The project is engaging stakeholders from different age groups, educational levels and professional backgrounds throughout the entire REGGAE timeline, and not just in the weeks previous to the event. Importantly the consortium is involving sectors of the population that are currently excluded from science and technology debates – for instance, schools and young people have been invited for several Meet a scientist events. In total, the consortium promoted 88 build-up events and 21 events on September 24, involving 21 organizing institutions, 12,500 participants, and 800 researchers.
The participants’ assessment of ERN events is very high (average rating of 8.8 out of 10) and most are willing to repeat the experience. The events attracted participants of all ages, with a strong representation of young adults (compared with the national population profile). Many participants have a higher education degree (68% of respondents) and less than half (48% of respondents) have some type of professional connection to science. In line with the ERN goal of reaching the younger generations, a quarter of the over 16 participants are under 24 and ERN participants included over 4,300 children (under 16), who were not surveyed.
The consortium successfully attracted new participants and new researchers to the European Researchers Night and secured the participation from visitors and researchers from previous years, demonstrating the longer-term impact of this initiative (and demonstrating that intent to repeat participation translates into reality). Since many participants refer hearing about ERN through family and friends, those ERN veterans are probably key to attract new visitors (namely children), further attesting the success of previous editions.
Participants seem to be familiar with Green Deal related topics and positive, albeit cautious, about the Green Deal objectives. The majority of participants have a very positive view about science and scientists and state a high interest in science (which is a major motivation for attending ERN). Over four fifths of the participants say they felt even more interested in science after participating in ERN and agree they learned something new at the event, while also having a good time. Data shows that most participants (83% of respondents) value the close contact with the researchers. Conversely, researchers value the contact with the public. The latter also make a very positive assessment of the ERN events (average 8.6 out of 10) and 97% declare their willingness to participate in the future.
The vast majority of researchers (91%) had previous experience in science communication events, which suggests science communication is in the agenda of researchers and research institutions. Researchers’ motives for participation suggest a desire for the public acceptance of science and technology in general and their scientific field in particular. Even if researchers view science communication through a deficit model perspective, about half agree they benefit from the interaction with the public (also confirmed though the interviews). Comparisons with previous years demonstrate that, in Portugal, ERN is an extremely valuable contact opportunity between researchers and the wider public and has contributed to place the science’s interaction with society within the research agendas.
