Communication of Science Shop Mediation: A Kaleidoscope of University-Society Relations

TL;DR

This paper examines how Science Shops, as university-society mediators originating in the 1970s Netherlands, communicate their work externally to enhance visibility and impact beyond local contexts through various media.

Contribution

It analyzes the communication strategies and external visibility of Science Shops, highlighting their role in connecting universities with society and the dissemination of their work.

Findings

Science Shops increase external visibility through diverse communication channels.

Media coverage and internet dissemination are crucial for broader impact.

Communication efforts influence institutional development and curriculum integration.

Abstract

The Science Shop model was initiated in the Netherlands in the 1970s. Part of the model is the modest scale of the operation. The crucial idea behind the Science Shops involves a working relationship between knowledge-producing institutions like universities and citizen groups that need relevant questions answered. In providing this link, the relations between science and the public can be stimulated by providing such groups with access to the university and by offering active mediation of these questions. This research addresses the question of the external visibility of Science Shop work in terms of communications which reach beyond the local context of the participants. In addition to the question of the effects of this specific type of communication in terms of publications, institutional development, and curriculum development, we study the communication of the results in the press, the popular and grey literature, and other means of communication insofar as retrievable on distance through the Internet.