The relationship between publicly funded basic research and its wider impact on society is important. How this happens in practice is less obvious than in the case of applied research, where the goal of the project is more practical and its results easier to identify. To make an example, the utility of a research project on HIV vaccines is immediately obvious both to specialists and the general public, while that of a project to map the large-scale distribution of galaxies in our Universe or to look for the Higgs Boson is more subtle
and indirect, yet possibly equally relevant. Basic research has in general more sophisticated and usually long-term consequences, which require different levels of communication and thus a well thought-out communication plan, to be properly appreciated.
Read the full article here (pp 100-101): Open Access Government – May 2017 Issue or here