Public outreach
Introduction
Science deals with topics of general relevance for societies, and therefore has a strong potential to influence political decisions. The interaction between science and politics should be well balanced. Science should not dictate decisions, science should support wise decisions! On the one hand, science is funded by society and should consider itself as a service for society. On the other hand, although politics decides where the research money goes, the results should stay absolutely independent from any political interests. This is a challenge which needs permanent attention from both sides.How can political decisions be made on the basis of sound knowledge? In a democracy, the aim must be to let a well informed public participate in political decisions. This article on public outreach is about how to reach the general public with new insights resulting from scientific work. Although it is a matter of general interest, the focus here is on coastal research.
Just an example: in the context of climate change people who live at the coast face threats such as floods caused by rising sea levels in the future. The question is how to deal with it. Are the dykes safe? Will further heightening of the dykes help to protect coastal areas? Is there a limit up to which dykes can be heightened? Will some people have to leave and move out of certain coastal regions? In what time period sea level will rise by how much? Who can give reliable answers? How can the general public be engaged in the process of decision making which is not driven just by fear but by sound planning on the basis of long term strategies? For this purpose, the public – assumed here as being non-experts on average – first of all has to be informed in a manner that facilitates understanding of complex and multi-disciplinary matters which is originally dealt with in a highly specialised scientific language.
The structure of the present article is as follows. First, it will consider what research institutions themselves can do to inform the public. Further, facilities will be illuminated that play a mediator role. This can be networks and non-governmental organisations or museums and science centres.
In the first version, the majority of examples introduced below are from Germany. Other authors are invited to add facilities and experiences from other countries.
