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Welcome to Econnect Communication’s November 2005 newsletter –
‘Bridging
the Gap’.
We’re just starting a project for the Council for the
Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) looking at the
collaboration between the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
sectors with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine
sectors. The theme of this month’s newsletter reflects that
interest and some of the exciting things that Jenni discovered
when she very recently met with people in Brussels, Strasbourg,
Lisbon and London on a 2-week whirlwind trip to Europe.
The CHASS project is funded by the Commonwealth Department of
Education, Science and Technology and Econnect is working with
researchers at the University of Queensland. We’re looking at
what works best (or not!) in collaborations across disciplines
and aim to come up with a set of ‘best practices’ based on a
series of case studies and examples. We’ll also be producing
recommended strategies for governments, industry and other
organisations to support productive collaboration across
sectors.
If you have any thoughts about this project or suggestions for
case studies, we’d love to hear from you!
Regards,
Econnect Communication
Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Lynne Goodwin, Mary
O’Callaghan
In this issue: Bridging the gap
10 tips for
communicating across disciplines in a project
Communicating
through dialogue
Getting
creative
Surf club
Quotation of the month
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10
top tips for communicating across disciplines within a
project
By Michelle Riedlinger
The following tips emerged from my PhD studies into
collaborative networks. We’d welcome any feedback to
these or other suggestions.
1. During
meetings, focus on sharing ideas to meet project objectives.
It's too easy to get bogged down in administrivia.
2. Encourage
members to promote the team effort, rather than their individual
role or area of expertise.
3. Understand
that collaborative research projects may require more time to be
spent on internal and external communication.
4. Have
clearly defined and documented roles for members within the
project.
5. Reward
project members for joint papers and research outcomes rather
than individual achievements.
6. Provide
clear lines and avenues of communication within the project.
7. Promote
interaction within the team and with key partners on a direct,
regular and personal basis.
8. Expect,
recognise and reward team members for participating in
activities such as communication, that are not directly related
to research.
9. Ensure
all project members know how and why project resources are
distributed.
10.
Include conflict resolution strategies
in project set up and coordination.
Communicating through dialogue
By Jenni Metcalfe
Courtesy of the European Commission, I recently attended a
conference on Communicating European Science in Brussels. Many
of the plenary talks and other sessions highlighted the
importance of dialogue for scientists engaging communities and
other target groups. The conference documentation and programme
is available on the website:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/conferences/2005/cer2005/programme_en.html
Many of the speakers talked about the need to stimulate greater
dialogue around the issues that concern people and to connect
these issues to science. The European Commissioner for Science
and Research, Janez Potocnik said in his opening plenary
address: “We need to listen to the public’s views and
communicate about how science affects their lives… Collaborative
research will become important for innovation and to develop a
competitive knowledge-based economy.” Potocnik went on to
explain that communication with the public was essential for
this sort of innovation and creativity to happen.
Another plenary speaker, Wolfgang Heckl who is Director-General
of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, gave his tips on how to
communicate with the public and bridge the gaps between science
and society:
1. Don’t
underestimate the public.
2. Don’t
try to give ‘lessons’ – communicate the benefits and the risks.
3. Be
as simple as possible, but not simpler.
4. Touch
the audience on an emotional level and respect the emotions of
people.
5. Don’t
separate the scientist from the science.
6. Ask
questions that don’t give the impression that scientists know
everything.
7. Use
a broad range of media to communicate.
Getting creative
By
Jenni Metcalfe
Many of the groups I visited and talked with in Europe are
exploring the interaction of science and technology with other
disciplines like art and theatre. Here are just three examples
of some exciting creative activities happening overseas.
Vetenskap &
Allmanhet
is a Swedish association promoting dialogue, openness and trust
between the public – especially the young – and scientists. They
aim to inspire others, create and catalyse dialogue and events
and disseminate knowledge so organisations can learn from each
other. One thing they try to do is to organise meetings in new
and unconventional areas. For more information, go to
www.v-a.se (select the UK flag for English language
version).
Nesta,
the UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts
is all about innovation. Using government funds earned through
lottery taxes, they support projects that seek to explore new
ideas, develop new products and services or experiment with new
ways of nurturing creativity in science, technology and the
arts. They see their core role as improving the “climate of
creativity” in the UK. The Cape Farewell project, for example,
takes teams of scientists, artists, oceanographers, journalists
and teachers on a voyage of the Arctic seas. Collectively they
interpret and explain global warming, reaching a much wider
audience than scientists could achieve alone. For more
information, go to
www.nesta.org.uk
The Dana Centre
in London aims to help promote dialogue between science and the
community. For example, they use actors and theatre to help a
public audience explore key science issues. For example, in
December they are having a session called: “Drugs and the Brain:
You asked for it”. The general public are invited to input their
ideas and determine the outcome of an interactive theatre
performance about drugs and the brain. For more information,
check out the Surf Club below.
Surf club
From our own backyard to the third rock from the sun, our
environment envelops each and every one of us.
The lucky UK has a meeting place called The Dana Centre, which
is a venue run by a collaboration of three major scientific
institutions (and donor-supported,) holding regular café-style
meetings and entertainments with a science bent. Fortunately
for us on the other side of the planet though, it has a
fascinating website which raises global issues which are of
interest to us all.
Check out the discussion boards and have your say about
everything from ants in your pants to deep space trash!
Dana Centre
www.danacentre.org.uk
Quotation of the month
“I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may
learn how to do it”. Pablo Picasso |
