STFC scientific and engineering activities and communities.

It is envisaged that EPOAC will take an overarching role, looking broadly at the societal impact of Council’s programme with particular focus on:

• education and training;
• science in society;
• public relations programmes

The Committee will also advise on ethical and diversity issues related to STFC’s role as a public sector organisation.

Terms of reference

The Committee will fulfil its role providing advice and guidance on:

• raising the level of public engagement with STFC’s science and technology in the UK;
  
• provision of appropriate training and development to enable a wide range of subsequent career paths for STFC postgraduates, postdocs and other scientific and technological staff;
  
• the positioning and integration of STFC’s education, training, outreach and PR programmes relative to other Research Councils, other organisations, and the general national effort;
  
• stimulating interest in science education, and increasing the enrolment of science pupils, students and teachers;
  
• corporate visibility and public relations impact, including STFC’s relations with the public, the media, Parliament, and other opinion formers;
  
• the impact STFC could be making in the areas within its remit, and on the methods of assessing that impact;
  
• long-term strategies and high level policies needed to achieve/deliver the desired impact;
  
• issues concerned with society’s expectations of a public organisation, in terms of diversity and ethical principles related to STFC’s programmes and their management.

EPOAC will not be involved in the detail of programme policy, delivery of the programme or peer review activities in the education, training and science in society areas - those activities will be the responsibility of the Education, Training and Careers Committee (ET&CC) and the Science in Society Advisory Panel (SinS), which will report through the Science Board.

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Membership

• Professor Mike Edmunds - Cardiff University (Chair)
• Professor Derek Bell - Wellcome Trust
• Mr Peter Davidson - DBIS/BERR
• Professor James Hough - University of Glasgow
• Sir Roland Jackson - British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA)
• Mr Richard Peckham - Astrium Ltd
• Mr James Wilsdon - Royal Society