In 2014, the University of Cambridge joined over seventy organisations from academia, industry, funding bodies and charities in signing the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research. All the signatories have undertaken to fulfil the Concordat’s four commitments:
- We will be clear about when, how and why we use animals in research
- We will enhance our communications with the media and the public about our research using animals
- We will be proactive in providing opportunities for the public to find out about research using animals
- We will report on progress annually and share our experiences
Under each of the commitments is a series of actions that signatories can take to fulfil them. These include: identifying spokespeople who will answer questions about an organisation’s use of animals, supporting researchers who would like to talk about their work using animals, and including information on the role that animal research has played in announcements of scientific advances.