The Naked Scientists. (360G-Wellcome-087156_Z_08_Z)

We have developed an initiative at Cambridge University called the Naked Scientists, which uses several channels - radio, the Internet, podcasts and live discussions and demonstrations - to reach audiences of more than a million people per week, from a diverse range of ages and backgrounds. At the heart of our output is a weekly radio programme and podcast which aims to make science fun, interesting and interactive through the use of experiments, phone-ins and interviews with leading scientists. Our shows are syndicated on BBC local radio stations across the east of England and this enables us to access traditionally "hard to reach" audiences including some of the 30% of the population who listen only to local radio and are therefore unlikely to be exposed (normally) to educational science radio programming. This audience has increased by over 100% on some of the broadcasting radio stations. Meanwhile our podcast listener figures have increased by 30% per year, and our website, where all of our material is archived in text and audio formats, receives over 140 million hits per year, growing at 100% annually. Now we wish to consolidate this initial success and to capitalise upon the momentum that we've built up. Therefore, in addition to sustaining our present programme of activities, we also plan to strengthen our science news coverage, increase accessibility and usability of our existing web content, explore the potential of "Second Life" as a platform for public engagement and train new recruits as a way to share good practice and diversify our content. Most critically we wish to secure the position of Dr Chris Smith, who spearheads the Naked Scientists, by facilitating the creation of a post at Cambridge University dedicated to public engagement with science.