Are We Selling or Selling Out Science? (Panel Summary)

There's a natural tension between use of scientific communication by institutions and other agendas such as philanthropy. This panel addressed the issue from both sides - the need to attract awareness and support and the need to ensure what is communicated is not hyperbole or exaggeration. This relates to trust in science, especially when there is misrepresentation of facts and over-promising of, for example, cures

Measuring Up: The Art of Evaluation

Measuring Up workshop.jpg

“We measure what we value and we value what we measure.”

Even with the best of intentions, funders won’t continue to support projects that aren’t getting results. Counting visitors, feedback forms and cherry picking quotes are tools that can provide some insight, but never give the whole picture. This workshop highlighted innovative and robust approaches to evaluating SciComm activities, and explored evidence-based techniques that help prove we’re achieving what we set out to do and quantifiably improve how we’re doing it.