MSc Science Communication, Science Communication Unit, UWE, Bristol

Science, politics, industry, media, state-run and private organisations, private citizens: everyone has their own demands, their own heritage of knowledge, thoughts, opinions, aspirations, needs. Different worlds that interact, question one another, discuss; in one word: they communicate. It is a complicated process that requires professionals «who clearly understand the key aspects of the transmission of scientific knowledge to society through the different essential communication channels for multiple organizations». The purpose of this commentary is to cast some light upon the goals, the philosophy and the organisation behind some European and extra-European Master’s degrees in science communication. We have asked the directors of each of them to describe their founding elements, their origins, their specific features, their structure, their goals, the reasons why they were established and the evolution they have seen over their history

Evaluation of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

This report aims to detail the key findings of the evaluation of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures and its relevance to the Royal Institution. It brings together the findings from the three interim reports previously produced and showcases new evaluation data. The report notes key findings and makes recommendations for action within the Christmas Lectures. It includes the complete evaluation kit, in the Appendices.Dr Margarida Sardo, Dr Hannah Little and Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers, from the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England, Bristol, undertook the evaluation and prepared the report

Robots vs animals: Learning from the ingenuity of nature. Final summary report

‘Robots vs Animals’ was a creative collaboration between engineers and zoologists, exploring the ingenuity of both nature and humankind. The project was organised and managed by the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE), and funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious Awards. The project communicated the stories of the engineering design process taken by Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) engineers to create biologically inspired robots. Interactive sessions at Bristol Zoo Gardens and other public venues and events featured engineers and zoologists explaining and demonstrating the skills and processes of their respective charges

Evaluation of the Wellcome Trust strand at the Latitude Festival 2015

This report details the key findings of the evaluation of a series of events sponsored by the Wellcome Trust at the 2015 Latitude Festival, which took place between 16th and 19th July. In addition, the report includes the complete evaluation kit.The evaluation included a variety of data collection methods that focused on the audiences’ engagement with the activities and on the presenters’ motivations for participating, the challenges they faced and the value of including these activities in a festival such as Latitude.Dr Ann Grand and Dr Margarida Sardo, from the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England, Bristol undertook the evaluation

Evaluation of the Bristol Bright Night 2015 (BBN15)

This report details the key findings of the evaluation of Bristol Bright Night 2015 (BBN), an event funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which was part of the European Researchers’ Night. BBN took place on Friday the 25th September 2015, between 11am and 12pm. The evaluation included a variety of data collection methods such as questionnaires, interviews and observations. Building on the 2014 evaluation, it focused on the audiences’ engagement with the activities and on the researchers’ motivations for participating, the challenges they faced and the perceived value of such events. This report includes the complete evaluation kit.The Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England, Bristol undertook the evaluation

UWE Science Communication Postgraduate Papers

The Science Communication Unit in the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences at the University of the West of England (UWE) has a vibrant postgraduate community. Each year approximately twenty students undertake a Masters level project in order to complete the requirements for an MScScience Communication. This publication is a celebration of the work carried out during such projects.This collection of papers is based on a selection of projects occurring between 2006 and 2008. Whilst they cover a range of topics and a variety of methods, they are not a comprehensive representation of the broad variety of projects undertaken by science communication students.A number of students were invited to participate in this publication and those featured here represent only a small sample of the animated and innovative work carried out by the postgraduate community

How Does Citizen Science "Do" Governance? Reflections from the DITOs Project

Citizen science (CS) is increasingly becoming a focal point for public policy to provide data for decision-making and to widen access to science. Yet beyond these two understandings, CS engages with political processes in a number of other ways. To develop a more nuanced understanding of governance in relation to CS, this paper brings together theoretical analysis by social science researchers and reflections from CS practice. It draws on concepts from Science and Technology Studies and political sciences as well as examples from the "Doing-It-Together Science" (DITOs) project. The paper develops a heuristic of how CS feeds into, is affected by, forms part of, and exercises governance. These four governance modes are (1) Source of information for policy-making, (2) object of research policy, (3) policy instrument, and (4) socio-technical governance. Our analysis suggests that these four dimensions represent different conceptions of how science and technology governance takes place that have not yet been articulated in the CS literature. By reflecting on the DITOs project, the paper shows how this heuristic can enrich CS. Benefits include project organisers better communicating their work and impacts. In its conclusion, the paper argues that focusing on the complexity of governance relations opens up new ways of doing CS regarding engagement methodologies and evaluation. The paper recommends foregrounding the broad range of governance impacts of CS and reflecting on them in cooperation between researchers and practitioners

Boxed interim evaluation report March 2018

BoxED is an outreach and widening participation initiative designed, developed and delivered by members of the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. The scheme aims to provide inspirational and engaging workshops to secondary school pupils in the local area, particularly targeting widening participation and attainment in order to encourage a wide range of young people into higher education. The following report documents the key findings of an evaluation undertaken in conjunction with the Centre for Research in Biosciences (CRIB) and the Science Communication Unit (SCU), UWE assessing the levels of satisfaction with the service and the breadth of science capital in school children aged 11-16 years in the Bristol area. The evaluation examined BoxED activities between October 2017 and March 2018. Post-activity questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed to gauge opinions from a total of 376 school pupils and 2 school teachers. This evaluation forms part of a wider series of BoxED evaluation activities including additional questionnaires, observations and teachers interviews which are currently ongoing

Royal Society education outreach training course evaluation

This evaluation explores the perceptions of Royal Society Research Fellows to education outreach and the drivers that stimulate them to undertake it. It also reports on the successes and challenges of a pilot training course for Research Fellows on education outreach. The pilot scheme was organised by The Training Group and covered a wide variety of topics including; theoretical information about learning styles and the UK education system, discussion activities for the Research Fellows, and activities to brainstorm and test potential outreach activities.The evaluation used a variety of data collection methods to elicit the views of participating Research Fellows and Royal Society staff and was conducted by the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England, Bristol. The report presents the indicators for impacts from education outreach, the methods and toolkit for undertaking the evaluation, and the results and recommendations from the pilot scheme