ABSTRACT
Social researchers must be given inducements to engage in the sometimes fraught and time-consuming business of communication. The incentive system built into the Research Assessment Exercise often seems to exclude wider, more discursive use of research. Social scientists have been reluctant to engage in a conversation about communication among themselves, let alone with society at large. Many learned societies have made strenuous efforts to enhance the situation — notably the economists, geographers, psychologists, political scientists and sociologists. Some research institutions have established reputations as valued sources for the media, and play a vital role in informing public conversations about policy, events and socioeconomic trends. Traditionally funders of academic research were unconcerned about the 'consumers' of social scientific work. The British Psychological Society and the Royal Economic Society have created 'translation' mechanisms. Research output is assayed well in advance of academic publication and communication possibilities explored.
