A five year qualative and quantative assesment of science engagement by NRF|SAASTA

Author: Lindie Muller – National Research Foundation, South Africa

Co-author:
Lindie Muller – South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement

The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), a business unit of the National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa, was tasked to drive science engagement on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Science engagement in this context, relates to activities that are focused on three main target audiences; school-going learners, educators, and members of the public. These activities are further segregated into science-related educational, awareness, and communications interventions, with the ultimate objective of advancing science in society.

This proposed poster will provide an overview of a quantitative and qualitative assessment of science engagement driven by SAASTA over a five-year period for the ‘Science in Society’ theme. The first section of the poster will display the quantitative data that will include the types of engagement activities, the major themes, and the number of people reached within the nine different provinces that constitutes South Africa and how this fits into science in society. The second section will reflect on the outcome of several qualitative analyses conducted by the SAASTA Monitoring and Evaluation Division on a number of these interventions. Finally, the poster will conclude with best practice guidelines for science engagement, with an integrated communications component that could possibly contribute towards the improvement of the scientific community’s ability to effectively communicate their findings to a variety of target audiences and, ultimately, enhance science engagement.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Visual talk
Theme: Society
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices