Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NLRN20142015 (Netherlands Researchers\' Night: using the innovative Discovery Festival to unite separate events under a new national brand with a strong European dimension)

Teaser

The European Researchers’ Night in Amsterdam, Discovery Festival, which consists of the Dutch edition of European Researchers’ Night (ERN) since 2007, had its 10th anniversary in 2015, just like European Researchers’ Night. The action combined new science and young...

Summary

The European Researchers’ Night in Amsterdam, Discovery Festival, which consists of the Dutch edition of European Researchers’ Night (ERN) since 2007, had its 10th anniversary in 2015, just like European Researchers’ Night.

The action combined new science and young scientists with a high quality young art programme and top notch nightlife activities.

Although the public at large was part of the targets of the action, the main focus was put on the difficult segment of young trend setting adults. With a view to attracting them, new ways of communicating science and share our experiences were experimented by the organisers, thus contributing to continuous progress in science communication.

Nevertheless since the general public remained one of the targets, more traditional activities were also offered including hands-on live experiments, presentations, demonstrations, art and science cooperation, high quality art programmes, high-quality music programmes, combination of the two, afternoon high school programme, exhibitions, science shows, European corners…

The project is actually used as a core of continuous innovation: the shared framework ensures that events will work to comply wih EU quality criteria, that resources are spent effectively and that experiences are shared structurally.

Thereby a number of separate initiatives are united under one single brand with a strong European dimension.

Discovery Festival 2014 indeed was the starting point of the process, which was reinforced in 2015 with the first instalment of Netherlands Researchers’ Night in five cities: Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Leiden, Groningen and Utrecht all throughout the Netherlands.

Work performed

\"AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Tasks undertaken

Target audiences

o Public at large regardless of age and scientific background;
o High school children, young people, core demographic young people actively searching for science-events, creative industry;
o Trend-setting young adults, broad local public , kids, high school children , young adults technology, art and science fans and adults science-fans were the main target audience in 2015;

Messages conveyed

o Researchers are amongst us;
o Researchers are ordinary people with an extraordinary job;
o Researchers are like us;
o Doing science and being a scientists can be cool, creative and fun;
o Scientific research is diverse;

Main communication tools to rely on

Off line

o Publication of articles, interviews, announcements, advertisements in national and regional press;
o Publication of general and specific press releases, followed by a phone call follow up;
o Public advertising through display of posters in streets, bars, libraries, universities…;

On line

o Revamping of project website, constant updating and maintenance;
o Revamping of social network profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo…) and weekly to daily posting;
o Links with institutional, participants’ and popular websites;
o E-mailings from the national organisation, from the local events, from sponsors, partners, related organisations, educational projects…;
o Setting up of media partnerships (Motherboard weblog, Vice Magazine, Kennislink, Volkskrant…)
o Cooperation with other Researchers’ nights (cross posting on social media, cross references, share of international programming…);

Promotional material

o Posters, flyers, booklets, programmes;
o E-ticket designs, ads and banners;
o Mention of \"\"This European Researchers\' Night project is funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions\"\" on all promotional material displayed;
o Promotional gadgets (such as wrist bands, crew T-shirts..) (displayed through the European corner notably), complying with the general guidelines available at http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/services/visual_identity/index.en.htm


Overview of the results

o Conception, realisation and display of promotional material: posters of various formats, flyers, programmes, roll-ups, banners, booklets, timetables …displayed in the steets, libraries, bars, restaurants, public transport (railway stations, trams, busses…) in the various cities involved;
o Publication of press releases in the various citires involved sent to general press, art and science specific press, TV, local radio, local newspapers, magazines, Naturalis (science, literature and art target group)(Amsterdam, Utrecht, Leiden, Nijmegen);
o Media and promotional partnerships;
o Publication of articles, announcements, interviews in daily newspapers (Amsterdam) local main papers (“Dagblad van Het Noorden” notably) and daily newspapers,…;
o Promotion during other public events:
o Outdoors cinema Zienemaan for several days;
o Promotional stand with a live sound experiment and scientists explaining the experiment on Noorderzon Festival;
o Announcements in several newsmetters: University of Groningen, Science LinX, Groninger Forum, GIC, Studium Generale, Energy Academy, Bijzondere Locaties
o Organisation of pre-events:
o Talkshow ‘Het Zwarte Gat’ in the city theatre (Amsterdam);
o Featuring scientists from the Discovery Festival programme on eweek prior the event;
o THWWG, using an ambisonic audiobooth;
o Backbeamer projector in public space (mobile projector on a bike);
o Teaser preview event with 2 live experiments and a visual talk;
o Educational programme the day before the event;
o Ticket winning competitions in the various cities involved;
o Airing of announcements, promotional spots and interviews on national and local radio and TV stations;
o Realisation ad display of promotional movies;
o Revamping, constant updating and maintenance of project websites, namely europeanr\"

Final results

Overview of the results

o Collection, analysis and processing of 562 feedbacks mainly based on filled in questionnaires;
o Main conclusions:
o Typology of visitors: 53% women, 47% men, average age , most visitors 29 between 18 – 35 years, youngest aged 6, oldest aged 86, 56% university, 35% polytechnic/higher vocational, 8% mid vocational or lower, half of the visitors coming from Groningen, Leiden, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Nijmegen, the other half coming from outside the cities;
o Main motiviation for participating: having fun, getting inspired, and gaining knowledge;
o Knowledge about the event: mainly word of mouth (friends, families, colleagues), social media, traditional media and public advertising (mainly as creating the buzz and offering a professional image of the event);
o Overall positive feedback about the events themselves (activities, qualified as are informative, creative, experimental and inspiring., programme, location and venues, general organisation, routing and navigation, exceeding of expectations, …);
o General will expressed by attendeeds to take part in future similar events;
o Most attendees having learned something and modified their opinion about isseus dealt with, as well as discovered new points of views;
o Improved public image of researchers and their work (interest of science generally recognised, as well as its fascinating character) and tackling of the existing stereotypes about researchers (cut from the real world, which is now the opinion of a minority responders);
o Most successful activities: live experiments by science groups in Amsterdam, Aromajockey Scentman & aromascienctist , theatre show , food programme, in Nijmegen, information market, workshops, labs, crash courses; 20PK presentations and speeddating with researchers, award ceremony, musical performances in Utrecht, Infoversum (high number of visitors), virtual reality, DIY hologram in Groningen, and all the activities in Leiden;
o Less succesful :global lounge visits lower than expected, most likely due to lack of promotion by Global Lounge organization in Nijmegen and live stream: time consuming organisation but limited views in Groningen;


Young people base their career decisions partly on aspects of identity, public image and perceived ‘coolness’. A positive, ‘cool’ image of scientists among the general public (and more specifically, family, friends and role models) may help young people to choose science careers.
We have contributed to improving the public image of ‘the scientist’.
We have helped seduce the general public to associate ‘science’ and ‘scientist’ with values like ‘cool’, ‘creative’ and ‘fun’, next to, or even instead of, ‘serious’, ‘dull’ and ‘boring’.
We generated among our visitors overall positive feedback regarding contacts with researchers, increased knowledge about researchers, their job and its societal impact and improved opinion about the researchers\' jobs.

To achieve that goal, we have focused on the person of the scientist and the process of science, rather than just the products of science.
We used the media to reach the broad public with the association between science, scientists and positive values.
Using the unique story of a trendy science-meets-nightlife-event we have generated a lot of press attention in media that don’t regularly focus on science.

Our programming, target groups and communication strategies have inspired other science communication events. Our science programming has inspired cultural festivals interested in science.
Starting in 2014, we have formalized the implementation of activities developed and expertise learned in Discovery Festival into other events, both existing and new.
We have united those events on the ERN date and under the new national brand of Netherlands Researchers’ Night.
This has yielded synergy in terms of innovation, central quality control, sharing of work and resources, centrally collecting and dis

Website & more info

More info: http://www.researchersnight.nl.