Monthly Archives: May 2011

The 2nd Annual National Science Communication Officers’ Forum 2011

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23 August 2011 11:00 amto24 August 2011 11:00 am

22-24 November 2011 (tentative)
Citigate Central, Sydney

Essential Tools and Approaches for Developing Communication Strategies within Scientific and Technical Research Environments

EXPLORE;
• Applying Innovative Strategies for Dealing with the Media
• Negotiating the Science Communication Spectrum for Better Results
• Maintaining Scientific Integrity
• Communicating Complex Information with Creativity

Science communication has changed in recent times with the ever-growing use of online media, adding an exciting yet challenging dimension to the communication process. Communicating strategies may have to be changed or adjusted because of new media, which can be particularly daunting when applied to complex science or technical content.

In this forum, science communication professionals will showcase, debate and discuss their experiences in communicating science to diverse audiences. Issues that are key to tackling science communication effectively will be explored and examples of professional best practice will be given.

This event will maintain its tradition of being an exciting and highly interactive platform for networking and gaining new insights into a high-level of professional practice. It provides practicality though a variety of real-life examples of how to enhance work performance.

Featured speakers come from a range of organizations and backgrounds including public and private sector, higher education, media and represent the varied market and roles of Science Communication.

WHO WILL ATTEND
Directors, Managers and Officers in the Private, Public, and Education Sectors responsible for:
• Science Communication
• Corporate Communication
• Communication and Marketing
• Communication and Public Affairs
• Technical Communication
• Research and Development

Click here to view the brochure; http://bit.ly/iqt4B1

ASC Members receive a 10% discount off the standard registration fee.
For more information;
Visit Liquid Learning’s website at: www.liquidlearning.com.au
Email: marketing@liquidlearning.com.au
Phone: (02) 9437 1311

National Science Week (SA) Grants

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National Science Week (SA) Grants

Thinking of holding an event in National Science Week?

Through the financial support of the Government of South Australia (via DFEEST), we are pleased to offer a number of small grants (upper limit of $2,000) to organisations who might need financial support to run an event in August in Science Week.
Applications close Friday 10 June 2011.

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Nominate now for the 2011 Unsung hero awards South Australia

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National Science Week (SA) and Australian Science Communicators (SA)

are proud to jointly offer the

2011 UNSUNG HERO AWARDS OF
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE
These awards aim to recognise those who have not yet received significant recognition for their contribution to science or science communication.
There are 2 awards: the Unsung Hero of South Australian Science and the Unsung Hero of South Australian Science Communication.

Applications close in July. Please contact Rona rona.sakko@csiro.au for further information and a nomination form.

Please read the criteria for each award carefully to ensure that nominations are made for the appropriate award.

Unsung Hero of South Australian Science

This award honours a person or group, at this particular time, who exemplifies the aims and objectives of National Science Week and Australian Science Communicators (SA).

The criteria for nomination for the UNSUNG HERO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE are as follows:

1. Nominees must reside in South Australia and actively engage in science research, scientific methodology, administration or practice. While nominees should have shown respect for science communication, this award recognises science practitioners in areas other than teaching and communication.

Those whose strengths lie in these latter areas might be suitable nominees for the award of UNSUNG HERO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION.

2. The work for which the nominee is being nominated must have been carried out in South Australia or, if of national significance, should have considerable relevance to South Australia.

3. The nominee should be a person, people or group who have not yet received significant recognition for their contribution to science. This will almost certainly rule out a ‘top’ or popular scientist.

The nominee should have shown that they regard science communication as an integral part of scientific work.

4. Nominees should have a considerable or prolonged record (at least several years) in science.

The award is intended to recognise those whose contribution has been so significant over a period of time that they should by now have been recognised. It is unlikely that this would apply to a candidate whose contribution, however significant, is of short duration.

5. Nominators must give careful consideration to what counts as ‘science’ – for example, nominees from technological or environmental fields should be nominated not just on the basis of their contribution to those particular fields, but because the scientific side of their work is strong.

Notes:
There will always be more good candidates than can be awarded; therefore there is no shortlist from which a ‘top’ candidate is to be chosen.

This award should identify an exemplar.

This award may be made to a candidate whose work is in science or in a number of related fields (e.g. technology, environment, health etc) where the science component of their work is highly significant.

Factors which may influence the final selection are many and varied and may include topical and political issues, etc.

Unsung Hero of South Australian Science Communication

This award is a companion to the UNSUNG HERO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE, and honours a person or group who exemplify science communication.

The criteria for nomination for the UNSUNG HERO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION are as follows:

1. Nominees must be resident in South Australia and actively engaged in science communication, interpreted broadly to include, but not limited to, pursuits such as:
teaching,
broadcasting,
script and book writing,
science shows,
science promotion and
interpretation of science within cultural institutions.

Those whose strengths lie in other areas such as science research, practice or administration may be suitable nominees for the UNSUNG HERO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE award.

2. The work for which the nominee is being nominated must have been carried out in South Australia or, if of national significance, it should have considerable relevance to South Australia.

3. Nominees, whether a person, people or group, should have not yet received significant recognition for their contribution to science and its promotion. This will almost certainly rule out a ‘top’ or popular science communicator. The nominee should have shown that they regard science communication as an integral part of scientific work.

4. Nominees should have a considerable or prolonged record (at least several years) in science communication.

The award is intended to recognise those whose contribution has been so significant over a period of time that they should by now have been recognised. It is unlikely that this would apply to a candidate whose contribution, however significant, is of short duration.

5. Nominators must give careful consideration to what counts as ‘science’ – for example, nominees from technological or environmental fields should be nominated not just on the basis of their contribution to those particular fields, but because the scientific side of their work is strong and their communication contributes to a better understanding of the process and practice of science.

Notes:
There will always be more good candidates than can be awarded; therefore there is no shortlist from which a ‘top’ candidate is to be chosen.

This award may be made to a candidate whose work is specifically in science education, promotion or communication in one or many fields where the science component of their work is highly significant.

Call for Applications to Attend or Sponsor Attendees to Youth ANZAAS 2011

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10 July 2011to15 July 2011

Anyone with links into high schools or direct to senior science students may be interested in promoting this, and if there are bodies out there keen to throw a small amount of dollars toward student scholarships or event funding please let us know.

Applications for Youth ANZAAS 2011: Brisbane are open to science students in grades 10-12 across Australia, and close very shortly (Fri 27rd May), although applications received after the closing date will be accepted until all places are filled. More information is available at www.anzaas.org.au/youth and full information/application packages are available upon request.

Youth ANZAAS is a week-long residential conference for approximately sixty science students in Years 10, 11 and 12 from Australia and New Zealand. The event is organised by the Australian & New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS), one of Australia’s oldest scientific associations. YA 2011 will be held in Brisbane from Sunday 10th July to Friday 15th July. The programme is based around advanced-level lectures and activities that will challenge attendees and expand their knowledge of the applications of science in the real world. Students will have the opportunity to visit world-class facilities where research is taking place and to engage with leading scientists, experiences which are usually unavailable to the general public. The conference also allows students to meet and create a network of like-minded peers who share their passion for science.

A registration fee (recently reduced to $400 with the aid of some sponsorship) covers all expenses through the week including travel to Brisbane from students’ local capital city. It is understood the cost may inhibit some students’ decision to apply, however some sponsorship of places may be available upon application and funding is also still being sought to further reduce the cost or provide sponsorship for individual places. Special consideration (students from regional and remote areas and with indigenous or ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to apply) is available for candidates upon request.

If there are people or groups interested in offering sponsorship to students please feel free to contact us with your offer.

Cheers,
Felicity

If you have any queries about the program, the application process or anything else regarding Youth ANZAAS 2011 please contact us via anzaas.qld@gmail.com or 0408 797 837. Further information may be available at www.anzaas.org.au/youth.

Promoting prizes related to communication of science

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Recently I asked the ASC-list, “How can we work with science prize schemes to get added value for those of us who communicate science? Ideally we want a means which will also be beneficial to the prize schemes by attracting more attention, more nominations or some other desirable outcome.”

Several of you responded in a burst of discussion. I haven’t had time to digest all the views but I some useful things are likely to occur.

There are a number of worthy prize programs. In my post I hadn’t mentioned another major scheme, the Young Tall Poppy Awards, as I hadn’t seen an announcement about nominations. The ASC is looking forward to working closer with the various science prize schemes and there is lots of opportunity for interaction at the branch as well as national level.

Jesse Shore
National President

Science communication and social media now a national conversation

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Last month ASC members were offered a 10% discount on the entry fee to a niche event on science communication in social media. Many of the speakers on the program were ASC members from around the nation. In conjunction with Media140, the ASC made several student scholarships possible for local science communication students at the University of Queensland.

The Science Communication Program Convenor at the University of Queensland Dr Joan Leach had this to say about the event:

“Media140 catalysed a number of conversations that are going on nationally.  There is great research and engagement work going on at Australian Universities on the power and perils of digital media.  Being able to apply this research in the context of science communication—and talk to colleagues and people making great strides in using and understanding these technologies was super-stimulating.  And, the conference practiced what it preached with a fabulously talented contingent of journalism and science communication students from UQ blogging, tweeting, and networking their way through the event!   ASC supported science communication students from UQ who engaged with colleagues in China during the event and have used their insights into digital media to inform their upcoming citizen science event in Brisbane.  This was a rare event where research, practice, and discussion of pedagogy was all possible and relevant.”

You can find out more about tertiary qualifications in Science Communication in Australia here.

ASC readers who couldn’t make the event this time can look forward to several articles from attending students soon. Initial feedback on the experience follows.

“The Media 140 event was so inspiring for me as a newbie. It really enlightened me on using new media as a channel to transmit the scientific information.” – Basil Liu [Basil blogs in both Chinese and English, see his related event posting here, or on facebook here.]

“I thought the media140 event was an excellent opportunity to find out about the variety of applications new media can offer in science communication. In particular I was impressed by the enthusiasm attendees showed at the potential these forms of media hold in communicating their message.” – Sally Grosvenor

“Funnily enough, overall I think the best thing that I got out of the day was just the exposure to that environment – as a student you rarely get the opportunity to attend conferences, and see how working professionals and academics work and think. It gave me a bit of a taste of the ‘real world’, listening to everyone talk about their work. It definitely makes me happy and excited to be entering into this field.” – Emily Christoffels

“Media140 was an absolute blast. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many interesting, new thoughts or ideas to agree with in one day before.” – Nicholas Aslin

Why is science communication important?

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During Anna Salleh’s interview for her ABC Science on-line article, “Australia’s science budget ‘uninspiring’”, (see http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/05/11/3213833.htm) she asked me to give her a one-liner about why science communication is important.

I’m not usually short of a word but I stumbled over this. I started to regret that I gave up trying to craft a killer quote the night before the interview. Anna deflected my first answer that ‘science communicators make science accessible to various audiences’. That’s what we do, in broad terms, but not why we do it.

I then struggled through a clunky response which she reported as “If the government wants an informed public, an engaged public in science and technology issues that affect us all then we need a mechanism for the public to be informed and one of those mechanisms is effective science communication.”

Hours later I came up with a different take accompanied by a reality check in a second paragraph.

“Effective communication of science gives people accurate information upon which to base decisions. By making science accessible, science communicators help counter the misinformation and misconceptions which clutter public debate.”

“But few people base their decision making on just being presented with good science. The communicator’s message must have meaning, be useful and acknowledge the needs, aspirations and concerns of each intended audience.”

I put the question to you. Can you state in a short and memorable way ‘why science communication is important’?

Jesse Shore
National President

ASC national conference 2012 – plans are progressing

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Rod Lamberts, the chair of our national conference organising committee, has been working feverishly to get the nuts and bolts in place before the fun planning begins in earnest. He has received quotes from professional conference organisers and we will make a selection soon on who we’ll appoint. Then after the PCO’s tasks are spelled out the organising committee will map out what we expect will be an exciting and innovative program.

Rod has already discussed a range of roles with the members of his committee and they seem eager to get underway. Rod and/or I will keep you informed of progress.

Jesse Shore
National President

Call for curators for International Association for Public Participation conference

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The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) promotes the values and leading practices associated with involving the public in decisions that impact their lives. Some of IAP2’s values and themes are compatible with those of the ASC. Last year ASC and IAP2 collaborated with the Sydney Environmental Educators Network to deliver three professional development workshops in Sydney.

IAP2 has an upcoming conference in October 2011 in Sydney. They have put out a call for organisations and individuals to help develop their conference program. Interested volunteer session curators should focus on the conference themes, skills building or practice reflections – they are not simply looking for case studies.

If you are interested in getting involved see http://www.iap2.org.au/sitebuilder/conference/knowledge/asset/files/41/calloutforcurators-approved.pdf and email them your proposal by 30 June.

More information on the conference and early bird registration details can be found at http://www.iap2.org.au/practicedevelopment/conferences/2011-iap2-australasia-conference

Jesse Shore
National President

National Science Communication Officers’ Forum – Liquid Learning’s second annual event

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ASC is supporting Liquid Learning’s second annual National Science Communication Officers’ Forum postponed from 23-24 August 2011 in Sydney, Citigate Central to 22-24 November 2011 (note that these are tentative dates).

This is a well structured professional development event with networking opportunities and has an impressive range of speakers including several ASC members.

A selection of the key topics covered: Social media, Inspiring Australia, Partnerships, Bridging the gap between high-level science and communicating to a broader public, Evaluating.

Liquid Learning offers a 10% discount off standard registration fee to all current ASC members.

Jesse Shore
National President