Strategies and challenges to greater participatory engagement in animal welfare research
Date: 31/03/2025
Harper Adams University, Shropshire, UK
Stakeholder engagement is crucial in promoting positive animal welfare, and social science methodologies underpin successful advancement in the field of animal welfare. Combining
classical biological science-based approaches with social science expertise enables research to be tailored to provide solutions that align to stakeholders needs. Scaffolding approaches with stakeholders involved from the outset and actively contributing to the project from the outset seem to be most successful, with stakeholders having ownership of projects, as opposed to the historic method of sharing findings with stakeholders at the culmination of the project as part of wider dissemination.
At the 2024 AWRN meeting many delegates expressed a desire to incorporate stakeholders in the research process but recognised the difficulties associated with this, with delegates highlighting the need for further information on how to incorporate stakeholders in their work. The aim of the proposed workshop is to bring together social scientists, industry and animal welfare scientists to increase knowledge of how social and animal science techniques can be aligned to foster increased collaborations and produce research with greater potential for real-world impact.
The workshop will run from 10:00 – 16:00 (registration from 09:30) and will consist of keynote talks, breakout groups, and networking activities. We are delighted to be joined by Professor Emma Roe, Professor David Rose, Dr Tamzin Furtado, Dr Heather Browning and Dr Walter Veit.
Talks will include:
Professor David Rose – ‘Co-designing animal welfare research with stakeholders’
Dr Tamzin Furtado – ‘Walking the talk and squawking the squawk: Moving from engagement to behaviour change in animal welfare research’
Dr Heather Browning & Dr Walter Veit – ‘From Subjects to Stakeholders: Centring Animals in Welfare Research’
Breakout groups will focus on sharing thoughts and experiences in relation to three key areas: current strategies for engaging stakeholders, barriers to engaging with stakeholders and barriers to change within stakeholders.
