This report reviews our communications and political activities in 2013.
In early 2013, we published our Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not report, which has now become our most successful global media campaign to date. The report aimed to raise public and political awareness of the huge levels of food waste in the UK and around the world. Within the first week of its launch, 27 articles had been published in the UK’s national newspapers, including front pages of the Daily Mail and Metro, and 129 TV and radio broadcasts on the report headlining BBC Breakfast, Radio 4’s Today, and BBC One’s lunchtime, 6pm and 10pm news programmes.
Internationally, broadcast interviews were arranged with media as far afield as Australia, Canada, China and the USA, with over 1,700 printed and broadcast articles from over 80 countries recorded within the first month of publication. The astounding level of global media coverage helped generate invitations from the French, Mexican, Indian and Hong Kong governments to discuss the findings. In addition, our President, Professor Isobel Pollock, was invited to speak at the United Nations in New York on engineering solutions to food waste in the developing world. The media and public affairs campaign for the report subsequently won the best campaign for a not-for-profit organisation at the 2013 CorpComms Awards.
In May, we launched our third annual Engineered in Britain 2013 report, which polls manufacturers and the public on UK manufacturing issues. The report was covered on Sky News and extensively in the engineering trade publications. May also saw the publication of a new Institution poll looking at the public’s views on subsidies for nuclear power, which featured on LBC Radio, and in The Independent and Evening Standard newspapers.
In October, we published our Natural disasters: Saving Lives Today, Building Resilience for Tomorrow report. This report was our first to have its principal launch outside the UK, recognising our ever-growing international membership base. The report was well received, with Dr Tim Fox, the lead author, undertaking an extensive round of interviews with the Indian press while visiting Delhi and Chennai.
Expert insight
A key role for us is to provide insight and expertise for journalists writing stories. In July, when news broke of the tragic rail crash in north-west Spain, journalists were keen to speak to us to gain a better understanding of what happened. This led to interviews on a number of BBC One/News 24 and Sky news programmes, as well as comments being picked up in a number of national newspapers. We also provided reactive comment on a wide range of issues such as HS2, Crossrail, the UK’s plans for nuclear power, and the miracle material graphene.
Working with the government
In terms of political activity, we used our sponsorship of the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car project to help raise awareness of the urgent need for more engineers and apprentices. It took the full-scale Bloodhound model car to 10 Downing Street in June, and the Senedd in Cardiff in September.
Furthermore, to mark Tomorrow’s Engineers Week in November, we held exhibitions at the House of Commons, featuring Bloodhound, and at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, with the Bloodhound car and Bath University’s Formula Student car presented to the Secretary of State and all BIS Ministers.
Overall, the year was very busy, with 21 solo and joint events staged with politicians and civil servants in Westminster, Holyrood and the Senedd, more than 230 MPs and peers briefed or assisted with their queries, eight new policy statements published on topics from plutonium to the engineering skills gap, 18 mentions of the Institution and its work in the Parliamentary chambers, and nine consultation and enquiry submissions.