Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RiNG-18-19 (European Researchers\' Night in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2019)

Teaser

Main ObjectivesThe European Researchers\' Night in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2019 (RiNG-18-19) aim is to bring researchers closer to the general public and to shape deeper connection between research, creativity and entrepreneurship. RiNG-18-19 will continue working to...

Summary

Main Objectives
The European Researchers\' Night in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2019 (RiNG-18-19) aim is to bring researchers closer to the general public and to shape deeper connection between research, creativity and entrepreneurship. RiNG-18-19 will continue working to increase awareness of research and innovation potentials in BiH, support public recognition of researchers and promote achievements by local scientists and research-driven entrepreneurs, address research impact people’s daily life, and encourage young people to embark on research careers. Shortly, main objectives are:
Enhance researchers’ public recognition;
Increase awareness about research results, especially regarding the daily lives of citizens;
Stimulate interest in research careers, in particular amongst young people facing a career choice.

Specific Objectives
RiNG-18-19 slogan is “Let’s STEAM! We are all creators.” where STEAM refers to Arts in STEM, and is modified to highlight people in Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts and Makers. RiNG-18-19 is a Researchers’ Night of national character, involving coordinated actions in at least eight cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and incorporates cross-border aspect by involving researchers and research-driven business from the Balkan region as participants in RiNG activities. RiNG-18-19 specific objectives are:
- Increase awareness about science and research in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Forge the connection between science, art and entrepreneurship;
- Illustrate the fun and fascinating aspects of research;
- Stress the societal importance of research including for citizens’ daily lives and well-being;
- Highlight importance of Cultural Heritage as intersection between science, culture and arts;
- Point out the importance of European support in favour of researchers and research and stressing the importance of European and international cooperation in research.
To honour European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 RiNG will be expanding the current community of science, tech and entrepreneurship enthusiasts in Bosnia and Herzegovina by introducing art perspective and encouraging collaboration between STEM sector, museums and artists, with particular focus on the history, local traditions and ethnography.

Work performed

Main indicators for RiNG 2018 awareness campaign are:
Number of people reached through the awareness raising campaign: over 1,350,000.
Number of supporting media organizations: 36.
Most efficient channels: appearances on radio and TV, printed material distribution (flyers, posters) for direct engagement with potential attendees, promotion through social media (Facebook page) and nocistrazivaca.ba website.
Press conferences: 2 main press conferences were organized in Sarajevo (25th September) and Banja Luka (26th September), two local conferences for journalists in Bijeljina and one local conference in Brcko.

Main indicators for the event organization:
Number of activities organized: 192, out of which 25 in Banja Luka, 10 in Bijeljina, 32 in Brčko, 9 in Goražde, 10 in Konjic, 28 in Mostar, 38 in Sarajevo, 9 in Trebinje, 15 in Tuzla, and 16 in Zenica
Venues/locations for RiNG activities: 27 venues in 10 cities across BiH (Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Brčko, Goražde, Konjic, Mostar, Sarajevo, Trebinje, Tuzla, Zenica,
Number of people attending activities: 26.550, out of which 7.700 in Banja Luka, 2.500 in Bijeljina, 1.000 in Brčko, 950 in Goražde, 700 in Konjic, 4.200 in Mostar, 7.500 in Sarajevo, 500 in Trebinje, 1.200 in Tuzla, and 300 in Zenica
The most successful activities are the ones that involve direct communication and interaction with researchers, in particular High School Competition, interactive workshops and other activities for children, hands-on experiment at Science and Innovation Fair, star gazing in various forms, and conversations with scientists
452 researchers involved in RiNG18: Banja Luka 63 (13.9%), Bijeljina 24 (5.4%), Brčko 3 (0.7%), Goražde 7 (1.6%), Konjic 18 (4.0%), Mostar 80 (17.7%), Sarajevo 199 (44.0%), Trebinje 20 (4.4%), Tuzla 30 (6.6%), Zenica 8 (1.7%), out of whom 64 having benefitted from EU support in the past and one MSCA Fellow;
Number of EU Corners: 10, one in each city involved

Impact Assessment indicators:
Number of attendee questionnaires collected prior the event: 492
Number of attendee questionnaires collected during/after the event: 411
Number of researcher/innovator/participant questionnaires collected: 172
Number of drawings collected: 106 drawings
Number of other artwork (literary, sculptures, etc) collected: 30 literature works

Event Assessment:
Most successful activities: High school competition for best science project; Interactive workshops and other activities for children; Star gazing in various forms: mobile planetarium, observation through telescopes; Conversations with scientists; Science achievements presentations;
Least successful activities: Science lectures.

Final results

The Researchers’ Night event in Bosnia and Herzegovina is on steady development and growth, both in terms of cities and locations, as well regarding the content, which is being presented to visitors. Over the period, the event is growing in number of visitors, by gathering new ones and reclaiming those who come back. The event starts to receive general public recognition and wider support from other organizations, expanding the collaboration. The European Researchers’ Night in its seventh year in Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed itself a place as go-to event for science promotion in cities where the event already took place several times.

Increased awareness among the general public of the importance of research and innovation and more favourable general attitude towards its funding:
o At least 1,350,000 people were reached through the communication and dissemination actions in BiH in 2018. Extensive social networking and PR campaign to utilize local media were implemented.
o Additionally, local authorities were addressed via targeted communication actions to involve into policy-level R&D strategic development and impact general attitude towards research and innovation funding.

Better understanding of the key benefits that research brings to society:
o RiNG contributed to better understanding by the public of the role of researchers and the key benefits they bring to society development and impact on daily life, in particular related to its economic impact.

Reduction in the stereotypes about researchers and their profession:
o RiNG further improved researchers\' public recognition in terms of changing the existing stereotypes about researchers and the profession in Bosnia and Herzegovina through targeted interventions in schools, science cafés, debates and other interactive RiNG activities.

Increase, in the long term, of people taking up research careers:
o RiNG provided career “market place” during the Night to increase awareness and attractiveness of career patch as researcher, in particular by the young people, stimulating choice for research careers in the long term.

In conclusion, RING 2018 had overall well-coordinated joint promotion campaign in whole Bosnia and Herzegovina, which over achieved set goals. Overall, the awareness raising campaign reached 1,350,000 people all over Bosnia and Herzegovina (planned: 500,000) and brought over 26,550 attendees to the event (planned: 21,000) in 10 cities (planned: 8).

Website & more info

More info: http://nocistrazivaca.ba.