Hester du Plessis, Autodesk-NID Research Chair in Design Education and Innovation,

1. SAASTA2nd African Science Communication Conference 2009Shaping Africa’s future18 – 21 February 2009 Hester du Plessis, Autodesk-NID Research Chair in Design Education and Innovation, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India and Senior researcher, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA), University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa

2. New factors in Governmental/Policy engagement • Increased interest from governments to engage with publics • Increased public motivation to participate in science matters • Increased access to information • Increased public communication participation • Increased venues for judicial redress • Increased responsibility for PUS research

3. Report: International indicators of science and the publicRoyal Society workshop, November 2007, UK Aim: • review existing international indicators of the public’s knowledge, interests, attitudes and engagement with S&T. • discuss partnerships, challenges and aspirations for a step-change in research.

4. Steps for future global scale surveys • Preserve items to construct local time-series; analyse and separate good and bad ones, and drop the latter using item analysis. • Preserve and determine a set of core items for international comparison; core concepts are literary, evaluation, interests and engagement activities; • Develop new items to fit the purpose and concerns of local context. • Exchange new items and new ideas through reports and participation at regular scientific conferences (Bauer, 2007).

5. Topics for future attention (1) • Determine the core set of surveys items to monitor PUS; reaching a formal agreement globally. • Identify a multi-lateral mechanism to create a global PUS survey database: regulating integration, storage and usage. • Define a protocol manual for future comparative data collection on PUS around a set of core concepts. • Review the evidence of time-series and cohort analyses of literacy, interest and attitudes in the US, UE and India. • Explore the potential of existing datasets for the analysis of cultural markers: political and religious cultures, animal-human boundaries, tolerance for pseudo-science independent of literacy.

6. Topics for future attention (2) • Review the methodology of mass media data streaming: e.g. continuous media monitoring, systems of automatic discourse mapping, monosemic versus polysemic genres and genre analysis over time. • Review existing dataset of media coverage of S&T with a view of systematic comparison and time-series analysis – a need for sophisticated statistical analysis of coded information with large categories. • Development of a protocol for comparative construction of textual indicators of scientific culture including core concepts such as salience, semantic networks and story types: developing a benchmark system for PUS activities and their inputs: including an operational definition of ‘PUS activities’. • Developing a multi-dimensional score board for public deliberation and national levels of public participation and mobilization. (Bauer, Shukla & Allum RS workshop summery, December 2007).

7. Mapping the Scientific Consciousness:National and Global EffortsMarch 2008 workshop, New Delhi, India Organisers: • National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), CSIR, New Delhi, • National Council of S&T Communication (NCSTC) Resolutions: • PUS is still passing through a phase of growth. • Propose new ways of probing the scientific consciousness among the people. • New, relatively robust models of analysis, are being constructed to help refine conclusions.

8. Delhi meet take note of the following: 1 • During the past few decades a number of scholars have directed efforts to build and enrich the area in theoretical and methodological rigour. • The number of scholars working in this area has increased exponentially, cross-fertilizing from different disciplinary perspectives. • The numbers of institutions dedicated to PUS research have not matched the growth in the number of scholars. • The indicators developed in various parts of the world are culture specific and cannot be applied to measure the public understanding of science universally. • PUS research has matured in developed countries however, it is a serious matter of concern that barring a few, in most culturally rich countries (generally known as developing countries) the research efforts have not even started.

9. Delhi meet take note of the following: 2 • The role of statistical tools is a crucial component in carrying out large-scale empirical studies. There is a need to integrate the quantitative and qualitative methods developed in other disciplines. • Recommends that a number of strategic and tactic measures need to be taken to fulfil the above-mentioned visions. • Efforts to should be undertaken to inventory and compile the existing databases. • Extant literature on PUS should be made available on Open Access on the Web. • An inclusive network of scholars / researchers working in the area of PUS should be established to facilitate exchange of information and resources. • Establish research / teaching institutes dedicated to the furtherance of PUS. • Linkages with other cognate institutes /disciplines be established.

10. Delhi meet take note of the following: 3 • Efforts should be made to identify common minimum indicators which would be comparable – in time and space – and surveys be undertaken at various levels. • In addition to these common minimum indicators, region / country and culture / theme specific indicators should also be developed and shared with other scholars for their benefit. • PUS output would strengthen the democratic spirit among the people to enable them to articulate their entitlements based on rational scientific temper. • Fund raising to undertake national / regional surveys in the area of PUS to be undertaken. • Implementation at global, national and local levels.

11. ConclusionDirect result of the Delhi meet: • NISTADS and NCSTC to develop a National Centre of Public Attitude and Understanding of Science (NCPAUS). • Wake-up call for Africa. • Rise of the ‘third culture’ intellectuals (science writers). • More need for conceptual clarification and communication. • Policy input? Whose policy? What policy? Policy for whom?

12. Thank you