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European Researcher's Night in France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CREATIVITY (European Researcher's Night in France)

Reporting period: 2017-01-01 to 2017-11-30

Objectives of the project:
Towards the general public
o To attract a public not familiar with science;
o To offer the audience an opportunity to maintain a connection with research after the event (Such as involving high school students in new ideas search and related challenges, through permanent contacts with researchers via mail, direct visits…)
o To help the public understand the research process through an active involvement (particularly the ideas and challenges);
o To point out the EU support through the involvement of foreign researchers involved EU funded projects;
o To stress the international character of the research community (notably through ‘The Great Participatory Experiment’);
Towards both general public and researchers:
o To bring together researchers and members of the public around common activities (creativity, challenges), stressing the "normality" of the researchers and pointing out the own resources of the audience;
o To stress the common interests between researchers and public at large;
Towards researchers
o To encourage researchers to accompany the attendees in understanding/discovering science;
o To point out the added values of popularisation, namely: public participation, new partnerships, possibility of sharing one's experience, new glance on own work thanks to this of the audience…
o To offer a reliable and precise picture of the public perception of researchers and their work;
Towards the media
o To point out the possibility of talking about European research, facilitating their access to researchers and their backgrounds, and involving them in the creative interactions

The project fully achieved its objectives and the actions undertaken proved to be successful in all venues and locations
WP1
Conception, production and display of promotional material: posters, leaflets, folders, postcards, give away such as pens and pins…,displayed to researchers' communities, local council networks such as libraries, schools, theatres, social clubs and roll-ups at partners' veneus;;
o Public advertising in public transport (busses, tube);
o Realization of a press kit including (researchers' interviews, pictures, programme and presentation of Great participatory experience;
o Publication of at least 170 promotional articles in national and local written press (Liberation notably);
o Airing of promotional spots on national/regional radio and TVs (Radio Campus), broadcast during the events…;
o Setting up of media partnerships (1 to 3 local partnerships per partner);
o Promotion of the Night during several local events;
o Launch and management of the call for proposals related to the "Great Participatory Experiment";
o Revamping, constant updating and maintenance of project website http://www.nuitdeschercheurs-france.eu/ ;
o 19.000 sessions including 13.000 in September;
o Links with over 100 popular and institutional websites;
o Posting of banners, agendas and newsletters;
o Revamping, constant updating and maintenance of social networks profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram);
o Links with social network profiles of participating institutions;
o 3.100 Likes on Facebook Page (800 more each year);
o 200.000 views;
o 2.900 Twitter followers (increase by 1.000 followers compared to 2016);
o Over 9.000 tweets with the hashtag #NuitChercheurs;
o 16.000 views of video strategy on YouTube ;
o About 3 million people made aware of the European Researchers' Night and its objectives
WP2
o Offer of the activities as planned in the Annex I part B to the Grant Agreement, namely:
o 11 realizations of the “Great Participatory Experiment” contemporaneously;
o 12 European corners;
o Over 100 hands-on experiments;
o Over 50 “Stage Design” rooms/ places;
o 11 speed- searching activities “challenges of the Impossible”;
o 11 “European radio” corners;
o 6 “Art and science” activities;
o 5 theatrical performances;
o 4 games “Impossible until when?”;
o 5 hands-on experiments and demos in streets/ public places;
o 5 science guided tours (museums and original venues);
o 3 "meet researchers" in the dark;
o Average time spent by visitors: 2 hours 30 minutes;
o Active involvement of 1.200 researchers, representing an increase by 10 % compared to last year) of whom:
o 65 having benefitted from MSC schemes;
o 102 having benefitted from another EU support (FP 7/HORIZON 2020);
o Attendance of 26.000 visitors having taken part in the activities offered.
o Collection, analysis and processing of 1.016 questionnaires filled in from visitors and 201 from researchers involved in the activities, as well as conduction of an analysis of media and social media impact; Press review through automated tool;
o Main conclusions:
o Visitors:
o Typology of visitors: 57 % female and 43 % male, mostly adult audience (72%), but rather young (32% are between 18 and 25 years old) with respect to usual science education events, most with higher education background (75 %), mainly in groups of 2 to 3 people, 66 % newcomers, 64% feeling “Scientific”, mostly local origin (51 % 10-30 minutes distance, 27 % less than 10 minutes), audience used to visit regularly museums, conferences or other cultural activities;
o Knowledge about the event: 30% from family and friends, 13% from professional environment, 11% by advertisement or poster in the city.
o Average visit duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes; visitors participated in 3 activities on average during the event.
o Motivation for attending: 48% by curiosity, 39% through interest of research and 39 % through interest for cultural events;
o Average number of contacts with researchers: mostly contacts with 5 researchers on average, and exchanges with 4 researchers on average;
o Overall positive feedback about the events (activities, contacts with researchers, venues and locations, concrete organisation, scheduling) (rating 8/10);
o 75 % respondents expressing their intention to take part in a future similar event;
o 84 % prepared to recommend participation to others;
o Key words fro qualifying the event: “interesting”, “educational”, “playful”, “friendly”, “discovery”, “curiosity”, “rewarding”, “pleasant”, “entertaining”, “fascinating”:
o Most successful activities: “Speed Searching” and “The great participatory experience”
o Researchers:
o Typology of researchers: 55 % newcomers.
o Motivation for participating: possibility to exchange with the public and colleagues, interest for popularization and the occasion to share their knowledge and passion are the main reasons for the researchers to participate in the ERN event;
o Factors of engagement: o To participate in a good popularization programme; o Because your research lends itself good to popularization; o Because you feel capable of/helped to do it; o Because it is a task to do in a program in which you participate in; o Motivations for popularising research: in more general terms, science popularization is motivated by a variety of reasons, ranging from gaining feedback from the public on the researcher activity, to the pleasure for sharing a passion. No single motivation items stands out with respect to the others; o Interactions with the public: most of the researchers (48%) could interact with more than 30 persons; o Vision of the public from the researchers:most researchers pointed out a particularly motivated, interested and curious public.
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