December 10, 2021
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
New survey on the Institut Pasteur's image, visibility and reputation
During this unprecedented and extended period marked by the international health crisis, the research community has an important role to play in addressing the many challenges associated with the current situation. Members of this community have been pushed, sometimes even forced, to the forefront of debates in which science and society are either in agreement or in opposition (e.g. incidents of fake news).
The Institut Pasteur stepped up to tackle COVID-19 right at the outset, in early 2020, lending its scientific expertise in several areas including virology, diagnostics, physiology, epidemiology, modeling, therapeutic research and vaccine research. For nearly two years now, multiple initiatives to share and transfer information have raised awareness among both experts and the wider public of the many breakthroughs made in the Institut Pasteur's laboratories. This concerted response, which on occasion has run into some of the obstacles and difficulties that are inherent to science, has propelled the Institut Pasteur and its researchers to center stage.
Given these unprecedented levels of exposure, and in conjunction with a survey conducted on a regular basis by the Institut Pasteur on its image, reputation and visibility, it decided to carry out a new survey to measure the impact, perception and appreciation of its research among the general public. This survey, developed with the organization Kantar Public, was conducted from October 21 to 27, 2021 via an online questionnaire, among a panel of 1,001 individuals aged 18 or over and representative of the French population.
The indicators for the Institut Pasteur's visibility, reputation and image still remain at a high level, and sometimes very high, confirming the level of trust that the Institut Pasteur inspires among the French people. Two-thirds of participants also believe that the Institut Pasteur is actively involved in tackling the COVID-19 epidemic, and for one in two participants the Institut Pasteur is at the forefront of research on the virus.