The project What is CASC ? CASC is a project funded under the EU’s FP7 Coordination and Support Actions (Science in Society Priority). It aims to explore and develop innovative approaches to engaging the public in science, by bringing together partners from Europe and China who are already active in this field but working in different social, cultural, economic and political contexts. CASC aims to assess existing methods and approaches to building a scientific culture, including their impact on specific target groups and likely transferability between countries and cultures. The intention is to devise and test potential new ways of increasing people’s involvement with, and understanding of, science and its impact on their work and life style.
List of participants Our engagement with the public “The public” is often treated as a single entity but it can be broken down into many different groups, some of which may be overlooked in policy-making. The CASC project will explore how we can engage more effectively with some of the groups that appear “hard to reach”. Through exchanges of “know how” and experience, and testing a range of pilot actions to encourage greater participation, we hope to be able to make recommendations which will lead to an improvement in overall public engagement with science.
Our objectives
Our main areas of work
+To assess existing tools for building a scientific
+Examining current methods of engaging the
culture, particularly in relation to specific “hard to reach groups”. +To assess possibilities for transferability of tools between countries and cultures. +To explore and develop innovative approaches to engaging different publics in science. +To examine the underlying public policy agenda regarding public engagement with science and make recommendations for the future.
public with science. +Investigating the effectiveness of, and possible transferability of, existing tools for building a scientific culture. +Testing different approaches to engaging with groups which partners define as “hard to reach”. +Exploring ways of changing behaviours through an improved understanding of science, focusing on environmental issues.
1 Birmingham City Council / Birmingham (UK)
Regional, European and International Division is leading on the CASC project.
6 INNOVA Észak-Alföld / Debrecen (Hungary)
10 Sevilla Global / Sevilla (Spain)
7 Museos Cientificos Coruñeses / A Coruna (Spain)
11 Universeum / Gothenburg (Sweden)
Regional Development and Innovation Agency.
2 Birmingham City University / Birmingham (UK)
New generation agency, local and public action.
Science centre network created by A Coruna City Council.
Through its Centre for Research into quality, BCU is responsible for evaluating the CASC project and shaping its recommendations.
Meeting place for various fields of scientific study, the academic world, the private sector and the school system.
8 Xunta de Galicia / A Coruna (Spain)
Regional Government, represented by the Directorate General of Research, Development and Innovation.
3 Advantage West Midlands / Birmingham (UK)
Regional development agency (RDA) for the West Midlands.
12 University of Bucharest / Bucharest (Romania) One of the leading institutions of higher education in Romania.
9 Cartuja 93, S. A. / Sevilla (Spain) Company responsible for managing the Science and Technology Park in Sevilla.
4 Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum / Birmingham (UK)
13 University of Petrosani / Petrosani (Romania)
Science museum. How we can use science and technology to make a better world.
Medium scale national coverage university.
14 Pro Sal – Praid Salt Mine / Praid (Romania)
5 European Office of Cyprus / Brussels (Belgium)
One of the most important salt mines of the Transylvanian Plateau.
Represents public and private organizations.
15 Municipality of Wroclaw / (Poland)
Sweden
Responsible for the overall coordination of the CASC project in Wroclaw.
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16 Centre of Administration and Operations
of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), v.v.i. / Prague (Czech Republic) Public research institution placed on the register of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
© Vladislava Pospíšilová
Example activities
UK 1. 2 . 3 . 4
Earth Day 2010 April, 22nd 2010 - During an event linked to Earth Day, more than 100 people watched simulations of natural phenomenon such as earthquakes and volcanoes at Geopark in Prague. The aim was to introduce young people and the general public to Earth Science topics, something it sucessfully did, in quite an explosive way ! (Centre of Administration and Operations of the ASCR, v.v.i. / Czech Republic)
Science in the News Students and teachers of the Liceul Teoretic Ady Endre, a High School in Bucharest, discussing science in the news for one of the pilot actions of Workpackage 2. Students of different ages from Romania, Spain, United Kingdom and Sweden analyzed scientific concepts that appeared in the headlines of local newspapers between march 8th and 12th, to explore how views of science are influenced by the media. (Casa de las Ciencias, Museos Científicos Coruñeses / Spain)
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Exhibition "Earthquakes and Tsunamis" March, 17th to 20 th 2010 - This photo is taken from the Sismotour exhibition in a commercial shopping mall in Lyon (a Workpackage 3 pilot action). The exhibition was successful in reaching out to the general public who would not necessarily have gone to a formal science centre / museum to see the exhibit. The project was successful in gaining some first-hand accounts of earthquakes and tsunamis from the public attending. (Université de Lyon / France)
17 South Moravian Centre for International
Poland
Mobility (JCMM) / Brno (Czech Republic) Centre focusing on human resources for science and technology.
15
Belgium
16 17
18 Université de Lyon / Lyon (France)
Czech Republic
Through its Science Centre, at the meeting point of academic and territorial dynamics.
6
France
Hungary
14 13 Romania
18 © Thierry Fournier
© Gyorgy Deak
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19 Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences /
Shanghai (China) China’s oldest institution for the humanities and social sciences.
7. 8
Spain China 9. 10
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Outcomes of casc Innovative approaches to engaging the public in science
By the end of the project in February 2011, we anticipate that :
with science which could be transferred between different countries and cultures ;
+ we will have developed a wider sharing of best practice across the CASC partnership as well
as with key actors in civil society and that this will lead to policy approaches which take into account the need to recognise and respond to multiple ‘publics’ ;
+ we will make proposals for types of governance structure which may help achieve greater
transparency and inclusiveness in decision-making and so contribute to reducing the democratic deficit in science policy and practice.
The final results and recommendations of our project will be presented at the CASC final conference, 26 to 28 January 2011 at Thinktank in Birmingham (UK).
Contact + Dr Jacqueline Homan
Policy Officer Regional, European and International Division Birmingham City Council Council House Extension Margaret Street Birmingham B3 3BU
casc
Tel : 0044 (0)121 303 4320 Fax : 0044 (0)121 303 1326 jackie.homan@birmingham.gov.uk
Cities And Science Communication
Our media site for developing science work :
www.eucasc.eu
+ Printed on recycled paper +
casc Cities And Science Communication
photographie : DR
+ we will identify a number of examples of good practices in engaging some of the multiple ‘publics’