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SECTION TWO: DELIVERABLES

2.1 Strategic principles to ensure delivery

To ensure the delivery of the above strategic milestones, two fundamental operational matters need to be addressed:

• A. Government direction and funding
• B. Collaboration between existing centres and other initiatives:
  i. partnership working
  ii. commercial operations
  iii. network education awareness-raising

A. Government direction and funding

The Scottish Executive's Science Strategy: taking direction from the Scottish Executive's Science Strategy and ensuring a more collaborative approach between the centres and with outside bodies, will provide the foundations upon which improved performance are ultimately laid. The Scottish Science Centres Network forms an important strand in the Scottish Executive's Science Strategy as a vehicle for improving the science literacy of the Scottish public, complementing formal science education in schools and colleges and inspiring future scientists. This is recognised in the financial support from the Scottish Executive which underpins this strategy. Consequently, the network must, in turn, support the objectives of the Science Strategy to ensure it is achieving this ongoing requirement.

The Scottish Science Advisory Committee: as a body of experts whose views are respected and who provide Scottish Ministers with strategic advice and recommendations on scientific issues, there is a key role for them to play in helping to direct the network, and vice versa.

Funding: the then Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning announced ⁸ in June 2004 an interim package to fund a two-year Transition Plan for the four centres, with renewed business plans:

…this is not a something for nothing investment. In the long-term interests of Scotland's science centres, changes need to be made. The funding is therefore conditional on the centres making business improvements, including reducing costs, more collaborative working, sharing exhibitions, and providing better links with school education.

Funding for future years has now been secured to the end of the current Spending Review period (2007-08), subject to annual Budget Act approval. Subsequently, as part of its response to the SSAC reports Science Matters and Why Science Education Matters, the Scottish Executive reported that the science centres had " agreed to a number of business improvements designed to improve collaboration and sharing of exhibits and experiences, and for developing the educational potential of the centres". The science centres then entered a transitional stage to enable them to move towards a new, collaborative phase of operation, whilst stepping up their performance and improving their physical assets. Improved performance, assisted by greater collaboration in the areas of commercial operations and network education awareness-raising, will underpin the network's drive to reach more people, generate more visitors and repeat visits, and improve the centres' reputations as centres of excellence - at the same time moving them to a position of financial stability and long-term viability.

Government Direction and Funding - Policy Recommendations

• That this strategy is consistent with the strategic direction of the Scottish Executive's Science Strategy, and will remain so, as policy evolves and develops. Further, that this strategy demonstrably contributes towards the Scottish Executive's cross-cutting themes:

1. Growing the economy: science is an ever increasing driver of the economy. The Executive's economic development strategy The Framework for Economic Development in Scotland⁹ has a clear vision to raise the quality of life of the Scottish people through increasing the economic opportunities for all on a socially and environmentally sustainable basis. The Scottish Science Centres Network will:

a) help underpin the basic education and skills of our key resource - our people - and their capacity to renew and enhance their skills on a continuing basis; and,

b) assist in the generation and dissemination of scientific knowledge, helping to increase the competitiveness of Scotland in the knowledge-intensive global markets.

2. Sustainable development:¹⁰ the network will exploit the science centres' unique place as agents for change in communicating the fundamental aims of sustainable development;

3. Closing the Opportunity Gap:¹¹ the centres' inreach and outreach programmes will improve access in services for the most disadvantaged groups and individuals in rural communities - in order to improve their quality of life and enhance their access to opportunity. The centres will continue to work in communities to improve the confidence and skills of the most disadvantaged children and young people - in order to provide them with the greatest chance of avoiding poverty when they leave school and increase their chances of sustained employment;

4. Equality:¹² the fundamental principles of equality, in ensuring that no-one is denied opportunities because of their race or ethnicity, their disability, their gender or sexual orientation, their age or religion, will underpin all of the activities of the network;

• That financial support will be on the basis of demonstrably securing best value for money for the investment of public funds, including optimising each centre's core operational requirement and, as a consequence, maximising the funding available for programmes which will emerge from the policy areas set out in this document. Further, that funds from UK-wide, and EC Framework Programmes available for the purposes of advancing public engagement with science and technology are secured and utilised to the benefit of the people of Scotland.

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Continuing relevance ensured through regular dialogue with key stakeholders

2. Funding made in line with proven core operational requirements for each centre and in support of the delivery of prevailing government policy

3. Strategic funding partnerships secured

B. Collaboration between existing centres and other initiatives

The Scottish Executive and the management of the four centres recognise the need for action in key operational areas to drive performance and move towards financial stability. The Joint Executive Group, which brings together the science centres' senior management and the Scottish Executive, was formed in September 2004. It has already established working groups to cover key delivery/commercial areas of operations (exhibits, retail space, catering and corporate hospitality) and network education awareness-raising (public relations, print, product development, promotions, advertising).

The centres' external focus will be developed through greater use of outreach. This will include greater collaboration with the many organisations which deliver science and society activities, such as Scotland's science festivals, and initiatives which engage and encourage schoolchildren to study science. Given the significant number of such providers, this process needs to begin with an evaluation of the sector to assess the range and quality of provision, and to ensure that these organisations share the commitment to quality held by the centres themselves. ¹³

It should be stressed that while the Scottish Science Centres Network is growing in its modes of collaboration, there is a clear responsibility for individual centres to develop their local solutions to meet local needs. This will include playing an active role in local regeneration projects and tapping into community initiatives.

i. Partnership Working - Underpinning Principles

The centres are developing a new, more collaborative, approach to ensure that Scotland is better served by a network which promotes the many diverse aspects of science. It is this diversity which will provide an all-Scotland science experience for visitors, with an outlook beyond each local centre. Further, better links with other science centres and museums throughout the UK and overseas will encourage the sharing of best practice, increase the potential for shared/joint touring exhibitions - attracting the very best of these to Scotland - and help place Scotland's science centre expertise, and the strengths and benefits of being part of a network, onto an international platform.

Partnership Working - Policy Recommendations:

• To make a major contribution towards increasing community engagement and the science literacy of the Scottish public through appropriate community-based learning and events targeted at the general public.
• To work more collaboratively across the spectrum of science centre operations
• To ensure connectivity with science and society initiatives
• Provide a service across Scotland - to identify appropriate organisations in the science and society arena and construct possible linkages e.g. ensuring a coverage of service provision throughout the highlands and islands and rural southern Scotland.

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Increased public awareness of science issues ¹⁴

2. Increased public confidence in, and support for, science and innovation ¹⁵

3. Increased coverage of science outreach events, especially in parts of Scotland remote from a science centre

4. Recognition for science centre and other delivery partners' expertise in science communication (viz. proposed science promotion conference in 2008-09)

ii. Commercial Operations - sharing best practice

Critical to each centre's continuing ability to operate as a science centre will be its ability to maximise the potential of its underlying business model and commercial operations. The individual centres will still be responsible for delivering operations, maximising running cost efficiencies, maximising revenue income, delivering in line with funding requirements, co-ordinating local sponsorship, and fundraising. There will be opportunities to identify and suitably protect the intellectual assets that reside individually within each centre, and those which will be generated through collaborative working. This will provide a strong platform whereby avenues for commercial exploitation may be readily explored and ultimately exploited. A sub-group of the Joint Executive Group has been established to deliver an action plan to deliver on the following policy recommendations:

Commercial Operations - Policy Recommendations

• To improve retail, corporate hospitality and refreshment spaces to drive up performance, generate more income per visitor and help achieve greater financial stability.
• To generate repeat visits
• To generate increased income per visitor
• To increase income through corporate business
• To identify and, where appropriate, suitably protect the intellectual assets that currently reside at each centre, and those generated by collaborative working; scope whether a holding company is the appropriate mechanism for hosting 'collaboratively generated' intellectual property, taking specialist legal advice where appropriate, thus providing a strong platform for exploring, and ultimately exploiting, potential alternative income streams.

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Percentage increase in net income (admission, retail and catering, including education and non-leisure visits)

2. Increased efficiency of centre running costs

3. Intellectual assets suitably protected; exploitation routes explored

iii. Network education awareness-raising strategy - promoting increased visitor numbers and higher profile

A sub-group has been established to deliver a network education awareness-raising strategy. There have been obvious opportunities for joint network education awareness-raising initiatives, but these, until now, have been under-utilised. Shared mailings to schools and shared advertising and promotions both have the potential to save costs at individual centres, while maximising impact and generating increased numbers of visitors. Joint network education awareness-raising initiatives could involve two, three or all four centres, to complement and add value to local marketing strategies.

Network education awareness-raising - Policy Recommendations

• To build an awareness of the network both nationally and internationally
• To develop a Scotland-wide model which is inclusive of other science and society initiatives
• To present a co-ordinated approach to all marketing material
• To minimise the duplication of effort, materials and costs
• To maximise the income potential of promotions
• To ensure that the Closing the Opportunity Gap and Equality Government policy agenda underpin the ethos of the work of each centre and permeate every network programme

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Increased number of visitors at each centre

2. Increased awareness of Scottish science centres and science and society initiatives ¹⁶

3. Increased number of 'hits' on centre websites (and eventually a joint network portal)

2.2 Network policy areas for the next four years

With appropriate support and resources, better collaboration, and improved commercial operations and network education awareness-raising, the science centres will be in a much stronger position to attract visitors, and make improved, mutually beneficial links with key parts of Scottish society.

It is vital for the centres to extend their influence into society as a whole, including our industry, schools, Further and Higher Education Institutions, and other science initiatives, including Scotland's science festivals. There must also be improved links with other science centres/ museums elsewhere in the UK, Europe and beyond, to help our centres strive to be world class.

Output target areas have been identified and Joint Executive Group sub-groups have been established to develop strategies to further extend the science centres' spheres of influence. In summary this is likely to include action to address the following:

• Science Curriculum 3-18
• Further and Higher Education Institutions
• Industry
• Encouraging science as a career

Taken together, the above four policy areas will strengthen the network's performance - not only in the spheres specified, but also in the general aims of increasing the public's engagement with science and awareness of the science centres as visitor attractions.

The Contribution of Science Centres to Science Education

This section has been influenced by a needs analysis and the HMIE Report findings (Annex 2). Science cannot leap forward without scientists. Before we can have scientists, we must engage our children in the world of science. We must strive to turn a spark of curiosity into an avid interest in science, and so to inspire the next generation of scientists.

In A Science Strategy for Scotland, the Scottish Executive pledge to:

work with the science community, the network of Scottish science centres, and business and industry to harness their willingness to provide practical support to science education, and to promote young people's understanding of and enthusiasm for science as a career.

Recognising the importance of raising the level of scientific debate among the general public, A Science Strategy for Scotland also noted that the new network of Scottish science centres is the most recent addition to [the] landscape of organisations aiming to engage Scottish society and increase the understanding of science. With the ongoing review of the Science Curriculum 3-18, the centres are well placed to re-emphasise their education role, to meet the needs of ante-pre-school to S6 students.

A key objective of science centres is therefore to provide hands-on science experiences for children and adults in order to stimulate their interest in science: it is not feasible to deliver such experiences effectively through conventional educational routes. But the centres also play a number of other educational roles in supporting teachers and the teaching of science at primary and secondary school level, including initial teacher training; engaging the public in considering topical science issues; explaining the contribution of scientists and innovators to our heritage; and acting as beacons of Scotland's excellence in science and innovation. The science centres also have the potential to provide a platform for dissemination of current and future scientific discovery.

Collectively the centres provide the opportunity to deliver a very strong lead in demonstrating the value of science to our economy and quality of life. There is support and recognition from the science community, including the Scottish Science Advisory Committee and participants in the Science and the Parliament events, of the value of our centres, together with other science initiatives, in contributing to our knowledge economy, and of their value in reversing the downward trend of uptake in science subjects at school level and beyond.

A sub-group of the Joint Executive Group has been established to develop an education strategy for the network along the following lines:

Science Curriculum 3-18-based Policy Recommendations

• To provide a quality education product which complements and enhances the curriculum and which is consistent with curriculum developments
• To generate more visits, and increased number of repeat visitors
• To achieve greater recognition for the centres' contribution to science education

• To deliver programmes which are contemporary and of relevance to learners

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Increased number of schools reached on an annual basis

2. Increased numbers of pupils visiting on an annual basis

3. Increased percentage share of education market visiting science centres on an annual basis

4. Increased numbers of teachers and pupils rating visits as 'very good' and 'excellent'

5. Science centre exhibits/programmes complementing the curriculum

6. Increased number of teachers visiting science centres for CPD purposes, separate from school visits

7. Each pupil has experience of a science centre or science and society initiative

8. Each young person leaving school is equipped to engage with science as an informed citizen ¹⁷

Links with Further and Higher Education

The science centres already enjoy links with external bodies, but there is scope for these to be extended and improved, to share expertise and good practice and provide a platform for dissemination of knowledge. A principal aim would be to develop stronger links with further and higher education and particularly to engage with the public, with upper-secondary pupils, and with adult learners. There are clear benefits for institutions in closer involvement in the centres, notably in publicising their own departments and research, which in turn helps attract potential students. The following policy recommendations aim to encourage better engagement with higher and further education:

Links with Further and Higher Education - Policy Recommendations:

• To improve engagement with Further and Higher Education Institutions in scientific research and in raising awareness of such research, through events aimed specifically at adults
• To achieve greater collaboration between higher/further education and the centres via science communication to raise the science-literacy of the Scottish public
• To develop partnerships with further and higher education throughout the network

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Increased number of events aimed at adults developed in collaboration with Further and Higher Education Institutions

2. Scientific research disseminated via science centres

3. Raised public awareness and engagement in science and innovation ¹⁸

Links with Industry

There is significant scope for science centres' existing links with industry to be strengthened, to share expertise and best practice, and to help illustrate the commercial and 'real life' applications of science. As with engagement with further and higher education, there are benefits to industry in closer collaboration with the centres, which go beyond any 'corporate social responsibility' that businesses promote. Engagement with science centres provides industry with a platform on which to publicise new research and developments, and new products and processes. Links between the science centres and industry would be strengthened through the following:

Links with industry - Policy Recommendations:

• To improve engagement between companies and the public, in raising awareness of real-life scientific advances and applications, through events aimed specifically at adults
• To achieve greater collaboration with science festivals and similar initiatives to raise awareness of the application of science research
• To develop strategic partnerships with industry, including our SMEs, throughout the network

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Increased number of events aimed at adults developed in collaboration with industry/professional groups

2. Commercial applications of science and scientific innovations showcased in science centres

3. Raised public awareness and engagement in science and innovation ¹⁹

Encouraging Science as a Career Choice - Links with External Organisations

The science centres' existing links with key organisations should be strengthened to demonstrate more fully the links between science and employment, thereby encouraging people to follow careers in science-based subjects, and also communicating the advantages that an understanding of science, together with (where appropriate) a science education, brings to careers in many fields. This would be delivered through the following:

Encouraging Science as a Career Choice - Policy Recommendations:

• To improve engagement with the Scottish Science Technology Network and other initiatives aimed at promoting science-related careers, complementing the work of Careers Scotland in this field
• To achieve a greater understanding in careers in academia and in technology-based companies, including start-ups, by raising awareness of the relevance of science, through events aimed specifically at youths and adults
• To improve collaboration with science festivals and similar initiatives, to raise the science literacy of the Scottish public

Key deliverable outputs:

1. Increased number of science careers events developed in collaboration with appropriate organisations

2. Contribution provided toward the Scottish economy's requirement for a sufficient supply of scientists and engineers ²⁰

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