Final Report Summary 1 - COMSCIENCE (ComScience Network: providing added value to EU research dissemination efforts at regional level)
COMSCIENCE was part of the 'Science in society' Work Programme and of the 'Capacities' Work Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). COMSCIENCE focused on the first of three main activities: 'better understanding of the place of science and technology in society', and more specifically: 'public understanding of science and promotion of public debate, exchanges and co-operation of local actors on scientific culture'.
The COMSCIENCE project, which ran from 2009 - 2012, shared information on current European Union (EU) research activities and results with local communities in different European cities, located in Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), Sweden, Belgium and Spain. Over 1000 participants of targeted audiences (general public and schools) have been reached in 25 events. Five science topics that address the concerns and interests of European citizens were chosen and were the subjects of participatory discussions and hand-on activities: stem cell research, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), obesity and type 2 diabetes, allergies and asthma as well as contaminants in our food.
COMSCIENCE has profited from an efficient partnership that represented not only different types of science communicators, but also represented different European regions and cities. The partnership included eight science communicating organisations from Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Spain. The project structure has stimulated the exchange of know-how and best practices between the event organisers and ventured upon lasting partnerships between local actors from different places in Europe. In the three years that COMSCIENCE operated, the network has developed an original, effective and successful methodology for the organisation of participatory-driven science events. In order to achieve this the following milestones have been met in addition to periodical evaluation reports:
(i) consultation of key science communicators to discuss content and format of the proposed activities;
(ii) adaptation of science dissemination materials from Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and FP7 research groups, projects, consortia to be used in the COMSCIENCE events;
(iii) the organisation and execution of 25 public science dialogue events in 5 European countries; and
(iv) the production of a best practice manual for science events, entitled: 'Let's talk science'.
The deliverables of the COMSCIENCE will be useful far beyond the end date of the project.
Two essential elements are available from the project website at http://www.comscience.eu
(i) clear examples are presented on how science information from research projects can be collected and bundled in so called 'Science information packs' that can then be used to effectively organise participatory science events;
(ii) a generic methodology (best practice) has been developed that now can be used by other science communicators to foster the idea of science cities on a larger scale, in local settings while respecting regional differences.
Project context and objectives:
Context
For Europe to become the most advanced knowledge society in the world, it is imperative that legitimate societal concerns and needs concerning science and technology development are taken on board, entailing an enhanced democratic debate with a more engaged and informed public and better conditions for collective choices on scientific issues.
Science permeates every sector of society and its relations with society are complex and show some ambiguities. Citizens rely on scientific research to improve the quality of life and find solutions to issues such as global warming or health threats. But the citizens have also concerns about science and technology: possible negative effects and risks that should be better assessed and controlled.
Civil society in general is concerned about the quality of life in its broadest sense - which relates not only to overall economic growth and national prosperity but also to factors that have a more immediate impact on life such as equal opportunities, social inclusion, health, the respect for diversity, education, and a legitimate expectation that the skills taught in school will be adequate preparation for adult life.
In pursuit of the widely acknowledged objective of a shared prosperity in the global knowledge society, it is critical to stimulate cooperation between different cities and regions in Europe. Also, it is important, while enhancing international cooperation in science and technology, to address local societal aspects related to the research activities that are carried out and to engage the society in a dialogue with scientists about the role of science in their respective regions. By not simply focusing on the technological aspects of science, the dialogue will contribute to improved science and society relationship and to more and a broader perspective on science and societal issues.
When placing such broad ambitions in a European perspective, 3 objectives for addressing Science in Society issues can be distinguished. The first aims for a more dynamic governance of the science and society relationship; the second is concerned with strengthening potential and broadening horizons with respect to issues of science education; the third seeks to promote effective two-way communication channels that enable the public to engage with science and vice versa.
Addressing these broad objectives is difficult. A number of actions need to be taken to deal with these issues and challenges, namely:
(a) establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships for jointly addressing crucial research-related societal issues, e.g. the recognition of ethical issues when employing molecular genetic techniques; and to facilitate the participation of participants in the ongoing European dialogue;
(b) capitalise on previous work in science communication and stimulation of initiatives towards new ambitious objectives;
(c) share information on ethical, legal and social aspects in science in order to help the acceptance of the fast-growing scientific knowledge within local and regional cultures;
(d) promote citizens' understanding of the impact of scientific progress and technology on their daily lives especially as it relates to the benefit, usage and consequences of European research activities - thus helping to establish a sound global perspective on science;
(e) encourage young people's interest in science and science studies, promotion of new methods in science education, including the contextualisation of research in its wider societal context;
(f) promote of two-way communication and dissemination strategies addressing wider audiences of policy-makers, the media and the general public (including young people), in order to promote increased dialogue and understanding between the scientific world and society at large;
(g) strengthen exchanges of knowledge and of experiences between science communicators on objectives, tools, methods and evaluations of what is done at all levels, ensuring as far as possible a broad coverage of Member States and associated countries;
(h) prepare for wider and more concrete partnerships among science communicators in cities and regions in the future;
(i) promote good practices aiming to reduce obstacles to an 'open governance of research in Europe' and support for local actors on scientific culture;
(j) present key scientific elements and topics in 'Science in society' at a European level, thus contributing to a common European stock of scientific knowledge;
(k) engagement of experts from different scientific disciplines in Science in society activities in order to do that they need to be supplied with useful tools and examples of successful strategies.
The COMSCIENCE project is a coordination and support action (CSA) aiming to support research activities and policies and to increase the societal relevance of research. The action encourages greater public engagement and promotes the participation of citizens and civil society organisations in research and science policy making.
The above mentioned actions that address the broad Science in Society objectives provided numerous challenges to the COMSCIENCE project. For example, with the aim of encouraging young people's interest in science and science studies, account had to be taken of the possible relevance of research results for the purposes of science education. Similarly, communication and dissemination strategies had to be elaborated to promote increased dialogue between the scientific world and the public on a regional level. Communication and dialogue about ongoing science and technology activities, including their results and possible applications, is a complex task. One of the main challenges is to identify the many information sources, extract the required content and bring this together into an appropriate communication package. Another challenge is to make sure that the content serves to encourage a dialogue between scientists and target audiences.
However, addressing the challenges is not sufficient. Account needs to be provided as to whether the actions taken had the desirable impact. Thus the COMSCIENCE project also analysed its own activities and results from the public dissemination events (PDEs) that were organised in five different European countries. Evaluations were carried out on the effectiveness of COMSCIENCE materials, methods employed and the outcome of the PDEs.
Objectives of the COMSCIENCE project
The European funded COMSCIENCE project created, promoted and analysed the use of scientific content by science communication organisations in different parts of Europe. European citizens were invited to learn and gain insight about the scientific process and the way results are used for the benefit of the society. Specifically, the COMSCIENCE project provided added value to EU research by disseminating information and engaging in a dialogue with the society about the results of European funded research activities. The initiative presents a model for efficient interaction between science and European citizens in different regions in Europe. It stimulates the links between science culture and society by exchanging best practices and cooperation between regional communication activities for the development of a scientific culture at the local level. It has been the objective of the COMSCIENCE project to place activities of regional science communication institutions at the core of its activities. Dialogues with public audiences were therefore driven by well-respected regional communication experts.
The project team had chosen to focus on five science topics and organise public events in five European countries. Therefore, a total of 25 local science events have been organised on five science topics at 5 different locations in Europe.
The five science topics chosen by the COMSCIENCE project addressed the concerns and interests of European citizens:
(i) stem cell research;
(ii) the use of GMO;
(iii) obesity and type 2 diabetes;
(iv) allergies and asthma; and
(v) contaminants in our food.
The five locations for the COMSCIENCE events were in Sweden (organiser: Vetenskap & Allmänhet, Stockholm, Sweden), Belgium (organiser: Centre de Culture Scientifique, Charleroi, Belgium), Germany (organiser: Wissenschaftsladen Bonn, Germany), UK (organiser: the British Science Association) and Spain (organiser: CSIC Scientific Culture Department, Madrid).
In order to fulfil its set objectives, the project aimed to have a number of concrete deliverables.
Information packages
Five science topics address immediate concerns and interests of European citizens. The subjects are supported by information packages, and include hand-outs in different European languages. The full packages further contain short films, background readings and an overview of relevant European research projects. For each of these science subjects, films and background materials have been prepared in the form of science information packages (SIPs). These packages were produced by the COMSCIENCE team in such a manner that these can be used by any event organiser to support European wide discussions on science. The employed methodology can also serve as an example to help disseminate advances in other fields of European science and technology research. The COMSCIENCE SIPs have been published on the project website (see http://www.comscience.eu online for further details) and are accessible without any conditions such as registration or passwords.
Events
The events were organised by local science communication experts. A total of 25 PDEs have been organised where each topic was subjected to an open dialogue between the local scientific experts and the event participants. The events lasted approximately three hours, targeting the youth and general public. The outcomes were closely evaluated.
All information on the COMSCIENCE project pilot events for the five scientific subjects, which were organised in 5 different European countries, is located in the section 'Events' on the project website. Starting pages for impressions of the COMSCIENCE PDEs can be inspected for Charleroi (Belgium), Stockholm (Sweden), Madrid (Spain) and Bonn (Germany) and London (the UK).
Outcome
The project structure not only aimed at the exchange of information between the public and scientists but also stimulated the exchange of know-how and best practices between the communication experts. In this way, it was possible to analyse the events and the information packages and come up with recommendations on how to enhance the widespread dissemination of European research in local settings while respecting regional differences and needs.
Project results:
A description of the main results
The description of project results below corresponds to the work packages (WPs) in which they were embedded. There were a total of six WPs in the project. These were:
WP1: Project management
WP2: Content adaptation: creation of SIPs
WP3: Internet activities
WP4: PDEs
WP5: Dissemination activities
WP6: Evaluation.
WP1: Project management
The project day to day network management resided at the LMU (partner 1) with assistance from PBP (partner 2). The daily management took primary responsibility for taking appropriate project initiatives and securing effective communication activities between all project partners. Other tasks that were carried out include internal reporting, time schedule management, provisions for keeping 'list of deliverables and milestones' on track, administrative issues and organisation of the project meetings.
The project management succeeded in creating a dynamic communication environment for knowledge and information exchange throughout the duration of the project, formulate strategic decisions and at the same time keep the person-hours involved in communication limited to an effective minimum. The project steering committee (project coordinator plus all project members) established effective communication links with participating individuals and organisations encouraging discussions and exchange of information, knowledge, tools and methods.
A password protected area was created as one of the communication tools, and was used to archive confidential project reports and draft documents. The project partners have been able to use the archive for reference and it also served as a 'project-cloud' to distribute materials to all partners.
As planned, a database with science contacts was created to be used in WP4 and WP5, in fact, some of the information (on EU funded research projects) was considered useful enough to be taken up for the SIPs.
Both during the first reporting period (18 months: 1 April 2009 - 30 September 2010) and the second reporting period (18 months: 1 October 2010 - 30 March 2012) the project members met face to face four times, but not in the 3 months extension period (1 April 2012 - 30 June 2012) , therefore 8 times in the full project period:
- Kick-off meeting in Munich, Germany: 27 - 28 April 2009
- Madrid, Spain meeting: 1 - 2 March 2010
- Stockholm, Sweden meeting: 13 - 14 April 2010
- London, UK meeting: 16 - 17 June 2010
- Charleroi, Belgium meeting: 7 - 8 October 2010
- Bonn, Germany meeting: 23 - 25 November 2010
- München, Germany meeting: 27 - 28 September 2011
- Seville, Spain meeting: 29 - 30 March 2012.
The meetings have proven essential for the coordination committee to effectively oversee and discuss the project management tasks, arrive at correct decisions regarding content and structure of the PDEs and proper usage of evaluation results. The meetings also enabled the project members to develop very good personal relationships that helped with the overall project implementation and its evaluation. Early on in the project it was decided that, next to the face to face meetings, conference calls and person-to-person contacts, there would be no need for a project newsletter, since the consortium was too small for it to be an effective communication channel. Instead, minutes were made available and distributed quickly after meetings were held.
Many issues have been discussed at length during the subsequent project meetings, including but not limited to the following issues:
- structure, level, scope and contents of the SIPs;
- structure, time schedule, participation (staff and audience) and content of the PDEs;
- methodology, recording and analysis of evaluation;
- use of the project results for the production of a 'best practice manual'.
The discussions have led to significant improvements, level adjustments and contributions to the SIPs that were developed in WP2. The discussions among the project members on the PDEs led to preparatory studies by the day-to-day management to arrive at project PDE definitions for:
(i) choice of topics, scope and level;
(ii) aims, purpose and results to be achieved;
(iii) methodology, structure and length of the event elements;
(iv) participation and assistance of staff and external scientists;
(v) follow-up activities and dissemination;
(vi) evaluation methodologies;
(vii) reporting.
These preparatory studies have also resulted both in a simplified PDE blueprint and in a best practice manual (Annex 1) that documents and describes the experiences and outcome of the project.
During the full project duration, we have not encountered any problems that could not be resolved within the consortium and it has not been necessary to make any changes to the set up or agreement of the consortium. In fact its members still have fruitful contacts now the project has ended.
WP2: Content adaptation
creation of SIPs. The kick-off meeting and subsequent discussions resulted in the confirmation of choice of five science subjects that would form the core content of the project. These five topics were defined as follows:
(i) allergies and asthma: explaining the contributory role of the environment and genetics;
(ii) obesity and diabetes: a growing problem among the European youth;
(iii) heart disease and stem cells - technique and ethical questions on the use of stem cells;
(iv) the use of GMOs in agriculture for food sources;
(v) risks in daily life as a consumer's issue - the case of dioxins in our food supply.
Furthermore, the scope and the level of scientific complexity to be presented in the SIPs (SIPs) and at the PDEs were discussed in detail.
The SIPs produced in the project fulfilled a number of roles:
(i) Local event organisers have used the information included in the SIPs prior to the organisation of their local events.
(ii) Participants at the PDEs potentially could (and some indeed have) read about the science subject and used the SIPs prior to an event, since all information was freely available from the project website.
(iii) Other event organisers, that were not involved in the project, were (and still are) able to use the SIPs as basis or starting point of public events that bear similarity to the PDE, that were held in this project.
(iv) Apart from a role in public events, the SIPs are also very useful for people that are interested in science subjects that are offered in the SIPs.
(v) Since sections in the SIPs refer to recent or ongoing scientific research and studies that are funded by the EU, the SIPs also function as a starting point for a search for novel results and developments.
The SIPs can both be used as information sources for science classes, as well as a source of information for students who need to complete a paper on a subject relevant to a SIP. SIPs can be accessed from the project website: http://www.eusem.com/main/CS/publications
The SIPs that were produced by the project contain the following elements (see http://www.COMSCIENCE.eu online):
1. Short films on the chosen subjects:
For non-English speaking countries translated versions were prepared in Spanish, German, Swedish and French. A total of 16 films were prepared. The process involved preparation of new translated texts to fit the original film version lengths, casting of different speakers of different nationalities, supervising the sound recording and sound mix for each film, quality control of new voice versions, preparation on new titles, subtitles and credits in each of the languages, organising and supervising production of new DVD menus and DVD labels for each language.
2. Background documentation:
Documents were prepared with background information on the chosen science subjects used for the SIPs. The documents turned out to be useful for the PDE organisers within the project. After the initial round of test PDEs, the background information was corrected and / or updated when deemed necessary or if additional information was received from external experts or project partners.
3. Hand-outs:
A sample hand-out was prepared that could be used as is, or adapted to local requirements. In the project the background documentation, the frequently asked question (FAQ) section, or a combination of both have been used by the PDE organisers in the preparation of the local hand-outs in national language. The hand-outs have functioned very well in supporting the PDE discussions.
4. FAQs:
Answers to short questions were prepared and proved to be a good methodology to quickly cover a science subject without too much burden on the user to read a full story. FAQs facilitated rapid identification of relevant information.
5. Glossary of terms:
It is inevitable that users come across terms that are not understood easily or which have obscure meanings. Thus explanation of certain terms was necessary. Great care was taken to cover key terms.
6. Science projects contact database:
For all SIPs, a separate list of EU funded research projects was prepared. The database contained titles, descriptions, address contacts and website (if available) of projects related to the five chosen topics. In addition a link has been provided to view the output of the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) database on the individual science projects. This SIP facility was very useful to identify additional information on the chosen topics. The presented science projects covered Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) to FP7.
The five SIPs were first tested at five locations with different audiences: asthma in Stockholm with an adult audience, diabetes in Charleroi and stem cells in Madrid with youth, GMOs in London with adults and Omega-3 in Bonn also with adults (see WP4). After completion of each of the first pilot PDEs in the first reporting period (18 months), the final SIPs were produced and corrected / adapted as necessary. The information on the completed events, available on the project website, provides an extension of the SIPs in the form of actually used films and hand-outs in local language, as well as impressions of the event and press releases.
WP3: Internet activities
The COMSCIENCE internet site has been set up early in the life of the COMSCIENCE project to make optimal advantage of the potential of the website as a public introduction of the COMSCIENCE mission and projected deliverables. Together with the website, a Facebook page was created to further advertise the COMSCIENCE activities. Since the Facebook page listed current activities that were out of date when the project had ended, it was replaced by a new Facebook timeline page, listing an overview of all PDEs that had taken place during the course of the project.
The availability and operation of the EUSEM website, which was supported by previous EU funded projects before the onset of the COMSCIENCE project, turned out to be very advantageous. The COMSCIENCE website was integrated under the EUSEM umbrella structure as a stand-alone site. Since the COMSCIENCE website did not rely on other parts of the EUSEM website, care was taken to safeguard the individual identity of the COMSCIENCE project deliverables. The EUSEM site had been developed to serve as a public introduction to the product line of educational materials that had been developed during previous EUSEM projects. While the COMSCIENCE project aimed at different activities, it was clear that visitors quickly were able to also find the information about the COMSCIENCE activities, since individuals or internet search machines knew about the EUSEM site, and therefore easily linked to the new COMSCIENCE pages. The various sites were thus complementary to each other and served to create a synergy effect.
Initially, in the first year of the project, the COMSCIENCE internet site was designed to be used as a repository that would accommodate the Science InfoPacks (SIPs) on the five research topics that were chosen for the PDEs (PDEs, see WP4). An appropriately structured resource was therefore created to serve the COMSCIENCE disseminating partners providing with easy access the science materials that were prepared in WP2 and were presented to be used in WP4. Since it was decided that these pages would be freely accessible to any visitor of the website, additional care was taken that the SIP structure was consistent and navigation was simple and straightforward.
Restricted member pages in a password protected area were created as well to accommodate draft versions of documents to be shared among the partnership, for interim reports and internal documents.
All planned sections of the SIPs, as described in the original project proposal, were made available through the COMSCIENCE internet pages, well in advance of the organisation of the COMSCIENCE local events in the five partner countries. The sections that were implemented included the following:
- introductory film;
- hand-out for the PDEs;
- background document;
- FAQs on the glossary of terms that either are used in the film or in the background documents;
- a list of relevant FP6 / FP7 funded research projects, including links, contacts etc.
Since the SIPs were made publicly available, additional usage of the materials was made possible on the internet:
- as an information source for interested individuals;
- for the preparation of teaching materials or classroom lessons by teachers;
- for use as instruction or discussion materials in specialised parties, such as patient groupings;
- as an example and structure for science communication by other EU research projects;
- as an information source for other science communicators aiming at similar PDEs as carried out in the COMSCIENCE project.
After each of the PDEs had taken place, a request was sent out to the organising partners to contribute information on the results and outcome of the event. This information was harmonised to present a similar styled report on all PDEs on the COMSCIENCE website. The reports (4 topics, 5 countries, so 20 in total) consisted of the following elements:
- organiser contact details, local web page(s) on the events;
- film in local language;
- hand-outs in local language;
- media articles advertising or reporting on the event;
- photographic impressions of the event.
A separate page was prepared to show initial results on the comparison and evaluation of all PDEs. Further information is available in the best practice manual 'Let's talk science'.
Additional functionality was introduced in the COMSCIENCE internet site to suit broader interests of visitors of the pages. A news column, which was refreshed on a daily basis, provided links to timely science related information that was sufficiently in line with the scope of the COMSCIENCE page. A directly accessible news archive of approximately two weeks was maintained as well. The news provided an extra reason to re-visit the COMSCIENCE page and also made sure that search engines recognised the website as active and providing a changing set of links to different websites.
A YouTube channel was created as an alternative method to find and access the multimedia materials of the COMSCIENCE project. The channel also presented films on subjects that had not been chosen for the COMSCIENCE PDEs and SIPs. The number of views gives an insight in the interest of the visitors of this YouTube channel. Films on science subjects that deal with genetics and genetic modification clearly receive more interest than a quite specialised film such as: Food safety - the case of Omega-3 oils. It is with good reason that it was decided not to pursue this topic after the five pilot PDEs in year 1.
While a Twitter account had been maintained for a short while, it was soon clear that this social media channel is not well suited to gain interests for several science subjects in a single communication project. As a demonstration of the types of messages that are placed on Twitter, a search machine was implemented on the COMSCIENCE website to search for terms like 'asthma', 'diabetes', 'stem cells' or 'genetic modification'. While it is an extra service to provide additional information on the COMSCIENCE selected science subjects, it also shows the limited benefit of Twitter.
Finally a rapid response network (RNN) service was installed to allow interested individuals ask a pool of experts pertinent questions on the science subjects that were covered by the COMSCIENCE project. Questions were either answered immediately by the project daily management, or alternatively an answer was sought from the advisory board, or a scientist from the network established by COMSCIENCE. While not a core activity of the project, the RRN ensured that visitors felt confident that answers can be obtained when relying on the project's products.
The full COMSCIENCE website, the SIP structure and all other contents mentioned above were maintained and updated on a regular basis. Feedback from COMSCIENCE partners and occasional response from website visitors have been helpful. A real effort was done to utilise a transparent structure with sufficient cross-links for easy access of all information on the events and data. General information on the project, objectives and partnership were also provided.
WP4: PDEs
A total of 25 PDEs have been organised and held in five European countries. The events have been one of the cornerstones of the project, together with their evaluations and production of the best practice manual (see WP6).
The PDEs have been planned, prepared and carried out by partners 3 - 7. The first five events were attended by all COMSCIENCE partners and were designed as pilots for the following 20 events. This strategy was chosen to allow the development of a consistent event methodology and proper evaluation procedure. An additional benefit of this approach was an opportunity for a mutual learning step and comparisons between regions on the impacts of the project deliverables. Since the partners 3 - 7 were also from different science communication organisations, it was also possible to evaluate whether the event methodology developed was suited for different types of science communication in in different EU countries optimal techniques could be selected.
The first five test events were held on different subject matters and with different audiences: in Madrid (stem cells, youth), London (GMOs, adults), Stockholm (asthma, adults), Charleroi (diabetes, youth) and Bonn (omega-3 supplements, adults). The central aim of these events was to test:
(a) the structure and methodologies of the events;
(b) the usability and contents of the SIPs; and
(c) the effectiveness of the questionnaires for evaluation purposes.
The outcomes of the events were discussed and conclusions were drawn relating to minor changes in event structure, SIP content and questionnaires. The most important decision that was taken after this first round of PDEs was the strict coupling of subjects with audience for the remaining 20 PDEs to be organised, and the decision to skip the subject 'omega-3 supplements'. This strategy was chosen to allow a reliable comparative analysis of all events. Therefore the schedule for PDEs that took place from the early summer 2011 until February 2012 was as follows:
Madrid (CSIC)
- stem cells, youth, 17 October 2011
- diabetes, youth, 7 November 2011
- GMO, adults, 12 November 2011
- asthma, adults, 26 November 2011.
London (BA)
- stem cells, youth, 5 January 2012
- diabetes, youth, 3 February 2012
- GMOs, adults, 14 June 2011
- asthma, adults, 12 July 2011
- asthma, adults, 14 September 2012 (extra event).
Stockholm (VA)
- stem cells, youth, 12 October 2011
- diabetes, youth, 24 November 2011
- GMOs, adults, 7 December, 2011
- asthma, adults, 19 October 2011.
Bonn (WiLa)
- stem cells, youth, 14 July 2011
- diabetes, youth, 22 September 2011
- GMOs, adults, 20 October 2011
- asthma, adults, 19 January 2012.
Charleroi (CCS)
- stem cells, youth, 23 September 2011
- diabetes, youth, 18 October 2011
- GMOs, adults, 26 January 2012
- asthma, adults, 23 June 2011.
The main content of the four science topics was:
Stem cells: Embryonic stem cells potentially have the ability to divide for indefinite periods and may give rise to other cell types such as blood, nerve or muscle cells. They may be used for example in the treatment heart disease. Nevertheless, the use of stem cells raises a number of ethical questions.
Diabetes is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream is too high because the body cannot use it properly due to either absence of insulin (type-1) or diminished response towards insulin (type-2). Type-2 diabetes is a growing problem among the European youth.
GMOs: Genetic modification is a technique that plays a role in a vast area of scientific research, involving micro-organisms such as bacteria, plants, animals and even humans. Although GMOs play a role in agriculture around the world, they also raise numerous safety issues as well as socio-economic concerns.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease, characterised by recurrent episodes of breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness and coughing. Factors that contribute to this disease, specifically environment and genetics, need to be considered.
Omega-3: The fifth topic, 'Risks in daily life as a consumer's issue - the case of dioxins in our food supply', was discontinued after the test phase (see WP4).
The events were attended on average by 50 people and 5 experts / communicators. The events consisted of topic introductions by experts, followed by provision of a hand-out, the presentation of the film, group table discussions attended by experts and a general discussion at the end of the event. Detailed questionnaires were filled in before and after the event by the participants. Separate questionnaires were completed by the organisers and attending experts.
The SIP hand-outs were translated from English into the national languages and the films were also either dubbed or subtitled. The rest of the information in the SIPs were only provided in English through the internet site since these had been produced as background material for event organisers or other disseminators (see WP2) and not specifically for event participants.
The events, as defined and executed by the COMSCIENCE partnership, have proven to be a success both as means of a dialogue between experts and target audiences but also in terms of the strategy employed in organising the events. Detailed description of the event methodology and best practice is presented in the best practice manual 'Let's talk science' (see WP6).
WP5: Publicising and extended dissemination
For the optimal support of the 25 PDEs (PDE), which were organised during the COMSCIENCE project, it has proven essential to carry out targeted and efficient publicising of the COMSCIENCE objectives, its aims, deliverables and the schedule of activities. The feedback that was received in this process has been instrumental in the fine tuning and presentation of the supporting materials (SPIs) and communication channels (website, Facebook Twitter). Novel presentation platforms were developed and tried-such as the YouProduce! platform that directly addressed school teachers. The combined activities, which were shared between the project members, have resulted in an enthusiastic involvement of other science communicators like teachers, press or representatives of patient or consumer organisations. In the afterlife of the COMSCIENCE project, when the website and the deliverables remain available, this is important since they are possible candidates for the future expansion of science city networks.
Publicity campaigns have been essential for the preparation of all PDEs, and since these were carried out in five different European countries, and each at five different points in time, it is believed that information about the COMSCIENCE project has reached a great number of individuals. The target groups for the publicity campaigns were interest groups (consumers, patients) information multipliers (press, science writers, teachers) and national contacts to other organisations with science communication tasks. In general, the publicity strategy, to reach the interest groups and information multipliers, used the following platforms:
- newsletters, homepages, magazines and other information channels;
- mails to alumni students and students;
- social media;
- through student associations / unions;
- invitations through upper secondary schools.
Additional visibility and dissemination of the project deliverables was achieved by physical presence and presentations of project partners at key conferences and fairs. An important opportunity had been the Fifth Living Knowledge Conference organised by the project partner WiLa in Bonn, Germany. The Living Knowledge Conference is a bi-annual meeting of the European Network of Science Shops. There, the COMSCIENCE project was able to share its objectives, strategy and interim results. Another good example of effective extended dissemination was the ongoing interaction and consultations of the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL). PERL is a partnership of educators, researchers and practitioners from more than 120 institutions in over 50 countries and coordinated at the Hedmark University College in Norway. Good contacts resulted in the promotion of the COMSCIENCE objectives and activities at PERL meetings with the benefit of an additional focused audience that could benefit of the COMSCIENCE achievements. Finally, the project outcomes were presented at various educational / communication meetings in Europe.
WP6: Evaluation
The 'knowledge triangle' - research, education and innovation - is a core factor for Europe to become a dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy. COMSCIENCE has aimed to play a role in this ambitious goal by providing SIPs on a cross-section of science subjects with connection to the experiences of everyone's daily life. COMSCIENCE performed a full analysis of the employed strategy, taking into consideration a number of factors. In addition, an external project review was carried out (provided with the last periodic report).
The evaluation methodology was based primarily on extensive questionnaires administered before and after the events to the event participants and to the event organisers and invited experts. The initial questionnaires were evaluated in the five test events. An outcome of this process was an improved set of questionnaires used for the remaining 20 events. The analysis was carried out on four topics, divided between the youth and adults. The questionnaires were designed to answer a number of questions. Amongst them:
(1) Where the events successful? (according to students, adults, experts and event organisers)
(2) Was the content appropriate (= positively evaluated) for these events? (according to students adults, experts and event organisers)
(3) Where there any regional differences in the evaluations of (1) and (2)?
(4) Can you rely on the opinion of the organisers if the event was really successful?
(5) How were the performance factors (such as recall of information, interest gain in the topic) affected by the intervening factors (such as the films, presence of experts at the meetings, hand-outs)?
(6) What role do social factors play in all this?
The data obtained from the questionnaire analysis was incorporated into the preparation of the best practice manual. The complete analysis of the results (over 1000 pages) is included with the last periodic report. Some of the findings are presented in Annex 1 to illustrate the analysis structure and outcomes.
The key findings are that, regardless of the topic, age group and the region investigated, the organisation of active participation of experts at the events was deemed to be a prerequisite of the event success. Their participation was supported by the showing of the films and the distribution of hand-outs. In all cases, the structure and organisation of the events was met with positive approval both by the event participants and the attending experts.
As already indicated, the information generated from the data analysis was incorporated into the best practice manual. It contains the following sections:
1. summary and recommendations;
2. how to organise science communication events: (a) part one: getting started, (b) part two: getting it done, (c) part three: event evaluation;
3. FAQs;
4. additional reading sources.
The 28 page manual is meant to be used by science communication practitioners.
Potential impact:
COMSCIENCE has shown the following:
1. It was possible to bring together a collective comprised of highly qualified partners from different regions of Europe active in science communication (science shop, science museum, civic society organisation and research outreach departments).
2. It properly used its broad expertise to carry out a balanced action plan.
3. It maintained an effective project infrastructure and coordination to assure that the project deliverables had a significant impact on the targeted audiences (adults, information multipliers and students) during the COMSCIENCE PDEs.
A careful choice of science topics was made to be treated in the PDEs. Two topic restrictions were considered. First, the science subjects covered had to impact or a connection to the daily life of European citizens, such as health, food safety and consumer issues. Secondly, it was made sure that the topics were the subject of European research in thematic areas covered by the 'Cooperation' specific Work Programme. Therefore the action plan of COMSCIENCE was in line with a number of FP7 categories of objectives: Cooperation, Capacities and People. The synergies and complementarity to the latter two general categories was achieved by bringing science and society closer together (Capacities) and encouraging young people to follow a career in natural sciences, while taking into consideration gender issues (People).
The themes in the 'Cooperation' Work Programme all have in common that - in their fields of knowledge and technologies - research excellence is particularly important to improve Europe's ability to address public health and social, economic, environmental and industrial challenges of the future. The COMSCIENCE project has conscientiously aimed to fit into this category, in particularly the public health and (environmental) safety themes. It made sure that European challenges concerning innovation, science development and application were addressed while ensuring that their outcomes are understood and accepted by the general public and that the subjects presented could be integrated into formal and informal educational settings. One of the main objectives of the COMSCIENCE project was to better inform the public as well as professionals in educational organisations on the progress in European scientific research, thereby providing European research efforts a prominent place in this dissemination action.
The 'knowledge triangle' - research, education and innovation - is a core factor for Europe to become a dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy. Since research and consequently innovation in science is dependent on public funding, the public needs to be aware of the societal benefits of EU funded environmental research in more detail. Thus part of the COMSCIENCE mission has been to raise public awareness for EU funded research activities. The local dissemination of the information originating from SIPs, being it in form of films, internet activities, direct interactions with scientists or hand-outs, have strengthened public knowledge about and engagement in discussions on science subjects.
The creation of COMSCIENCE's website with the SIPs, the examples of successful PDEs and the publication of the best practice manual are in line with the Science in society ambitions where special attention is given to the actual communication of EU research outcomes and the engagement in dialogue with civil society. The COMSCIENCE activities have fostered a dialogue and debate on scientific issues and research results with a broad public, including young people. The activities undertaken have contributed towards the generation of interest of these young people in science and must have stimulated the idea of pursuing a career in science related fields. Ethical and societal concerns were also considered when presenting the science subjects, in line with the obligation towards future generations and the rest of the world to be aware of the possible negative impacts of certain scientific developments. COMSCIENCE took part in a Science in society call for proposals that aimed at the elaboration on strategies and/or actions for the development of a scientific culture at the local level by bringing together relevant local actors involved in science to exchange best practices and foster cooperation. The COMSCIENCE project took the concept even further by putting the communication of science to the public at real tests (the PDE's), setting up a repository of science data (SIPs), within the framework of a collective of science mediators, who were located at different EU science mediating centres (described in the call for proposals as 'Science Cities').
Among broader ranges of issues where the COMSCIENCE strategy participated in shaping the network of 'Science cities' are the following:
1. In addition to the demands made on research and development by commerce and industry, 'civil society' organisations have their own research needs. Diffusion of knowledge often focuses on communication from researchers to society, but there is an increasing demand for communication from society to researchers. This is the concept of 'social demand' for knowledge. In the COMSCIENCE PDEs, this was achieved by the opportunities of direct communication (dialogue) with experts: on many occasions scientists reported to have learned from the communication effort as well.
2. Different types of interfaces exist between researchers and society, and 'science shops' take a prominent place. Science shops are organisations created as mediators between citizen groups (trade unions, pressure groups, non-profit organisations, social groups, environmentalists, consumers, residents association etc.) and research institutions (universities, independent research facilities). For this reason, one of the communication partners in COMSCIENCE was in fact Bonn science shop, one of the largest science shops worldwide.
3. In order to accomplish the Lisbon and Barcelona objectives in terms of boosting investment in research, an increased demand for motivated and high quality researchers is foreseen in Europe in the future. A key issue is therefore, how to enhance the number of young people entering science, engineering and technology careers in the different European regions. Studies show that children's lack of interest in science is already manifest at schools (primary as well as secondary). By stimulating scientific interest of children from a young age, it is hoped to ultimately increase the number of children choosing scientific training at university and pursuing scientific careers. COMSCIENCE has tackled this challenge by specifically targeting youth as an audience for 50 % of the PDEs that were organised. The outcome of the evaluations of these events, and the conclusions that are documented in the COMSCIENCE best practice manual, will help future science communication event organisers to achieve the best results right across Europe.
4. In a knowledge-based society, both policy makers and citizens should be equipped to make informed choices from the ever-growing range of options provided by scientific and technological progress. Science dissemination and dialogue activities embedded within our society support this empowerment process. Therefore COMSCIENCE made a significant effort to communicate complex scientific issues in a simpler language, and encouraged the experts, who participated at the PDEs, to openly discuss opposing scientific opinions and advice in understandable terms, particularly on new or emerging issues.
The range of deliverables from the COMSCIENCE project clearly contributed to the issues mentioned above and since all deliverables are freely available, it is expected that their impact on the European citizens will still increase over time and/or when the COMSCIENCE methodologies are taken up by more science communication organisations.
COMSCIENCE made a real contribution by diffusing the output of EU funded research activities and disseminating past and present FP7 research project results in film, oral and written formats while actively promote dialogue on their contents. The COMSCIENCE deliverables have provided event participants with insight how scientific research is carried out, what uncertainties go hand in hand with latest results and that positive results do not promise immediate implementations in society. Also it became clear that personal participation of local scientific experts at the regional science communication events were highly rewarding and appreciated by the event participants. The COMSCIENCE project has made use of ample possibilities for a broad ranging dialogue: by the live interaction with competent local scientists at the PDEs, evaluation forms, its internet site and extended dissemination activities, by the provision of the RRN, its Facebook page and free range comments. Constructive dialogue is one of the keys to minimise unfounded concerns and maximise public empowerment.
In this respect, one of the objectives of PDEs was to raise public awareness for EU funded research activities. The COMSCIENCE communication activities emphasised the benefit of European scientific research activities for citizens: how research findings are put into practice and new methodologies are put to the test, and how ultimately they will become available to anyone. The films for example show scientists in action, and provide insight in the process of scientific work, their results and the processes that lead to the implementation of applications that are essential to support a sustainable, healthy, and economically proficient society.
COMSCIENCE not only tested the feasibility and methodology of using information originating from EU research projects, it also examined whether local science disseminators from a number of European countries would be able to sufficiently and efficiently work together as a collective to use this data and event structures. The challenges here were to form a network of science communicators, exchange best practices and carry out the participatory science events in dissimilar languages at different places in Europe. Since the COMSCIENCE methodology is reproducible, organisations joined in Science Cities will be able to use this strategy in different groupings on different subjects. Moreover, as the content of the best practice manual is applicable in different regions of Europe, the manual can serve for generic coaching purposes of all interested science communicators across Europe. Research consortia, on the other hand, can use the COMSCIENCE results to tailor their dissemination efforts in line to what would be needed for participatory science events with European citizens. Ideally, a successfully operating science city repository of European research results will set the standards and give guidance to an efficient method of research information dissemination and dialogue on scientific culture. Information providers will know what is required, the public may directly access (parts of the) information, and science disseminating organisation will gain a wonderful resource for their future campaigns with various target groups.
An important target audience that was addressed by the COMSCIENCE project were young people and students. Since it is important to interest adolescents for science at a moment in their life when choices are made for a future career, 50 % of the PDEs were designed to invite this age group of European citizens. By the involvement of young students in the organisation of the PDEs, they were for instance able to demonstrate how interesting and exciting science can be. Also it was made clear in the films that European scientists from different countries efficiently work together demonstrating to students the fact that they will be able to work and study in any European country of their choice.
The COMSCIENCE internet site, the published SIPs, the example of a Science City network approach integrated in the COMSCIENCE strategy, the documentation of the results of European wide public participatory science events and the best practice manual have together become a valuable resource. This combined effort demonstrated to science communicators how to provide easy to understand information on the progress of European research activities, how to efficiently generate new SIPs by sharing such information in a European science city network and how to reach the public by using the COMSCIENCE strategy. This is true not only for different regions of Europe, but also for different science communication actors: science shops, science museums, civic society organisations and university / research centre outreach departments.
Finally, through its evaluation process, the COMSCIENCE project has generated data that allowed scientific analysis of the employed processes and content. The successful use of cross-thematic contents (health, environment, safety and ethical issues) - as evaluated by the event participants (see WP6) - shows that the tools and methodologies developed within the project were appropriate and timely. The evaluation data can be used for policy input, for example in how to contribute to a wider access to knowledge.
Project website: http://www.comscience.eu
The COMSCIENCE project, which ran from 2009 - 2012, shared information on current European Union (EU) research activities and results with local communities in different European cities, located in Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), Sweden, Belgium and Spain. Over 1000 participants of targeted audiences (general public and schools) have been reached in 25 events. Five science topics that address the concerns and interests of European citizens were chosen and were the subjects of participatory discussions and hand-on activities: stem cell research, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), obesity and type 2 diabetes, allergies and asthma as well as contaminants in our food.
COMSCIENCE has profited from an efficient partnership that represented not only different types of science communicators, but also represented different European regions and cities. The partnership included eight science communicating organisations from Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Spain. The project structure has stimulated the exchange of know-how and best practices between the event organisers and ventured upon lasting partnerships between local actors from different places in Europe. In the three years that COMSCIENCE operated, the network has developed an original, effective and successful methodology for the organisation of participatory-driven science events. In order to achieve this the following milestones have been met in addition to periodical evaluation reports:
(i) consultation of key science communicators to discuss content and format of the proposed activities;
(ii) adaptation of science dissemination materials from Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and FP7 research groups, projects, consortia to be used in the COMSCIENCE events;
(iii) the organisation and execution of 25 public science dialogue events in 5 European countries; and
(iv) the production of a best practice manual for science events, entitled: 'Let's talk science'.
The deliverables of the COMSCIENCE will be useful far beyond the end date of the project.
Two essential elements are available from the project website at http://www.comscience.eu
(i) clear examples are presented on how science information from research projects can be collected and bundled in so called 'Science information packs' that can then be used to effectively organise participatory science events;
(ii) a generic methodology (best practice) has been developed that now can be used by other science communicators to foster the idea of science cities on a larger scale, in local settings while respecting regional differences.
Project context and objectives:
Context
For Europe to become the most advanced knowledge society in the world, it is imperative that legitimate societal concerns and needs concerning science and technology development are taken on board, entailing an enhanced democratic debate with a more engaged and informed public and better conditions for collective choices on scientific issues.
Science permeates every sector of society and its relations with society are complex and show some ambiguities. Citizens rely on scientific research to improve the quality of life and find solutions to issues such as global warming or health threats. But the citizens have also concerns about science and technology: possible negative effects and risks that should be better assessed and controlled.
Civil society in general is concerned about the quality of life in its broadest sense - which relates not only to overall economic growth and national prosperity but also to factors that have a more immediate impact on life such as equal opportunities, social inclusion, health, the respect for diversity, education, and a legitimate expectation that the skills taught in school will be adequate preparation for adult life.
In pursuit of the widely acknowledged objective of a shared prosperity in the global knowledge society, it is critical to stimulate cooperation between different cities and regions in Europe. Also, it is important, while enhancing international cooperation in science and technology, to address local societal aspects related to the research activities that are carried out and to engage the society in a dialogue with scientists about the role of science in their respective regions. By not simply focusing on the technological aspects of science, the dialogue will contribute to improved science and society relationship and to more and a broader perspective on science and societal issues.
When placing such broad ambitions in a European perspective, 3 objectives for addressing Science in Society issues can be distinguished. The first aims for a more dynamic governance of the science and society relationship; the second is concerned with strengthening potential and broadening horizons with respect to issues of science education; the third seeks to promote effective two-way communication channels that enable the public to engage with science and vice versa.
Addressing these broad objectives is difficult. A number of actions need to be taken to deal with these issues and challenges, namely:
(a) establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships for jointly addressing crucial research-related societal issues, e.g. the recognition of ethical issues when employing molecular genetic techniques; and to facilitate the participation of participants in the ongoing European dialogue;
(b) capitalise on previous work in science communication and stimulation of initiatives towards new ambitious objectives;
(c) share information on ethical, legal and social aspects in science in order to help the acceptance of the fast-growing scientific knowledge within local and regional cultures;
(d) promote citizens' understanding of the impact of scientific progress and technology on their daily lives especially as it relates to the benefit, usage and consequences of European research activities - thus helping to establish a sound global perspective on science;
(e) encourage young people's interest in science and science studies, promotion of new methods in science education, including the contextualisation of research in its wider societal context;
(f) promote of two-way communication and dissemination strategies addressing wider audiences of policy-makers, the media and the general public (including young people), in order to promote increased dialogue and understanding between the scientific world and society at large;
(g) strengthen exchanges of knowledge and of experiences between science communicators on objectives, tools, methods and evaluations of what is done at all levels, ensuring as far as possible a broad coverage of Member States and associated countries;
(h) prepare for wider and more concrete partnerships among science communicators in cities and regions in the future;
(i) promote good practices aiming to reduce obstacles to an 'open governance of research in Europe' and support for local actors on scientific culture;
(j) present key scientific elements and topics in 'Science in society' at a European level, thus contributing to a common European stock of scientific knowledge;
(k) engagement of experts from different scientific disciplines in Science in society activities in order to do that they need to be supplied with useful tools and examples of successful strategies.
The COMSCIENCE project is a coordination and support action (CSA) aiming to support research activities and policies and to increase the societal relevance of research. The action encourages greater public engagement and promotes the participation of citizens and civil society organisations in research and science policy making.
The above mentioned actions that address the broad Science in Society objectives provided numerous challenges to the COMSCIENCE project. For example, with the aim of encouraging young people's interest in science and science studies, account had to be taken of the possible relevance of research results for the purposes of science education. Similarly, communication and dissemination strategies had to be elaborated to promote increased dialogue between the scientific world and the public on a regional level. Communication and dialogue about ongoing science and technology activities, including their results and possible applications, is a complex task. One of the main challenges is to identify the many information sources, extract the required content and bring this together into an appropriate communication package. Another challenge is to make sure that the content serves to encourage a dialogue between scientists and target audiences.
However, addressing the challenges is not sufficient. Account needs to be provided as to whether the actions taken had the desirable impact. Thus the COMSCIENCE project also analysed its own activities and results from the public dissemination events (PDEs) that were organised in five different European countries. Evaluations were carried out on the effectiveness of COMSCIENCE materials, methods employed and the outcome of the PDEs.
Objectives of the COMSCIENCE project
The European funded COMSCIENCE project created, promoted and analysed the use of scientific content by science communication organisations in different parts of Europe. European citizens were invited to learn and gain insight about the scientific process and the way results are used for the benefit of the society. Specifically, the COMSCIENCE project provided added value to EU research by disseminating information and engaging in a dialogue with the society about the results of European funded research activities. The initiative presents a model for efficient interaction between science and European citizens in different regions in Europe. It stimulates the links between science culture and society by exchanging best practices and cooperation between regional communication activities for the development of a scientific culture at the local level. It has been the objective of the COMSCIENCE project to place activities of regional science communication institutions at the core of its activities. Dialogues with public audiences were therefore driven by well-respected regional communication experts.
The project team had chosen to focus on five science topics and organise public events in five European countries. Therefore, a total of 25 local science events have been organised on five science topics at 5 different locations in Europe.
The five science topics chosen by the COMSCIENCE project addressed the concerns and interests of European citizens:
(i) stem cell research;
(ii) the use of GMO;
(iii) obesity and type 2 diabetes;
(iv) allergies and asthma; and
(v) contaminants in our food.
The five locations for the COMSCIENCE events were in Sweden (organiser: Vetenskap & Allmänhet, Stockholm, Sweden), Belgium (organiser: Centre de Culture Scientifique, Charleroi, Belgium), Germany (organiser: Wissenschaftsladen Bonn, Germany), UK (organiser: the British Science Association) and Spain (organiser: CSIC Scientific Culture Department, Madrid).
In order to fulfil its set objectives, the project aimed to have a number of concrete deliverables.
Information packages
Five science topics address immediate concerns and interests of European citizens. The subjects are supported by information packages, and include hand-outs in different European languages. The full packages further contain short films, background readings and an overview of relevant European research projects. For each of these science subjects, films and background materials have been prepared in the form of science information packages (SIPs). These packages were produced by the COMSCIENCE team in such a manner that these can be used by any event organiser to support European wide discussions on science. The employed methodology can also serve as an example to help disseminate advances in other fields of European science and technology research. The COMSCIENCE SIPs have been published on the project website (see http://www.comscience.eu online for further details) and are accessible without any conditions such as registration or passwords.
Events
The events were organised by local science communication experts. A total of 25 PDEs have been organised where each topic was subjected to an open dialogue between the local scientific experts and the event participants. The events lasted approximately three hours, targeting the youth and general public. The outcomes were closely evaluated.
All information on the COMSCIENCE project pilot events for the five scientific subjects, which were organised in 5 different European countries, is located in the section 'Events' on the project website. Starting pages for impressions of the COMSCIENCE PDEs can be inspected for Charleroi (Belgium), Stockholm (Sweden), Madrid (Spain) and Bonn (Germany) and London (the UK).
Outcome
The project structure not only aimed at the exchange of information between the public and scientists but also stimulated the exchange of know-how and best practices between the communication experts. In this way, it was possible to analyse the events and the information packages and come up with recommendations on how to enhance the widespread dissemination of European research in local settings while respecting regional differences and needs.
Project results:
A description of the main results
The description of project results below corresponds to the work packages (WPs) in which they were embedded. There were a total of six WPs in the project. These were:
WP1: Project management
WP2: Content adaptation: creation of SIPs
WP3: Internet activities
WP4: PDEs
WP5: Dissemination activities
WP6: Evaluation.
WP1: Project management
The project day to day network management resided at the LMU (partner 1) with assistance from PBP (partner 2). The daily management took primary responsibility for taking appropriate project initiatives and securing effective communication activities between all project partners. Other tasks that were carried out include internal reporting, time schedule management, provisions for keeping 'list of deliverables and milestones' on track, administrative issues and organisation of the project meetings.
The project management succeeded in creating a dynamic communication environment for knowledge and information exchange throughout the duration of the project, formulate strategic decisions and at the same time keep the person-hours involved in communication limited to an effective minimum. The project steering committee (project coordinator plus all project members) established effective communication links with participating individuals and organisations encouraging discussions and exchange of information, knowledge, tools and methods.
A password protected area was created as one of the communication tools, and was used to archive confidential project reports and draft documents. The project partners have been able to use the archive for reference and it also served as a 'project-cloud' to distribute materials to all partners.
As planned, a database with science contacts was created to be used in WP4 and WP5, in fact, some of the information (on EU funded research projects) was considered useful enough to be taken up for the SIPs.
Both during the first reporting period (18 months: 1 April 2009 - 30 September 2010) and the second reporting period (18 months: 1 October 2010 - 30 March 2012) the project members met face to face four times, but not in the 3 months extension period (1 April 2012 - 30 June 2012) , therefore 8 times in the full project period:
- Kick-off meeting in Munich, Germany: 27 - 28 April 2009
- Madrid, Spain meeting: 1 - 2 March 2010
- Stockholm, Sweden meeting: 13 - 14 April 2010
- London, UK meeting: 16 - 17 June 2010
- Charleroi, Belgium meeting: 7 - 8 October 2010
- Bonn, Germany meeting: 23 - 25 November 2010
- München, Germany meeting: 27 - 28 September 2011
- Seville, Spain meeting: 29 - 30 March 2012.
The meetings have proven essential for the coordination committee to effectively oversee and discuss the project management tasks, arrive at correct decisions regarding content and structure of the PDEs and proper usage of evaluation results. The meetings also enabled the project members to develop very good personal relationships that helped with the overall project implementation and its evaluation. Early on in the project it was decided that, next to the face to face meetings, conference calls and person-to-person contacts, there would be no need for a project newsletter, since the consortium was too small for it to be an effective communication channel. Instead, minutes were made available and distributed quickly after meetings were held.
Many issues have been discussed at length during the subsequent project meetings, including but not limited to the following issues:
- structure, level, scope and contents of the SIPs;
- structure, time schedule, participation (staff and audience) and content of the PDEs;
- methodology, recording and analysis of evaluation;
- use of the project results for the production of a 'best practice manual'.
The discussions have led to significant improvements, level adjustments and contributions to the SIPs that were developed in WP2. The discussions among the project members on the PDEs led to preparatory studies by the day-to-day management to arrive at project PDE definitions for:
(i) choice of topics, scope and level;
(ii) aims, purpose and results to be achieved;
(iii) methodology, structure and length of the event elements;
(iv) participation and assistance of staff and external scientists;
(v) follow-up activities and dissemination;
(vi) evaluation methodologies;
(vii) reporting.
These preparatory studies have also resulted both in a simplified PDE blueprint and in a best practice manual (Annex 1) that documents and describes the experiences and outcome of the project.
During the full project duration, we have not encountered any problems that could not be resolved within the consortium and it has not been necessary to make any changes to the set up or agreement of the consortium. In fact its members still have fruitful contacts now the project has ended.
WP2: Content adaptation
creation of SIPs. The kick-off meeting and subsequent discussions resulted in the confirmation of choice of five science subjects that would form the core content of the project. These five topics were defined as follows:
(i) allergies and asthma: explaining the contributory role of the environment and genetics;
(ii) obesity and diabetes: a growing problem among the European youth;
(iii) heart disease and stem cells - technique and ethical questions on the use of stem cells;
(iv) the use of GMOs in agriculture for food sources;
(v) risks in daily life as a consumer's issue - the case of dioxins in our food supply.
Furthermore, the scope and the level of scientific complexity to be presented in the SIPs (SIPs) and at the PDEs were discussed in detail.
The SIPs produced in the project fulfilled a number of roles:
(i) Local event organisers have used the information included in the SIPs prior to the organisation of their local events.
(ii) Participants at the PDEs potentially could (and some indeed have) read about the science subject and used the SIPs prior to an event, since all information was freely available from the project website.
(iii) Other event organisers, that were not involved in the project, were (and still are) able to use the SIPs as basis or starting point of public events that bear similarity to the PDE, that were held in this project.
(iv) Apart from a role in public events, the SIPs are also very useful for people that are interested in science subjects that are offered in the SIPs.
(v) Since sections in the SIPs refer to recent or ongoing scientific research and studies that are funded by the EU, the SIPs also function as a starting point for a search for novel results and developments.
The SIPs can both be used as information sources for science classes, as well as a source of information for students who need to complete a paper on a subject relevant to a SIP. SIPs can be accessed from the project website: http://www.eusem.com/main/CS/publications
The SIPs that were produced by the project contain the following elements (see http://www.COMSCIENCE.eu online):
1. Short films on the chosen subjects:
For non-English speaking countries translated versions were prepared in Spanish, German, Swedish and French. A total of 16 films were prepared. The process involved preparation of new translated texts to fit the original film version lengths, casting of different speakers of different nationalities, supervising the sound recording and sound mix for each film, quality control of new voice versions, preparation on new titles, subtitles and credits in each of the languages, organising and supervising production of new DVD menus and DVD labels for each language.
2. Background documentation:
Documents were prepared with background information on the chosen science subjects used for the SIPs. The documents turned out to be useful for the PDE organisers within the project. After the initial round of test PDEs, the background information was corrected and / or updated when deemed necessary or if additional information was received from external experts or project partners.
3. Hand-outs:
A sample hand-out was prepared that could be used as is, or adapted to local requirements. In the project the background documentation, the frequently asked question (FAQ) section, or a combination of both have been used by the PDE organisers in the preparation of the local hand-outs in national language. The hand-outs have functioned very well in supporting the PDE discussions.
4. FAQs:
Answers to short questions were prepared and proved to be a good methodology to quickly cover a science subject without too much burden on the user to read a full story. FAQs facilitated rapid identification of relevant information.
5. Glossary of terms:
It is inevitable that users come across terms that are not understood easily or which have obscure meanings. Thus explanation of certain terms was necessary. Great care was taken to cover key terms.
6. Science projects contact database:
For all SIPs, a separate list of EU funded research projects was prepared. The database contained titles, descriptions, address contacts and website (if available) of projects related to the five chosen topics. In addition a link has been provided to view the output of the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) database on the individual science projects. This SIP facility was very useful to identify additional information on the chosen topics. The presented science projects covered Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) to FP7.
The five SIPs were first tested at five locations with different audiences: asthma in Stockholm with an adult audience, diabetes in Charleroi and stem cells in Madrid with youth, GMOs in London with adults and Omega-3 in Bonn also with adults (see WP4). After completion of each of the first pilot PDEs in the first reporting period (18 months), the final SIPs were produced and corrected / adapted as necessary. The information on the completed events, available on the project website, provides an extension of the SIPs in the form of actually used films and hand-outs in local language, as well as impressions of the event and press releases.
WP3: Internet activities
The COMSCIENCE internet site has been set up early in the life of the COMSCIENCE project to make optimal advantage of the potential of the website as a public introduction of the COMSCIENCE mission and projected deliverables. Together with the website, a Facebook page was created to further advertise the COMSCIENCE activities. Since the Facebook page listed current activities that were out of date when the project had ended, it was replaced by a new Facebook timeline page, listing an overview of all PDEs that had taken place during the course of the project.
The availability and operation of the EUSEM website, which was supported by previous EU funded projects before the onset of the COMSCIENCE project, turned out to be very advantageous. The COMSCIENCE website was integrated under the EUSEM umbrella structure as a stand-alone site. Since the COMSCIENCE website did not rely on other parts of the EUSEM website, care was taken to safeguard the individual identity of the COMSCIENCE project deliverables. The EUSEM site had been developed to serve as a public introduction to the product line of educational materials that had been developed during previous EUSEM projects. While the COMSCIENCE project aimed at different activities, it was clear that visitors quickly were able to also find the information about the COMSCIENCE activities, since individuals or internet search machines knew about the EUSEM site, and therefore easily linked to the new COMSCIENCE pages. The various sites were thus complementary to each other and served to create a synergy effect.
Initially, in the first year of the project, the COMSCIENCE internet site was designed to be used as a repository that would accommodate the Science InfoPacks (SIPs) on the five research topics that were chosen for the PDEs (PDEs, see WP4). An appropriately structured resource was therefore created to serve the COMSCIENCE disseminating partners providing with easy access the science materials that were prepared in WP2 and were presented to be used in WP4. Since it was decided that these pages would be freely accessible to any visitor of the website, additional care was taken that the SIP structure was consistent and navigation was simple and straightforward.
Restricted member pages in a password protected area were created as well to accommodate draft versions of documents to be shared among the partnership, for interim reports and internal documents.
All planned sections of the SIPs, as described in the original project proposal, were made available through the COMSCIENCE internet pages, well in advance of the organisation of the COMSCIENCE local events in the five partner countries. The sections that were implemented included the following:
- introductory film;
- hand-out for the PDEs;
- background document;
- FAQs on the glossary of terms that either are used in the film or in the background documents;
- a list of relevant FP6 / FP7 funded research projects, including links, contacts etc.
Since the SIPs were made publicly available, additional usage of the materials was made possible on the internet:
- as an information source for interested individuals;
- for the preparation of teaching materials or classroom lessons by teachers;
- for use as instruction or discussion materials in specialised parties, such as patient groupings;
- as an example and structure for science communication by other EU research projects;
- as an information source for other science communicators aiming at similar PDEs as carried out in the COMSCIENCE project.
After each of the PDEs had taken place, a request was sent out to the organising partners to contribute information on the results and outcome of the event. This information was harmonised to present a similar styled report on all PDEs on the COMSCIENCE website. The reports (4 topics, 5 countries, so 20 in total) consisted of the following elements:
- organiser contact details, local web page(s) on the events;
- film in local language;
- hand-outs in local language;
- media articles advertising or reporting on the event;
- photographic impressions of the event.
A separate page was prepared to show initial results on the comparison and evaluation of all PDEs. Further information is available in the best practice manual 'Let's talk science'.
Additional functionality was introduced in the COMSCIENCE internet site to suit broader interests of visitors of the pages. A news column, which was refreshed on a daily basis, provided links to timely science related information that was sufficiently in line with the scope of the COMSCIENCE page. A directly accessible news archive of approximately two weeks was maintained as well. The news provided an extra reason to re-visit the COMSCIENCE page and also made sure that search engines recognised the website as active and providing a changing set of links to different websites.
A YouTube channel was created as an alternative method to find and access the multimedia materials of the COMSCIENCE project. The channel also presented films on subjects that had not been chosen for the COMSCIENCE PDEs and SIPs. The number of views gives an insight in the interest of the visitors of this YouTube channel. Films on science subjects that deal with genetics and genetic modification clearly receive more interest than a quite specialised film such as: Food safety - the case of Omega-3 oils. It is with good reason that it was decided not to pursue this topic after the five pilot PDEs in year 1.
While a Twitter account had been maintained for a short while, it was soon clear that this social media channel is not well suited to gain interests for several science subjects in a single communication project. As a demonstration of the types of messages that are placed on Twitter, a search machine was implemented on the COMSCIENCE website to search for terms like 'asthma', 'diabetes', 'stem cells' or 'genetic modification'. While it is an extra service to provide additional information on the COMSCIENCE selected science subjects, it also shows the limited benefit of Twitter.
Finally a rapid response network (RNN) service was installed to allow interested individuals ask a pool of experts pertinent questions on the science subjects that were covered by the COMSCIENCE project. Questions were either answered immediately by the project daily management, or alternatively an answer was sought from the advisory board, or a scientist from the network established by COMSCIENCE. While not a core activity of the project, the RRN ensured that visitors felt confident that answers can be obtained when relying on the project's products.
The full COMSCIENCE website, the SIP structure and all other contents mentioned above were maintained and updated on a regular basis. Feedback from COMSCIENCE partners and occasional response from website visitors have been helpful. A real effort was done to utilise a transparent structure with sufficient cross-links for easy access of all information on the events and data. General information on the project, objectives and partnership were also provided.
WP4: PDEs
A total of 25 PDEs have been organised and held in five European countries. The events have been one of the cornerstones of the project, together with their evaluations and production of the best practice manual (see WP6).
The PDEs have been planned, prepared and carried out by partners 3 - 7. The first five events were attended by all COMSCIENCE partners and were designed as pilots for the following 20 events. This strategy was chosen to allow the development of a consistent event methodology and proper evaluation procedure. An additional benefit of this approach was an opportunity for a mutual learning step and comparisons between regions on the impacts of the project deliverables. Since the partners 3 - 7 were also from different science communication organisations, it was also possible to evaluate whether the event methodology developed was suited for different types of science communication in in different EU countries optimal techniques could be selected.
The first five test events were held on different subject matters and with different audiences: in Madrid (stem cells, youth), London (GMOs, adults), Stockholm (asthma, adults), Charleroi (diabetes, youth) and Bonn (omega-3 supplements, adults). The central aim of these events was to test:
(a) the structure and methodologies of the events;
(b) the usability and contents of the SIPs; and
(c) the effectiveness of the questionnaires for evaluation purposes.
The outcomes of the events were discussed and conclusions were drawn relating to minor changes in event structure, SIP content and questionnaires. The most important decision that was taken after this first round of PDEs was the strict coupling of subjects with audience for the remaining 20 PDEs to be organised, and the decision to skip the subject 'omega-3 supplements'. This strategy was chosen to allow a reliable comparative analysis of all events. Therefore the schedule for PDEs that took place from the early summer 2011 until February 2012 was as follows:
Madrid (CSIC)
- stem cells, youth, 17 October 2011
- diabetes, youth, 7 November 2011
- GMO, adults, 12 November 2011
- asthma, adults, 26 November 2011.
London (BA)
- stem cells, youth, 5 January 2012
- diabetes, youth, 3 February 2012
- GMOs, adults, 14 June 2011
- asthma, adults, 12 July 2011
- asthma, adults, 14 September 2012 (extra event).
Stockholm (VA)
- stem cells, youth, 12 October 2011
- diabetes, youth, 24 November 2011
- GMOs, adults, 7 December, 2011
- asthma, adults, 19 October 2011.
Bonn (WiLa)
- stem cells, youth, 14 July 2011
- diabetes, youth, 22 September 2011
- GMOs, adults, 20 October 2011
- asthma, adults, 19 January 2012.
Charleroi (CCS)
- stem cells, youth, 23 September 2011
- diabetes, youth, 18 October 2011
- GMOs, adults, 26 January 2012
- asthma, adults, 23 June 2011.
The main content of the four science topics was:
Stem cells: Embryonic stem cells potentially have the ability to divide for indefinite periods and may give rise to other cell types such as blood, nerve or muscle cells. They may be used for example in the treatment heart disease. Nevertheless, the use of stem cells raises a number of ethical questions.
Diabetes is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream is too high because the body cannot use it properly due to either absence of insulin (type-1) or diminished response towards insulin (type-2). Type-2 diabetes is a growing problem among the European youth.
GMOs: Genetic modification is a technique that plays a role in a vast area of scientific research, involving micro-organisms such as bacteria, plants, animals and even humans. Although GMOs play a role in agriculture around the world, they also raise numerous safety issues as well as socio-economic concerns.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease, characterised by recurrent episodes of breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness and coughing. Factors that contribute to this disease, specifically environment and genetics, need to be considered.
Omega-3: The fifth topic, 'Risks in daily life as a consumer's issue - the case of dioxins in our food supply', was discontinued after the test phase (see WP4).
The events were attended on average by 50 people and 5 experts / communicators. The events consisted of topic introductions by experts, followed by provision of a hand-out, the presentation of the film, group table discussions attended by experts and a general discussion at the end of the event. Detailed questionnaires were filled in before and after the event by the participants. Separate questionnaires were completed by the organisers and attending experts.
The SIP hand-outs were translated from English into the national languages and the films were also either dubbed or subtitled. The rest of the information in the SIPs were only provided in English through the internet site since these had been produced as background material for event organisers or other disseminators (see WP2) and not specifically for event participants.
The events, as defined and executed by the COMSCIENCE partnership, have proven to be a success both as means of a dialogue between experts and target audiences but also in terms of the strategy employed in organising the events. Detailed description of the event methodology and best practice is presented in the best practice manual 'Let's talk science' (see WP6).
WP5: Publicising and extended dissemination
For the optimal support of the 25 PDEs (PDE), which were organised during the COMSCIENCE project, it has proven essential to carry out targeted and efficient publicising of the COMSCIENCE objectives, its aims, deliverables and the schedule of activities. The feedback that was received in this process has been instrumental in the fine tuning and presentation of the supporting materials (SPIs) and communication channels (website, Facebook Twitter). Novel presentation platforms were developed and tried-such as the YouProduce! platform that directly addressed school teachers. The combined activities, which were shared between the project members, have resulted in an enthusiastic involvement of other science communicators like teachers, press or representatives of patient or consumer organisations. In the afterlife of the COMSCIENCE project, when the website and the deliverables remain available, this is important since they are possible candidates for the future expansion of science city networks.
Publicity campaigns have been essential for the preparation of all PDEs, and since these were carried out in five different European countries, and each at five different points in time, it is believed that information about the COMSCIENCE project has reached a great number of individuals. The target groups for the publicity campaigns were interest groups (consumers, patients) information multipliers (press, science writers, teachers) and national contacts to other organisations with science communication tasks. In general, the publicity strategy, to reach the interest groups and information multipliers, used the following platforms:
- newsletters, homepages, magazines and other information channels;
- mails to alumni students and students;
- social media;
- through student associations / unions;
- invitations through upper secondary schools.
Additional visibility and dissemination of the project deliverables was achieved by physical presence and presentations of project partners at key conferences and fairs. An important opportunity had been the Fifth Living Knowledge Conference organised by the project partner WiLa in Bonn, Germany. The Living Knowledge Conference is a bi-annual meeting of the European Network of Science Shops. There, the COMSCIENCE project was able to share its objectives, strategy and interim results. Another good example of effective extended dissemination was the ongoing interaction and consultations of the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL). PERL is a partnership of educators, researchers and practitioners from more than 120 institutions in over 50 countries and coordinated at the Hedmark University College in Norway. Good contacts resulted in the promotion of the COMSCIENCE objectives and activities at PERL meetings with the benefit of an additional focused audience that could benefit of the COMSCIENCE achievements. Finally, the project outcomes were presented at various educational / communication meetings in Europe.
WP6: Evaluation
The 'knowledge triangle' - research, education and innovation - is a core factor for Europe to become a dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy. COMSCIENCE has aimed to play a role in this ambitious goal by providing SIPs on a cross-section of science subjects with connection to the experiences of everyone's daily life. COMSCIENCE performed a full analysis of the employed strategy, taking into consideration a number of factors. In addition, an external project review was carried out (provided with the last periodic report).
The evaluation methodology was based primarily on extensive questionnaires administered before and after the events to the event participants and to the event organisers and invited experts. The initial questionnaires were evaluated in the five test events. An outcome of this process was an improved set of questionnaires used for the remaining 20 events. The analysis was carried out on four topics, divided between the youth and adults. The questionnaires were designed to answer a number of questions. Amongst them:
(1) Where the events successful? (according to students, adults, experts and event organisers)
(2) Was the content appropriate (= positively evaluated) for these events? (according to students adults, experts and event organisers)
(3) Where there any regional differences in the evaluations of (1) and (2)?
(4) Can you rely on the opinion of the organisers if the event was really successful?
(5) How were the performance factors (such as recall of information, interest gain in the topic) affected by the intervening factors (such as the films, presence of experts at the meetings, hand-outs)?
(6) What role do social factors play in all this?
The data obtained from the questionnaire analysis was incorporated into the preparation of the best practice manual. The complete analysis of the results (over 1000 pages) is included with the last periodic report. Some of the findings are presented in Annex 1 to illustrate the analysis structure and outcomes.
The key findings are that, regardless of the topic, age group and the region investigated, the organisation of active participation of experts at the events was deemed to be a prerequisite of the event success. Their participation was supported by the showing of the films and the distribution of hand-outs. In all cases, the structure and organisation of the events was met with positive approval both by the event participants and the attending experts.
As already indicated, the information generated from the data analysis was incorporated into the best practice manual. It contains the following sections:
1. summary and recommendations;
2. how to organise science communication events: (a) part one: getting started, (b) part two: getting it done, (c) part three: event evaluation;
3. FAQs;
4. additional reading sources.
The 28 page manual is meant to be used by science communication practitioners.
Potential impact:
COMSCIENCE has shown the following:
1. It was possible to bring together a collective comprised of highly qualified partners from different regions of Europe active in science communication (science shop, science museum, civic society organisation and research outreach departments).
2. It properly used its broad expertise to carry out a balanced action plan.
3. It maintained an effective project infrastructure and coordination to assure that the project deliverables had a significant impact on the targeted audiences (adults, information multipliers and students) during the COMSCIENCE PDEs.
A careful choice of science topics was made to be treated in the PDEs. Two topic restrictions were considered. First, the science subjects covered had to impact or a connection to the daily life of European citizens, such as health, food safety and consumer issues. Secondly, it was made sure that the topics were the subject of European research in thematic areas covered by the 'Cooperation' specific Work Programme. Therefore the action plan of COMSCIENCE was in line with a number of FP7 categories of objectives: Cooperation, Capacities and People. The synergies and complementarity to the latter two general categories was achieved by bringing science and society closer together (Capacities) and encouraging young people to follow a career in natural sciences, while taking into consideration gender issues (People).
The themes in the 'Cooperation' Work Programme all have in common that - in their fields of knowledge and technologies - research excellence is particularly important to improve Europe's ability to address public health and social, economic, environmental and industrial challenges of the future. The COMSCIENCE project has conscientiously aimed to fit into this category, in particularly the public health and (environmental) safety themes. It made sure that European challenges concerning innovation, science development and application were addressed while ensuring that their outcomes are understood and accepted by the general public and that the subjects presented could be integrated into formal and informal educational settings. One of the main objectives of the COMSCIENCE project was to better inform the public as well as professionals in educational organisations on the progress in European scientific research, thereby providing European research efforts a prominent place in this dissemination action.
The 'knowledge triangle' - research, education and innovation - is a core factor for Europe to become a dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy. Since research and consequently innovation in science is dependent on public funding, the public needs to be aware of the societal benefits of EU funded environmental research in more detail. Thus part of the COMSCIENCE mission has been to raise public awareness for EU funded research activities. The local dissemination of the information originating from SIPs, being it in form of films, internet activities, direct interactions with scientists or hand-outs, have strengthened public knowledge about and engagement in discussions on science subjects.
The creation of COMSCIENCE's website with the SIPs, the examples of successful PDEs and the publication of the best practice manual are in line with the Science in society ambitions where special attention is given to the actual communication of EU research outcomes and the engagement in dialogue with civil society. The COMSCIENCE activities have fostered a dialogue and debate on scientific issues and research results with a broad public, including young people. The activities undertaken have contributed towards the generation of interest of these young people in science and must have stimulated the idea of pursuing a career in science related fields. Ethical and societal concerns were also considered when presenting the science subjects, in line with the obligation towards future generations and the rest of the world to be aware of the possible negative impacts of certain scientific developments. COMSCIENCE took part in a Science in society call for proposals that aimed at the elaboration on strategies and/or actions for the development of a scientific culture at the local level by bringing together relevant local actors involved in science to exchange best practices and foster cooperation. The COMSCIENCE project took the concept even further by putting the communication of science to the public at real tests (the PDE's), setting up a repository of science data (SIPs), within the framework of a collective of science mediators, who were located at different EU science mediating centres (described in the call for proposals as 'Science Cities').
Among broader ranges of issues where the COMSCIENCE strategy participated in shaping the network of 'Science cities' are the following:
1. In addition to the demands made on research and development by commerce and industry, 'civil society' organisations have their own research needs. Diffusion of knowledge often focuses on communication from researchers to society, but there is an increasing demand for communication from society to researchers. This is the concept of 'social demand' for knowledge. In the COMSCIENCE PDEs, this was achieved by the opportunities of direct communication (dialogue) with experts: on many occasions scientists reported to have learned from the communication effort as well.
2. Different types of interfaces exist between researchers and society, and 'science shops' take a prominent place. Science shops are organisations created as mediators between citizen groups (trade unions, pressure groups, non-profit organisations, social groups, environmentalists, consumers, residents association etc.) and research institutions (universities, independent research facilities). For this reason, one of the communication partners in COMSCIENCE was in fact Bonn science shop, one of the largest science shops worldwide.
3. In order to accomplish the Lisbon and Barcelona objectives in terms of boosting investment in research, an increased demand for motivated and high quality researchers is foreseen in Europe in the future. A key issue is therefore, how to enhance the number of young people entering science, engineering and technology careers in the different European regions. Studies show that children's lack of interest in science is already manifest at schools (primary as well as secondary). By stimulating scientific interest of children from a young age, it is hoped to ultimately increase the number of children choosing scientific training at university and pursuing scientific careers. COMSCIENCE has tackled this challenge by specifically targeting youth as an audience for 50 % of the PDEs that were organised. The outcome of the evaluations of these events, and the conclusions that are documented in the COMSCIENCE best practice manual, will help future science communication event organisers to achieve the best results right across Europe.
4. In a knowledge-based society, both policy makers and citizens should be equipped to make informed choices from the ever-growing range of options provided by scientific and technological progress. Science dissemination and dialogue activities embedded within our society support this empowerment process. Therefore COMSCIENCE made a significant effort to communicate complex scientific issues in a simpler language, and encouraged the experts, who participated at the PDEs, to openly discuss opposing scientific opinions and advice in understandable terms, particularly on new or emerging issues.
The range of deliverables from the COMSCIENCE project clearly contributed to the issues mentioned above and since all deliverables are freely available, it is expected that their impact on the European citizens will still increase over time and/or when the COMSCIENCE methodologies are taken up by more science communication organisations.
COMSCIENCE made a real contribution by diffusing the output of EU funded research activities and disseminating past and present FP7 research project results in film, oral and written formats while actively promote dialogue on their contents. The COMSCIENCE deliverables have provided event participants with insight how scientific research is carried out, what uncertainties go hand in hand with latest results and that positive results do not promise immediate implementations in society. Also it became clear that personal participation of local scientific experts at the regional science communication events were highly rewarding and appreciated by the event participants. The COMSCIENCE project has made use of ample possibilities for a broad ranging dialogue: by the live interaction with competent local scientists at the PDEs, evaluation forms, its internet site and extended dissemination activities, by the provision of the RRN, its Facebook page and free range comments. Constructive dialogue is one of the keys to minimise unfounded concerns and maximise public empowerment.
In this respect, one of the objectives of PDEs was to raise public awareness for EU funded research activities. The COMSCIENCE communication activities emphasised the benefit of European scientific research activities for citizens: how research findings are put into practice and new methodologies are put to the test, and how ultimately they will become available to anyone. The films for example show scientists in action, and provide insight in the process of scientific work, their results and the processes that lead to the implementation of applications that are essential to support a sustainable, healthy, and economically proficient society.
COMSCIENCE not only tested the feasibility and methodology of using information originating from EU research projects, it also examined whether local science disseminators from a number of European countries would be able to sufficiently and efficiently work together as a collective to use this data and event structures. The challenges here were to form a network of science communicators, exchange best practices and carry out the participatory science events in dissimilar languages at different places in Europe. Since the COMSCIENCE methodology is reproducible, organisations joined in Science Cities will be able to use this strategy in different groupings on different subjects. Moreover, as the content of the best practice manual is applicable in different regions of Europe, the manual can serve for generic coaching purposes of all interested science communicators across Europe. Research consortia, on the other hand, can use the COMSCIENCE results to tailor their dissemination efforts in line to what would be needed for participatory science events with European citizens. Ideally, a successfully operating science city repository of European research results will set the standards and give guidance to an efficient method of research information dissemination and dialogue on scientific culture. Information providers will know what is required, the public may directly access (parts of the) information, and science disseminating organisation will gain a wonderful resource for their future campaigns with various target groups.
An important target audience that was addressed by the COMSCIENCE project were young people and students. Since it is important to interest adolescents for science at a moment in their life when choices are made for a future career, 50 % of the PDEs were designed to invite this age group of European citizens. By the involvement of young students in the organisation of the PDEs, they were for instance able to demonstrate how interesting and exciting science can be. Also it was made clear in the films that European scientists from different countries efficiently work together demonstrating to students the fact that they will be able to work and study in any European country of their choice.
The COMSCIENCE internet site, the published SIPs, the example of a Science City network approach integrated in the COMSCIENCE strategy, the documentation of the results of European wide public participatory science events and the best practice manual have together become a valuable resource. This combined effort demonstrated to science communicators how to provide easy to understand information on the progress of European research activities, how to efficiently generate new SIPs by sharing such information in a European science city network and how to reach the public by using the COMSCIENCE strategy. This is true not only for different regions of Europe, but also for different science communication actors: science shops, science museums, civic society organisations and university / research centre outreach departments.
Finally, through its evaluation process, the COMSCIENCE project has generated data that allowed scientific analysis of the employed processes and content. The successful use of cross-thematic contents (health, environment, safety and ethical issues) - as evaluated by the event participants (see WP6) - shows that the tools and methodologies developed within the project were appropriate and timely. The evaluation data can be used for policy input, for example in how to contribute to a wider access to knowledge.
Project website: http://www.comscience.eu