draft public engagement strategy & programme 2019 hd3 · public engagement describes the myriad...

GurdonInstitute-PublicEngagementStrategy&Programme2019 1

PublicEngagementStrategy&Programme-2019


AboutusNamedafterourco-founder,NobelLaureateSirJohnGurdon,theGurdonInstituteisaworld-leadingcentreforresearchintothebiologyofdevelopmentandhownormalgrowthandmaintenancegowrongindiseasessuchascancer.OurmajorsponsorsareWellcomeandCancerResearchUK.TheInstituteisanintegratedpartofCambridgeUniversity.Morethan240scientistsand60corestaffworkintheGurdonInstituteundersixteengroupleaders,onprojectsrangingfrombreastcancerandbraindevelopmenttoliverregenerationandleukaemia.Manyhavemadepioneeringcontributionstothefieldsofbasiccellbiology,cellularreprogramming,epigeneticsandDNArepair.Institutescientistsusearangeofmodelsystemssuchasyeast,nematodeworms,fruitflies,frogs,mammaliancellsandorganoidstostudydevelopmentanddiseaseatthelevelofmolecules,cellsandtissues.WebelievethatwehavearesponsibilitytocontributetosocietythroughourPublicEngagementwithResearchprogrammewhichaimstoreducethebarriersbetweenthepublicandourscientificcommunity.In2017,theInstitutewasawardeda5yearPublicEngagementgrantwhichallowstheappointmentofaPublicEngagementManager(0.5FTE)inAugust2017andaPublicEngagementAssistant(0.6FTE)inJanuary2018.

PublicEngagementCommittee NaomiClements-Brod PublicEngagementAssistantHélèneDoerflinger PublicEngagementManager(Chair)WeronikaFic ResearchAssociateDiogoGomes PublicEngagementCoordinatorSchoolofClinicalMedicineRebeccaJones PublicEngagementManager,StemCellInstituteHelenLonergan BusinessandOperationsManagerStephanieNorwood PhDstudentClaireO’Brien InformationandCommunicationsOfficerAlexSossick HeadofMicroscopyBernhardStrauss ResearchAssociateDaweiSun PhDstudentPhilZegerman Groupleader


VisionandGoalsPublicEngagementdescribesthemyriadofwaysinwhichtheactivityandbenefitsofhighereducationandresearchcanbesharedwiththepublic.Engagementisbydefinitionatwo-wayprocess,involvinginteractionandlistening,withthegoalofgeneratingmutualbenefit(NationalCoordinatingCentreforPublicEngagement).PublicEngagementwithResearchisdirectlylinkedwiththeresearchdonebythescientistsparticipatinginengagementactivities.OurPublicEngagementwithResearchvisionandgoalsaretoinspiretheyounggenerationwith low science capital regionally andnationally, enable communities to value andhaveconfidence in fundamental research and make Public Engagement part of our researchculture.

Informandinspireyoungpeoplewithlowsciencecapitallocallyandfurther

afield

Enablesocietytovalueandhaveconfidencein

fundamentalresearch

EmbedPublicEngagementwithResearchinourresearch

culture

Aims

Collaborationswithschools,teachersandstudentstodevelopworkshops,workexperiencesandPERtools

InteractionswithlocalcommunitiesandartiststogeneratePERcollaborative

projectsandevents

Communication,Recognition,awards,PERseedfundandPEcommitteereportingtothe

groupleadershipOutputs

Increasenumberofyoungpeoplebeingscienceawareand/orchoosingtostudy

science

Contributetotheincreaseofpublictrustinscience

andsciencebecomingpartofoursociety’sCulture

HigherprofileforPERwithinandoutsidetheinstitute

AndPERbecomesastandardpartofresearchers’rolesOu

tcom

es

GurdonInstitutePublicEngagementwithResearchstrategy


Targetcommunities

•YoungpeoplewithlowsciencecapitalThekeydimensionsofsciencecapitalarescientificliteracy,perceptionofscienceasrelevanttoeverydaylife,knowledgeaboutthetransferabilityofscience,sciencemediaconsumption,participationinout-of-schoolsciencecontexts,andfamilyandclosecommunityconnectionstoscience.TheEnterprisingSciencenationalsurvey inEnglandfoundthatonly5%of11-15yearoldshavehighsciencecapital(morelikelytobeboysandsociallyadvantaged),68%havemediumlevelsof science capital and27%have low science capital (Enterprising ScienceResearch,2017).

•SocietyandlocalcommunitiesTheUKpublicoverwhelminglythinkitisimportanttoknowaboutscience.Over72%agreethatitisimportanttoknowaboutitintheirdailylives.However,thesocio-economicstatusofthepublicmatters:themoredisadvantaged,thelesssupportivepeopleare.51%thinktheyseeandheartoolittleaboutscience.Peopleespeciallywanttoheardirectlyfrom scientists. 58% think that scientists currently put too little effort into informing thepublicabouttheirwork.69%thinkthatscientistsshouldlistenmoretowhatordinarypeoplethink.Generictrustinscientistsandengineersappearstohaveincreased,howevertheproportionwhofeeltheyhavenooptionbuttotrustthosegoverningsciencehasincreased(from60%in2010 to67% in2014),which suggests this increasing trustmayalsobe an increasinglyresigned trust, presenting a challenge for those looking to engage the public in decision-making(PublicAttitudetoScience2014,IPSOSMORI).Therefore,oneofthechallengesthattheGurdonInstituteisfacingistoenablecommunitiestovalueandhaveconfidenceinfundamentalresearch.Theterm‘fundamentalresearch’asopposedto‘appliedresearch’isusedtodescriberesearchwithoutanimmediateapparentvalue,applicationorproductinmind,oftenalsoreferredtoas‘basicresearch’.Forthiskindof research the following criteria are essential: (1) its outcome is often unknown, (2) the

TheGurdonInstituteaimsto:- Partnerwithlocalunder-servedschoolswithlittleornonetworkwithresearchers,- ReachSixthformstudentsfromschoolswithlowOxbridgeintake- Reach students with little or no relationship to people in science-related or

academicroles.


researcherisworkingatthefrontierofknowledge(noonehasdoneanythingsimilarbefore)and(3)theresearchextendscurrentknowledge(Lerch,2017).Asaresultofbeingonthefrontier of science, members of the public often question the role and usefulness offundamentalresearch.

•OurscientistsArecentreportidentifiedthat73%ofresearchersagreeorstronglyagreethattheyhaveamoralresponsibilitytoengagewiththepublicand53%ofSTEMresearcherswould liketospend more time engaging with the public. The main factors stopping researchers fromgettingmoreinvolvedwithPublicEngagementare:lackoftime(61%),lackofopportunities(26%)andnotenoughfunding(26%)(FactorsaffectingPublicEngagementbyUKresearchers,WellcomeTrust,2016).AttheGurdonInstitute,24%ofthestaffhaveparticipatedinatleastonePublicEngagementeventin2018.Ourownsurveydonein2018(24%responserate)indicatedthat:

- TheunderstandingofPublicEngagementasatwo-waydialogueispoor.- Labmemberswould like increasedsupport fromgroup leadersandrecognition for

theirPublicEngagementinvolvement.- Themain barriers to scientists gettingmore involved are lack of time, a need for

trainingandalackofawarenessaboutPublicEngagementopportunities.

TheGurdonInstitutewantsto:-Generaterealtrust(asopposedtoaresignedtrust)aboutitsfundamentalresearch,-Reducebarriersbetweenourscientistsandthepublicbyincreasinginteractionswithlocalcommunities,especiallythosefromlowersocio-economicstatus,-Contributetosciencebeingpartofourculture(likeartorsportforexample).

WeaimtodevelopaculturewherePublicEngagementwithResearchisvaluedandrecognised,becomespartofresearcher’sroles,andwherescientistsfeelconfidentparticipatinginanddevelopingtheirownPublicEngagementwithResearchprojects.WewanttogenerateahigherprofileforPERwithinandoutsidetheInstitute.


Programme2019

•Inspiretheyounggenerationwithlowsciencecapital

1. Wewillcontinueourpartnershipswithmainlylocalunder-servedschoolswithlittleor no network with researchers through a new Scientists' Collaborative Project withEducators(SCoPE)fundedbyWellcome.SCoPEisapilotPublicEngagementprojectaimingtocreatethreepracticaltoolkitsforuseinbiologyclassrooms.Thetoolkitswillbeconnectedtothe national curriculum and also strongly linked to research developed at the GurdonInstitute. Theywill be co-created through a series of interactions between9 state schoolAS/A/GCSE-levelteachersand9scientists,togetherwithprofessionaldesigners.

2. IncollaborationwiththeUniversityofCambridgewideningparticipationservice,we

willpursueourworkshopprogrammeaimedatSixthFormstudentswithlowsciencecapital.We will invite 90 Sixth form students and their science teachers from schools with lowOxbridgeintaketoattendworkshopsattheInstituteandtomeetourscientists.

3. Wewillalsocontinueourworkexperienceprogrammeaimedat10brightSixthFormstudentswithlowsciencecapital,fulfillingtheUniversity’swideningparticipationcriteria,togivethemtheopportunitytointeractanddevelopconnectionswithourscientists.

4. Finally,wewillmaintainourcollaborationwiththeCambridgeAcademyforScienceand Technology through their challenge projects. Challenge projects provide a uniqueopportunityforthestudentstodevelopapracticalunderstandingofscience,practicalscienceskillsandtransferableskillssuchasteamwork,leadershipandliteracywhileenhancingtheircareerawareness.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Sixthformprojects

Sixthform Workshops

10/0123/0114/0201/03

SixthformWorkshops

12/064/07

SixthformWorkexperience

Week8-12Week15-19

CASTchallenge

1dayfor9weeks

Festivals ScienceFestival

12/0314/0315/03

PintofScience

20/0521/0522/05

BigWE

06/07

EuropenResearchNight(TBC)

27/28Sept

BigBiologyDay(TBC)

05/10

Festivalofideas

Week14-27

SCOPEproject

Teachers-Scientist collaborativeproject

Seedfund2019

StitchingScience:StephanieNorwood

Instagram Narrateyourscience/labphotos


Our ambition is that the long term impacts of these projectswill empower an increasednumber of young peoplewith low science capital to becomemore science aware and/orchoosetostudyscience.

•EnablecommunitiestovalueandhaveconfidenceinfundamentalresearchWewilltakepartinsciencefestivals(e.g.UniversityofCambridgeScienceFestival,BigBiologyDay, Pint of Science, European Research Night) through activities that will encouragedialoguesbetweenourscientistsandthepublicaboutthefundamentalresearchdoneattheGurdonInstitute.Wewillalsoreachpublicswhowouldnotattendsciencefestivalsbyparticipatingingeneralfestivals(e.g.CambridgeBigWeekend,UniversityofCambridgeFestivalofIdeas)andtrytoreducethebarriersbetween“nonscienceenthusiasts”andourscientificcommunity.The2019GurdonInstituteSeedFundprojectwillspecificallyaimtoreachcommunitieswhowouldnotnecessarilyhaveconnectionswiththeacademiccommunity.TheStitchingScienceprojectwillbringtogetherscientistsandcraftersinaninformal‘knittinggroup’wheretheycanworktogetherona“cellknitting”projecttobedisplayedattheFestivalofIdeas.Ourgoalsaretoidentifythepublic’s/community’sexpectationsandtoreachasmanypublicsas we can with low science capital in order to enable communities to value and haveconfidenceinfundamentalresearch.Inthelongterm,wewanttocontributetotheincreaseofpublictrustinscience,getpublicinputinfundamentalresearchdirectionsandultimately,wewantsciencetobecomepartofthewiderCulture(likesportforexample).•MakePublicEngagementpartofourresearchcultureInorderto:1)shiftperceptionsanddevelopabetterunderstandingofPublicEngagementwithResearchwithintheInstitute,2)increasesupportandrecognitionforPublicEngagementinvolvementfromgroupleaders,3)increaseawarenessofPublicEngagementtrainingsand4) reach a higher/better/more researcher-led participation in Public Engagement withResearch,wewill:

- Increaseourinternalcommunication,- ContinueourquarterlyPublicEngagementcommitteewithrepresentativesfromall

oftheInstitutestaff,- Reportquarterlytothegroupleadercommittee,


- OffermorespecificPublicEngagementtrainingtostaffmembers,- Providemoresupporttoscientistswillingtodeveloptheirownprojects,- Continue to generate a Public Engagement programme which researchers can

participatein,- Continue to recognise Public EngagementwithResearchparticipation throughour

Public Engagementwith Research annual award presented at the Institute annualretreat,

- AddPublicEngagementwithResearchtotherequiredtheappraisalprocess,- MaintainourPublicEngagementwithResearchInstituteseedfund,awardedannually.

WewantscientiststobemoreconfidentinparticipatinginPublicEngagementwithResearchandPublicEngagementwithResearchtobecomeastandardpartofresearchers’rolesandreachahigherprofilewithinandoutsidetheInstitute.

MonitoringandEvaluationWe monitor the Institute Public Engagement activities by capturing information onparticipationofourstaffandattendanceanddemographics(whenpossible)ofattendeesatallevents.Weusearangeofevaluationmethodsincludingobservation,interviewsandsurveys:-toassessoureventsandmakemodificationsforfurtherimprovements,-tomeasureourimpactinordertocheckitmatchesourstrategicgoals.Weprovideeventreportswithphotosand/orvideos.

FundingTheGurdonInstitutePublicEngagementiscurrentlyfundedby:

- a5yearWellcomePublicEngagementgrant,- twoannualUniversityofCambridgeWideningParticipationgrants,- a1yearWellcomeResearchEnrichmentPublicEngagementgrant.


Bibliography EnterprisingScienceResearch,2017https://www.lindau-nobel.org/blog-on-fundamental-science/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-review/article/why-do-we-need-fundamental-research/796276893DDB4178374B2273C209611Bhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/348830/bis-14-p111-public-attitudes-to-science-2014-main.pdfhttps://wellcome.ac.uk/news/what-are-barriers-uk-researchers-engaging-publichttps://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/wtp060034.pdf

draft public engagement strategy & programme 2019 hd3 · public engagement describes the myriad...

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