Analysis of indicators to promote Scientific Culture: a decade of activity in the CSIC

Abstract

Activities to promote Scientific Culture have become common practice in research institutes, which allocate financial and human resources to them. Scientific and technical staff increasingly incorporate this mission into their traditional research and teaching tasks. However, while research and teaching have established indicators, Scientific Culture activities are still considered unusual and are rarely recognized at an institutional level. In this sense, we believe that developing indicators for Scientific Culture would help change this situation and obtain objective data that could be used to orient social communication actions in science.

The Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), through its Deputy Vice Presidency of Scientific Culture, has proposed an analysis of the activities developed that help define appropriate Scientific Culture indicators. The CSIC has classified the Scientific Culture activity undertaken between 2011 and 2019, using the following indicators: 1) financial investment; (2) staff dedicated to Scientific Culture; (3) the number and type of activities held; and (4) the public reached. Among the main conclusions, we can highlight that the CSIC has a fairly stable critical mass of about 200 people who are dedicated to Scientific Culture endeavours. Every year around 15,000 activities are carried out (in-person and virtual) with the participation of around 3,000 CSIC workers. Each year more than a million and a half people attended in-person activities. 2020 will be the subject of an individualized study, as the special circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic have made it a unique exercise with its own analysis identity.