FST BLOG

Sharing expertise and best practice more widely

• 21 March 2025
• Education, General
• Simon Napper

It was Michael Gove in the middle of the Brexit campaign who was famously quoted as saying, “People in this country have had enough of experts”. He clarified what he meant later but at the time it certainly generated a great deal of debate.

Trustworthy analysis and verification of facts is, however, needed today more than ever: just look at the growth of fact-checking sites. It could, of course, be argued that this is a perennial feature of news and discussion and that not much has changed since Jonathan Swift wrote in 1710: “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.” Yet the proliferation of views, all claiming to be authoritative, has certainly grown over time.

In fact throughout history, people have come together to guard knowledge and best practice, as well as providing a mechanism for passing on that wisdom to the next generation through apprenticeships and eventually membership. From the livery companies and guilds of medieval times down to today’s learned and professional societies, there has been a recognition of the need for authoritative voices in a world of many competing views and agenda.

That need has not gone away – indeed, with the advent of new means of instant communication afforded by first the radio, then TV and now the internet, it can be seen to have increased.

As guardians of expertise and best practice, learned and professional societies occupy a special place in the life of the country – and more widely for those with strong international links. Like their predecessors, they serve to bring together specialists in specific disciplines, providing a benchmark for excellence and encouraging a sharing of knowledge between generations and between different areas of our economy, whether academia, industry, education, etc.

That concentration of specialist knowledge allows others – from media to government to the general public – to gain access to knowledge, understanding and informed advice. And that standing in society helps the learned and professional society to make its own case to be an official representative and voice for its sector and specialism.

Membership of these societies has always provided an independent validation of expertise and experience. Membership is sought after within a profession and the award of fellowships, for example, gives a further formal standing and recognition.

But societies can perform a wider service to society, through being guardians of knowledge and best practice.

In these days when many aspects of our life are contested, the media and the public want to know that the information they are citing has some form of authority behind it. Here, learned and professional bodies play an important role.

How, though, to ensure that these voices are heard? Well, for one thing there is a society’s newsletter or magazine. Particularly in the media, journalists will often look to technical publications for ideas and to keep up with the latest developments in a field. News of the latest issues, discoveries and debates can stimulate wider coverage.

That does, of course, mean that societies need to maintain contact with journalists in their field and offer them news and advice on what is happening. As a journalist on radio programmes, I would often contact the local universities who could offer that kind of ‘knowledge brokerage’, putting me in touch with experts in the topics I was researching. Those contacts would then grow into a network that I could rely on for stories and features at a later date.

Journalists will build their own networks and while much of that is done through their own research, an offer of assistance from expert organisations will not usually be turned away. And it is not just individual journalists. There are organisations that bring together experts from different disciplines to provide briefings – the Science Media Centre is a well-known example.

Government departments frequently look to make use of the expertise held by professional associations when they are formulating policy. Think tanks and bodies that promote debate, such as the Foundation for Science and Technology, need to find authoritative bodies and individuals that can encapsulate and summarise the latest understanding in their field for their own events.

Reports from learned bodies can also work to create media interest.

But for these things to happen, the outside world has to know the purpose, membership and outreach of learned and professional societies. Organisations need to consider an outreach strategy that prioritises not only potential new members but also the wider world (including the media). Charitable organisations are required to demonstrate ‘public benefit’ and engagement must surely count towards that. In addition, a regular reminder – which can be as simple as inclusion on the Society’s newsletter mailing list – will bring contacts up to speed on the organisation and current topics of interest.

That kind of engagement brings direct benefit to societies and associations. References to the organisation in independent reputable publications makes more people aware of it while also conferring greater authority. More people get to hear about the body and its work, which in turn means new potential members can be reached (this is, after all, very much a ‘connected world’ we live in).

It is not the case that people have had enough of experts. The opposite is true: people want to hear from trusted knowledgeable sources that can help them make sense of an increasingly noisy and confusing world!

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