ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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Are we making progress as Australian Science Communicators?

Have we made progress in the last eight years? Updating findings of the 2012 participatory evaluation of the ASC conference.

A participatory evaluation session was run at the 2012 ASC conference, you can see some of the key outcomes on the picture to the right:  these were framed as a vision for the future in which scicom had been effective.

Have we made progress on some of these themes? Are other themes now more important? What aspects are within science communicators’ control and which aren’t? How do these align with other priorities?

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

– understanding of purposes of science communication, clarifying own perspectives & comparing with others

– developing shared understanding of indicators for tracking progress in science communication, potentially for people to then use in their own work

– evaluation of the conference in a participatory format while people are gathered, more engaging than survey.

 

Presenters

Cobi Calyx, UNSW Centre for Social Impact

Lisa Bailey, ASC President

Jenni Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 13:50pm-15:25pm

Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Communicating research for impact: making a difference in northern Australia

An efficient way for research to make an impact is when it is communicated effectively to those in positions to effect change.

An integrated research program in northern Australia under the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program is informing policy and supporting better management decisions by undertaking world-class research and delivering it with targeted and purposeful science communication.

With the research program in its final year, the engagement with research users – federal and state government departments, Traditional Owners and land managers – has shifted towards synthesising knowledge and delivering research results, in ways and at times that are most relevant to the user.

Communication products and activities include story maps, videos, factsheets, forums, workshops, presentations and targeted meetings.

The impact of research results is underpinned by early and ongoing engagement with research users to scope what projects were needed and identify possible integration with existing management and policy timelines that identified clear purposes for the research.

This presentation will highlight how our science communication approach is leading to specific cases of impact for environmental management in northern Australia.

 

How will your session be structured?
20-minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions.

 

What type of session will this be?
Practice insights: speakers describe, demonstrate and/or evaluate specific science communication practices., Demonstrations: presenting innovative science communication practices with a commentary on their application and effectiveness.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?
This presentation will show how engagement with research users and targeted science communication is increasing impact of research in northern Australia. Attendees will gain insight into innovative communication methods and how we address challenges of access and scale in northern Australia to deliver effective communication.

 

Presenter

Patch Clapp, Communications Officer, NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub

 

Co-authors

Jane Thomas, Science Communicator, NESP Northern Australia Hub

 

When: Monday 17th February, 12:30pm-1:00pm
Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Breaking down the wall of science communication.

This presentation will explain a unique opportunity to participate in a global hub of science communicators.
Engage is a program run by the Falling Walls Foundation in Berlin. It culminates in an annual competition but the program is much more about collaboration and sharing methods to communicate science.
The Australian Academy of Science will be establishing a regional hub for Engage in 2020. This session will describe details of the hub and invite ASC members to participate.
Participants will also learn about the Academy’s innovative program for science communication.

Presenters

Dr Paul Richards, Director of Communications and Outreach, Australian Academy of Science

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00pm-3:30pm

Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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How the Australian Academy of Science measures and applies Diversity and Inclusion

Women are still underrepresented across STEM fields. When it comes to diversity and inclusion, visibility matters. Join the Australian Academy of Science for a conversation around how scientific organisations can better incorporate diversity into their activities, how to track and measure your diversity and inclusion goals, and what barriers may be encountered along the way.

Hear about how the Academy is driving diversity and inclusion in science through policy initiatives such as the Women in STEM Decadal Plan and communications and outreach strategies that normalise diversity. But there’s still plenty of work to do. Bring your experience to the table and come ready to workshop ideas for how all of us can improve and do better.

How will your session be structured?
A brief presentation with an overview of the Academy’s Diversity and Inclusion projects as well as communication strategies to record and track diversity and inclusion.
Then facilitation of an open discussion to workshop various scenarios to create a conversation about the issue.

What will participants gain from attending your session?

Participants will gain a better understanding of ways to track diversity and inclusion in their own projects, plus a better understanding of what diversity and inclusion means in science communication

Presenters

Dr Tom Carruthers, Digital Strategist, Australian Academy of Science
Emma Berthold, Science Editor, Australian Academy of Science

 

When: Monday 17th February, 12:00pm-1:00pm

Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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How to Pitch your Science (-communication)

**This is a ticketed event. Public and delegates welcome. Tickets available for separate purchase here. $70 uncatered workshop. **

In this session we’ll develop a verbal pitch to engage someone with your work. Then, when that moment arrives where you have an opportunity, you will be able to do yourself justice and really connect with potential partners and have a constructive conversation.

The course consists of two sessions of 90 minutes. By the end you are on your feet, getting personalized feedback.

Session 1 – How pitching works.

  • Identifying the values and priorities of your audience
  • Mapping your research to your audience’s priorities
  • Building trust and rapport
  • Introduction to pitch structure.
  • Storytelling skills
  • Defining a good outcome.

Session 2 – Presentation and conquering nerves

  • Connecting with people
  • Moving like Darth Vader
  • Opening up your voice
  • Warm ups for combating nerves
  • Presentation checklist

What will participants gain from attending your session?

A pitch that you can pull out whenever you need to quickly impress someone with your efforts, and skills to take all your other presentations to the next level

Workshop facilitator

Dr Phil Dooley, ASC National Secretary and Galactic Commander, Phil Up On Science

Sponsor

Facilities sponsored by FLEET and Monash University Faculty of Science

When: Sunday 16th February, 1:30pm-5:00pm

Where: Room G30, New Horizons Building 82, 20 Research Way
Monash Clayton campus

Hashtag: TBC

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Stories of how scientists achieve social impact

In this recorded session, a panel of researchers will discuss how they’ve managed to achieve social impact, both within their research and beyond it. We will discuss motivations and enablers for achieving social impacts as researchers, considering as well how the experiences and backgrounds of researchers shape their social impact efforts.

The first half an hour will be curated discussion, followed by equal time for facilitated Q&A discussion.

The recording will be used in the new UNSW Masters course ‘Leading Science for Impact’; please bear this in mind if you contribute in discussion time.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

  • Understanding of types of social impact that researchers can achieve
  • Insights into how individual researchers experience their role in science communication and motivations/incentives/outcomes of their participation

MC/Session Chair

Cobi Calyx, Research Fellow in Science Communication, Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Sydney

Presenter

Summer Finlay, Lecturer and researcher, University of Wollongong, University of Canberra

Sandersan Onie, Postdoctoral Fellow, Black Dog Institute

 

When: Tuesday 19th February, 9:45am-10:45am
Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Can we save our grandchildren? Inspiring change in an age of denial and despair

The planet is in melt down. Since the 1970s scientists have issued repeated warnings about global warming and of the catastrophic impacts on our planet and our survival unless we reduce carbon emissions . Yet as the scientific evidence mounts, the facts are deliberately obfuscated by political and institutional restraints and vested interests. No wonder many scientists report feelings of frustration, depression and despair.

The panel will discuss how scientists and science communicators can overcome these obstacles; how we can present the facts about the climate emergency and the array of interconnected existential threats in a way that resonates with people across all sectors of society and make a compelling case for taking action.

  • 10 to 15 minutes from each presenter
  • 15 to 20 minutes Q and A

What will participants gain from attending your session?

Practical ideas on how to reframe communication techniques and strategies

Session Producer/Session chair/Curator

Alison Leigh, Consultant to World Congress of Science and Factual Producers

Presenters

David Karoly, Leader Earth Systems and Climate Change, CSIRO

Alvin Stone, Media & Comms Manager, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes

Sonya Pemberton, Film maker, Genepool productions

Lee Constable, Science Communicator and Broadcaster, Freelance

Cameron Muir, Freelance writer, editor and researcher

 

When: Monday 17th February, 10:15am-11:30am
Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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Breaking Business as Usual: Using creativity to imagine purpose and practice in the Radical Decade

We’re about to enter the Radical Decade. What will your story be?

We’re in a climate emergency. Teenagers are gluing themselves to bridges to protest systemic inaction. Protests and demonstrations are breaking out around the world. Yet thirty years after James Hansen’s testimony to US Congress, our civilisational supertanker plows on with emissions-as-usual. We’ve missed our opportunity to make incremental change, so the coming decade will need to be radical.

This experiential workshop will break down all of your assumptions about the role of science communication and ask you to back-cast your story around a very different future. When you look back in years to come, what story will you tell about the role you played in the radical decade? Combining creativity, improvisation, complexity and systems thinking, we’ll challenge you to radically reorient your own approach to science communication.

We’ll give you the tools to jump into the unknown, lean-in to risk and use creativity to thrive in a time of great uncertainty. You’ll leave with new possibilities that will help you re-imagine and re-shape the role you want to play in what will be humanity’s critical decade.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

Participants will be challenged to deeply interrogate their own assumptions and practice in order to find new ways to engage with audiences with creativity, empathy, courage and imagination. They will gain:

  • Increased awareness of structural, cultural and personal assumptions that constrain practice
  • The opportunity to reimagine their role in a decade that will require transformational change
  • Practice in using creativity and improvisation activities to spark empathy and imagination, lean-in to risk, learn to jump and embrace uncertainty
  • Strategies for rethinking the fundamentals of their work, drawn from very different domains of knowledge and practice
  • An opportunity to identify specific actions and methods to challenge, rethink and improve their practice on an ongoing basis

Session Producer/ Workshop facilitator

Vicki Kyriakakis, Storyteller, Improviser & Marketing Strategist, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

David Robertson, Connector, Science Communicator & Educator, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 9:30am-10:30am & 11:00am-12:00 noon

Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Is it working? Development and testing of a National Evaluation Guide for STEM gender equity projects

The Government supports and invests in a range of gender equity in STEM initiatives intended to that boost the participation of girls and women in STEM education and careers. Evaluation is imperative to gauge whether initiatives are achieving their intended outcomes and to shape future interventions [1]. However, evaluation is often neglected [2] due in part to lack of resources and perceived expertise to evaluate projects in a professional and accountable manner [3].

The Office of the Women in STEM is developing a National Evaluation Guide to provide a standardised framework for rigorous evaluation of funded gender equity programs across Australia. The National Evaluation Guide will be piloted with the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WISE) grants program in 2020 to evaluate project impacts and outcomes. This paper will provide an overview of the National Evaluation Guide and discuss the implementation of the pilot project with WISE in 2020.

[1] Australian Academy of Science. Women in STEM Decadal Plan. 2019

[2] Coordination Committee on Science and Technology. Audit of Science Education and Awareness Initiatives Delivered by CCST Member Organisations in 2006/07 Financial Year, Results and Recommendations. Canberra. 2008.

[3] Salmon, R. A., & Roop, H. A. Bridging the gap between science communication practice and theory. Polar Record, 1-14. 2019.

 

Presenter
Isabelle Kingsley, Research Associate, Office of the Women in STEM | University of New South Wales

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00-3:30
Where: Room G02, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Sustainable Stand Up: Cultivating laughter to save humanity

All too often conversations about sustainability become negative and accusatory, and alienate the very people we need to connect with. In this session we’ll talk about Sustainable StandUp, a different way to approach communication, using a highly compassionate form of comedy.

Belina Raffy teaches stand up and improv practices to sustainability champions (environmental and social) to help them to talk about important and scary ideas in delightful ways that bring people in, instead of frightening them away.

Based in Berlin, Belina has now run Sustainable Stand Up courses and shows over 33 times across 10 countries and has also written a book Using Improv to Save the World (and me) .

The talk will feature some excerpts of live comedy from Melbourne-based Sustainable Stand Up teacher and comedian, Tejopala Rawls.

 

What will the audience get out of it?

Insights on a new way to approach difficult conversations, a smile and some optimism!

 

Structure
A live cross to Belina Raffy in Berlin, and some examples of comedy from Tejopala Rawls, along with a discussion of how he develops material and some audience Q&A.

 

Producer

Phil Dooley, Phil Up On Science, and Sustainable Stand Up teacher, Canberra

 

Presenter

Belina Raffy, Empress, Maffick Ltd and Founder, Sustainable Stand Up

 

Presenter/Performer

Tejopala Rawls, Activist and stand up comedian

 

When: Monday 17th February, 12:00pm-1:00pm

Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Questions? Please contact Kali on asc2020@asc.asn.au.

Acknowledgements

© 2020 Australian Science Communicators

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