EngagingUnderservedAudiences:Paradigms
BRIEFINGPAPER
NationalForumforPublicEngagementwithSTEM
September2016
Introduction
Thispaperwasdevelopedtoprovideascaffoldforinitialdiscussionsaboutthedifferentideasand
assumptionsthatunderpinourworkwithunderservedaudiences.
Itlooksathowthe‘problem’ofopeningupsciencetodifferentaudiencesisdifferentlyframed,and
thekindsofresponsesthattypicallyaremadetoseektoaddressthechallengeof‘openingup’
sciencetothepublic.
InpreparingthispaperwerevieweddescriptionsofthekeyactivitiesForumMembersundertakein
ordertomakesenseoftherationalesandapproachesbeingpursued.Inaddition,weconducteda
briefreviewofexistingliteratureandguidanceonthetopictoattemptasynthesisofthekeytypes
ofinterventionsbeingproposedandtheirunderlyingassumptions
Fromthisworkfiveapproachesto‘openingupscience’emerged.Thesehavebeenpresentedhere
as‘idealtypes’(seebelow).
Aworkinggroupisfurtherdevelopingthisdeviceandlookingatitsutilityacrossthreekeyareas:
• Incorporatingitintoaprofessionaldevelopmentofferforpublicengagementpractitioners;
• Developingananalysistoolforfunderstoevaluatetheirportfolio;and
• Usingittopromotecriticalandreflectivedialoguebetweenfundersandpractitioners–at
pre-funding,commissioningandperformanceevaluationstagesaboutwhatworks.
Aswellasidentifyingthedifferentwaysinwhichthemodelcanbeused(above)participantsatthe
NationalForumNetworkingEventalsohighlightedsomewordsofcaution.Forexample,itwas
noted:
• Thatprojectswouldnotsitneatlyinoneofthetraditions,butwouldlikelystraddleseveral;
• Whilstitworkedwellasadescriptivemodel,itlackedpowertochangethewayinwhichwork
was done (e.g. how does knowing what the traditions are change how you do a specific
project?)
• Theframeworkwastooabstractoracademic.
FurtherupdateswillbepostedontheNationalForumWebsite:
http://publicengagement.ac.uk/national-forum
TheEnlightenmenttradition
(reach‘thehardtoreach’)
Apublicservicedutytoshareknowledgewiththewiderpublic.Ifpeople
understandsciencetheyaremorelikelytoengagewithit
What’stheproblem?
Ourcontentisn’taccessibletosomepeople
Assumptionsaboutfixingit?
Weneedtocreaterichformalandinformallearning.Wecanaddressthe
problembycomingupwithmorecreativeandinspirationalwaysofsharing
knowledge
Focusofinterventions?
•
•
Techniquestomakingknowledgeaccessible,includingopenaccess
Providingauthoritativeaccountsandexpertise
TheSocio-culturaltradition(engagethe‘under-served’)
Respectinghowdifferentpeoplecometolearnandvaluesciencedifferentlyand
thepowerofcultureinshapingouridentitiesandworldviews
What’stheproblem?
People’sreadinesstoengagewithscienceisshapedbytheircultureandsocial
identities-scienceitselfisaculturallyconstrained
Assumptionsaboutfixingit?
Weneedtobesensitivetocontextandculture–andproblematizethecultural
assumptionsaboutwhatscienceis
Focusofinterventions?
• Workingwithpeople’sculturalpreferences;re-framingthecultureof
science;multiplenarratives;workingwithtrustedintermediaries
TheSystemictradition(fixingthesystem)
Five
approachesto
‘openingup
science’
Scienceformsapartofamuchwidercomplexsocialsystem–weneedtomakesenseof
individual’schoicesaspartofthisbroaderecology
What’stheproblem?
Weapproach‘science’asaclosedsystem–infactitisdeeplyimplicatedinwidersystemsof
culture,powerandpolitics
Assumptionsaboutfixingit?
Thinkingsystemicallycanhelpusgraspthecomplexinterdependenciesthatshapeindividual
choicesandintervenetobetteralignorharmonisethesystem
Focusofinterventions?
• Understandingthesystemsthatimpingeonscienceengagementandinterveningto
enhancethem
• Brokeringandaligninginterventions
Purposes:
1.Inspiringthenext
generation
2.Scienceliteracyofthe
generalpopulation
3.Socialequityoutcomes
arisingfrompositive
engagement
TheParticipatorytradition(empowerthe‘disadvantaged’)
TheMarketingtradition(targetthe‘dis-engaged’)
People’sreadinesstoparticipateisstronglydeterminedbyinequityandthe
exerciseofpower
What’stheproblem?
Poverty,marginalisation,accessandself-efficacyaffectpeople’sreadinessand
appetitetoengagewithscience
Assumptionsaboutfixingit?
Weneedtoaddressinequalityandstructuralbarriersifwearetoopenup
sciencetothe‘disadvantaged’
Focusofinterventions?
• Communitydevelopment;wideningparticipation
Weare‘selling’scienceinthewrongway–weneedtotailorourmessagesto
ouraudiences
What’stheproblem?
Ourmessagesaren’tgettingthrough
Assumptionsaboutfixingit?
Ifwebetterunderstandouraudiencesandtheirmotivations/interests/values
wecantargetthemmoreeffectively–andreachthepublicswevalue
Focusofinterventions?
• Intelligencegathering
• Tailoringmessagetoaudience;targetingmoreeffectively