Engaging Stakeholders

From 3 to 14 November 2008, three individuals took part in the third Module of the Med-Vet-Net Science Communication Internship.

Concha Porrero from UCM in Spain, Anne-Mette Kirkemo from the Norwegian Veterinary Institute and Lara Wootton from the VLA in the UK undertook training to appreciate that communicating science with different stakeholders (such as industry, government, non-government organizations, public and schoolchildren) requires different approaches.

The interns first travelled to Brussels to spend the week learning about the European Union (EU), the European Commission (EC) and other European organizations. The first couple of days involved training with the European Training Institute (ETI) to provide an insight into the workings of the EU and EC, as well as the European Parliament and the co-decision procedure. Then the training focused on funding opportunities, the Framework Programme 7 and project management. Another session looked at proposal writing and how to increase your success rate. The third day included a visit and brief tour of the European Parliament.

The interns then spent the next couple of days visiting a number of organizations to talk about how they communicate with different stakeholders. The first visit was to Jennifer Palumbo at Ecsite. Ecsite is the European Network of Science Centres and Museums and has over 400 members across the EU. They work to facilitate co-operation among Europe’s science centres and museums, zoos, aquariums and research organizations. This includes establishing standards, training and encouraging collaboration and the sharing expertise.

The next visit was with Roxanne Feller who works at COPA-COGECA. COPA-COGECA represents farmers’ organizations and agricultural, forestry, fisheries and agri-food cooperatives in the European Union. Roxanne gave an insight into lobbying the European Parliament and the Commission to provide a united voice on issues affecting primary industries throughout Europe.

The interns then spent the afternoon on the topic of communicating with policy makers and practised writing a brief for a member of the European Parliament (MEP).

The next morning, before travelling back to the UK, the interns visited COST – European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research. COST supports cooperation among scientists and researchers across Europe. Inge de Prins, Public Relations and Communications Manager explained the process of applying for COST funding and gave an overview of how she innovatively developed COST’s communication strategy with stakeholder involvement. Inge explained the process of re-developing COST’s website to ensure it better reflects visitors’ needs.

On the Monday of the second week, the interns travelled to London. First was a visit to Sense About Science, an independent charitable trust who work with scientists and civic groups to promote evidence and scientific reasoning in public discussion. They respond to the misrepresentation of science and scientific evidence on issues from scares about plastic bottles, fluoride and the MMR vaccine to controversies about genetic modification, stem cell research and radiation. Alice Tuff and Leonor Sierra discussed their work which included ‘Voice of Young Science’, which helps research scientists in the early stages of their career to get actively involved in public debates about science, and ‘Standing up for science’ workshops that cover how the media work with practical sessions.

Next was a visit the Royal Institution (RI) to speak to Lisa Bailey and Olympia Brown about the RI’s educational programme. The RI is a learned institution that has been dedicated to scientific research and scientific education since 1799. They are well known for their ‘Faraday Lectures’ that take place in the original theatre where scientific demonstrations were undertaken to the public. Nowadays, the RI has a strong Young People’s Programme with science events for schools, outreach and masterclasses. They also offer training for scientists to give better demonstrations. On the first Saturday of every month the RI also hold a Family Fun Day where various scientific demonstrations are made to the public.

On Tuesday of the second week the interns undertook a session on public engagement and Café Scienifique. We then travelled down to Oxford and met with Dr Luke Alphey, Research Director of biotech company Oxitec. Oxitec Ltd. is developing effective and environment-friendly techniques to control insect pests that are important to agriculture and public health. Their technology, which is based on advances in molecular biology and genetics at Oxford University, builds on well-established sterile insect techniques. We then attended the Oxford Café Scientifique, a public forum where scientific issues are discussed informally, involving scientists and non-scientists alike. This event is described in more detail by Lara Wootton in the review of public participation.

The next day, we again travelled to London to visit Professor Nigel Poole to talk about his external affairs and communication experience with the agricultural industry. This was followed by attending the Biosciences Federation Science Communications Award which saw both winners give a presentation on their activities in science communication. We then went to the Science Museum’s Dana Centre, a venue where a diverse range of events are held that blend science with art, performance and multimedia to provoke discussion. The interns first spoke with Jennifer Wong (Dana Centre Project Events Coordinator) about the centre and their activities and then attended the evening event ‘Films of Fact’. Anne-Mette Kirkemo provides an overview of this event in the review of public participation.

On the Thursday the interns travelled north to Birmingham to first visit Aston University to talk to Dr Anthony Hilton about his experiences with the media and appearance in the BBC television science series ‘Grime Scene Investigation’, and to also find out how the university communicates its research to the media and external funders. In the afternoon the visited ThinkTank the Birmingham science centre and met with Dr Kenny Webster, the museum’s resident scientist. Kenny explained the process of developing exhibits for various audiences, from young children to adults, and how they attract repeat visitors to the centre by keeping it up to date whilst on a limited budget. The interns gained an excellent insight into ways of demonstrating new and even controversial areas of science as well as how they might become involved themselves in suggesting ideas and providing expertise for exhibits in science centres in their own countries.

The final day briefly covered the concepts of event management before the interns all departed the travel back home.