Wissenschaft im Dialog

science communication

WiD constantly develops new formats to promote science communication to different social groups and communities. Deliberative and participatory actions gain growing importance in science and politics, aiming to obtain more trust within the public. WiD conceptualises and organises co-creative processes for science communication. To that end, scientists and citizens as well as participants from different topics are being involved, both on national and international level.

Existing formats address current topics of science communication, such as the annual Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation. This format serves the purpose to enforce the exchange between science communicators. Further, it offers a variety of different international tracks within the programme.

The floating science center MS Wissenschaft is addressed to citizens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The former barge, loaded with science and knowledge, offers its visitors an exhibition which focuses on the subject of the current German Science Year, addressing an audience that is new to scientific topics. The topic of each German Science Year is annually being declared by WiD and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

By participating in projects such as the Horizon 2020 project NUCLEUS (New Understanding of Communication, Learning and Engagement in Universities and Scientific Institutions), WiD addresses the topical area of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). The goal of the project was to strengthen responsible research in Europe and beyond. 24 partners from Europe, Asia, and Africa were working together in order to adapt and improve communication patterns and procedures in science as a reaction to our increasing responsibility in today’s complex society.

citizen science

WiD is a member of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) and the D-A-CH-AG , a task force for successful networking between German platforms regarding Citizen Science. Since 2019 WiD is a partner of the EU project CS Track  “Expanding our knowledge on Citizen Science through analytics and analysis”. The projects’ participants are aiming to map the Citizen Science landscape in Europe, as well as to assess the potential and added value of existing projects. The project aims, among other things, to use these findings to draft practical policy recommendations for political actors in order to show how to better embed Citizen Science in the European society and economy.

evaluation

The Impact Unit  is a project by WiD, focused on the question about the effect and evaluation in science communication. Today, science communication takes place in different formats and on a variety of different channels: student laboratories, science slams, science blogs. The Impact Unit is aiming to create a significant evaluation practice, due to different actions and products. Further, it’s about strengthening the impact orientation of science communication within Germany.

Since 2014, WiD measures the German population’s attitudes towards science and research in an annual representative survey. The science barometer has been looking at the attitudes of citizens from the age of 14 within Germany towards science and research, aiming to measure changes within the population’s perception or awareness over time.

Since 2020, WiD publishes its annual impact report about its own formats and activities

WiD regularly presents projects and formats for science communication on the national and European level. In the course of the Future of Science Communication Conference (>Verlinkung), a variety of European actors from research and practitioners of science communication get together. The conference was organised by WiD and ALLEA (>Verlinkung) (All European Academies), aiming to discuss the current status quo within research from different perspectives. Further, the format is about strengthening networks and providing a better understanding of the protagonists among each other.

The International Summer School targets young scientists from across Europe, including non-European states. Within the course of the five-day event, the participants are being introduced to European research systems, its communication structures, tools and strategies, and develop a joint understanding of science communication.

Since 2000, WiD supports discussions on controversial topics within the European context. The European young project Debate Science! European Student Parliaments was coordinated by WiD for three rounds. It was targeted at students aged 16 to 19 years to come together for three days, discuss controversial scientific topics with scientists and develop and debate resolutions. Each round, the final events were part of the biennal EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), the largest science conference within Europe. The resolutions were, among others, handed over to the former commissioner on science and innovation of the European Commission, Carlos Moedas, and EU parliamentarians. The ESOF was established as the European counterpart of the world’s largest science congress AAAS in the USA. WiD had implemented one of the first ESOFs in Germany in 2006.

WiD has cooperated in many EU funded communication projects. In the European project 2WAYS, WiD has collaborated with science festivals, universities and research teams from 16 countries. Together suitable communication strategies were developed for life science topics, e.g. on brain research and genetic engineering. In the three-year project PLACES, WiD contributed to promote wide-ranging science communication.  

As member of the European plattform EUSEA, WiD is collaborating with many international organisations and is strongly involved in the exchange about science communication beyond its national borders. Close partners are, for example, Vetenskap & Allmänhet, Science et Cité and science.lu. 

WiD is member of the COST Cross-Cutting Activities (CCA) on Science Communication, which gathers more than 50 organisations from Europe and beyond to enhance the value and impact on public engagement with science and to encourage policy makers to support research on science communication. WiD contributes to the CCA activities with articles in its publications and participation in events.

In the EUSEA project WONDERS, WiD supported festivals designed for the exchange of various event formats with creative ideas and examples for science communication. Through the joint development and implementation of event ideas WiD targets specific audiences and this way, creates innovative ways to bring scientists and non-professionals into dialogue. New formats on science communication, especially with focus on participation, can be found on the science engagement platform that WiD jointly developed with EUSEA partner organisations. This platform provides inspiration and tools for various science communication formats for organisations throughout Europe and beyond.