NASEM Explores “Openness” to Strengthen Public Trust in Animal Research

By: Abigail Randolph
Thursday, February 26, 2026
On February 18, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) held a workshop, Continuing the Conversation: Openness and Global Perspectives in Communicating About Research That Requires the Care and Use of Animals, to discuss “openness” as a framework for strengthening public trust in animal research. This series of presentations built on a 2023 workshop titled Effective Communication with the General Public about Scientific Research that Requires the Care and Use of Animals. 

Throughout the workshop, presenters emphasized that measures to integrate openness and transparency into institutional practices, rather than simply reacting to controversies as they arise, best support continued and strengthened trust in animal research. 

Internal measures to promote openness were discussed and include providing researchers and staff with social media training and instruction on effective and responsible communication regarding animal research. Dedicating protected time for community outreach, as well as developing incentives for engaging with the public, may also promote an environment conducive to openness and transparency. 

Presenters highlighted several ways for institutions to engage the public, convey the necessity of animal research, and provide reassurance that animal research is highly regulated. Public-facing educational materials, webpages, and Q&As that use accessible language, clearly justify the selection of animal models, and describe existing safeguards were described as effective measures to promote openness by engaging the public. The European Animal Research Association (EARA) has many examples of effective educational materials.

International examples of formalized institutional commitment to openness and transparency were also discussed. The UK Concordat on Openness, the Swiss Transparency Agreement on Animal Research (STAAR), and the US Animal Research Openness (USARO) all serve as examples of voluntary, multi-institution commitments that establish frameworks for openness in animal research. These transparency agreements allow institutions to signal a commitment to accountability while providing flexibility in implementation. Transparency agreements regularly engage academic institutions, industry, supply chains, and funding agencies. 

The importance of communicating shared values was also emphasized as an effective strategy to build public trust. Presenters noted that contextualizing animal research as necessary for the advancement of treatments for human disease communicates the continued need for animal research. Of note, participants also discussed a need to articulate shared values regarding the use of new approach methodologies (NAMs), particularly to avoid the perception that the research community is resistant to the adoption of NAMs. Framing NAMs as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, animal models was discussed as a way to signal commitment to emerging technologies while reaffirming the continued role for animal models in biomedical research. 

A recording of this meeting, as well as meeting materials, can be found here.