Engagement Leads to Crowdfunded Science Jarrett Byrnes and Jai Ranganathan National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
May 10, 2015
Engagement Leads to Crowdfunded Science
Jarrett Byrnes and Jai Ranganathan
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Data from: http://dellweb.bfa.nsf.gov/awdfr3/default.asp http://report.nih.gov/success_rates/Success_ByActivity.cfm
Science Funding Rates Declining
stimulus
Public Science Literacy Needs Work
Ecklund et al. 2012 PLoS One
Academy's Attitudes Towards Outreach Not So Good
In scientists’ own words, science outreach is a bleak prospect with limited room for improvement. Seventy-four percent of respondents list one or more significant impediments to their ability to do science outreach, yet less than half have concrete ideas for how science outreach could be improved.
Ecklund et al. 2012 PLoS One
Little Reward Structure for Outreach
Scientists also perceive that they are rewarded little for science outreach work, especially in the tenure process.
Science Communication Exploding Online
scienceseeker.org blogs.scientificamerican.com
Science Communication Exploding Online
sciencepond.com twitter.com/jebyrnes/eemb
135% of goal!!
#SciFund & Engagement • What is Crowdfunding?
• Engagement & Outreach: The Keys to the Crowdfunding Kingdom
• The #SciFund Challenge
• Lessons and Benefits of Engaging via Crowdfunding
What is Crowdfunding?
The solicitation of small donations from a large number of people for specific targeted projects.
Anatomy of a Crowdfunding Proposal 1. Goal • accomplishment
2. Time Limit • urgency
3. Proposal • clarity is key
4. Video • accessibility
5. Rewards • engagement
From a Simple Proposal Springs Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
Huge Universe of Crowdfunding Site
A Few Dominant Platforms
>
Arts Crowdfunding Exceeds Government Funding
Many Crowdfunding sites JUST for Science
#SciFund & Engagement • What is Crowdfunding?
• Engagement & Outreach: The Keys to the Crowdfunding Kingdom
• The #SciFund Challenge
• Lessons and Benefits of Engaging via Crowdfunding
The future?
doctorzen.net
How did Palmer Do it?
Wikipedia.org
twitter.com/amandaplamer
It Takes Time to Crowdfund a Discipline
Waananen 2012 NY Times
Millions of Dollars Are Possible…
Waananen 2012 NY Times
Built-in Audiences are Crucial
Waananen 2012 NY Times
Science Can be Crowdfunded at High Levels
Organization with a long history of Outreach
The future?
doctorzen.net
Ecklund et al. 2012 PLoS One
Culture of Science Fears Outreach
‘‘I’m not sure you want most of the people that I know here to go out and try to talk to the public. They’re [the public] gonna say ‘stop spending my tax dollars on this person!’’’
Yet only two respondents (2 percent of the sample) suggested training scientists how to be better communicators.
Ecklund et al. 2012 PLoS One
Starting at Ground Zero with the Public
"When somebody doesn’t believe what you are doing is true or has any value, then trying to explain to them what you are doing, you’re starting from this cultural foundation that is a complete disconnect."
How can Science Make Crowdfunding Work?
Engagement is key If you build it, they will come.
#SciFund & Engagement • What is Crowdfunding?
• Engagement & Outreach: The Keys to the Crowdfunding Kingdom
• The #SciFund Challenge
• Lessons and Benefits of Engaging via Crowdfunding
An experiment: can scientists use crowdfunding to communicate their science and to raise money
for their research?
The point is not just cash, but engagement.
Who: 49 scientists crowdfunding for their science
When: November 1 - December 15
How much: $3,500 (median ask), $500-20,000 (range)
Where:
Who is #SciFund?
scifund.wordpress.com
Twitter: #SciFund
Facebook Page
SciFund Google group
Other Means of Engagement & Community Building
Post-#SciFund Data 1. Rockethub server logs
2. Public web statistics (e.g. Youtube hits)
3. Survey of participants (80 questions)
• Covered by CNN, Forbes, Scientific American, New Scientist, MSNBC, and many other news outlets in US and internationally
• $76,230 raised
• ~1200 donors
• 10 projects fully funded
• average project yield: $1556
• max project yield: $10,171(170% of original goal)
#SciFund by the Numbers
Round 1: $76,230 over 45 Days
Small Donations Drive #SciFund
The #SciFund Numbers Game: Contributors
R2=0.86
Two Roads to Success
1. Friends & Family
2. Eyeballs • Pre-goal (size) • Post-Goal (color)
R2=0.85
Your Scientific Fanbase and Project Views
R2=0.78
Creating Content Fanbase
R2=0.34
Online presence
1 blog post / month ≈���53 Twitter followers
Scientific fanbase
1 Twitter follower ≈���1 project
view
Project views
110 project views ≈���
1 contributor
Money for research Average raised ≈���$1,600
Friends and ���family
50 Facebook friends ≈���
1 contributor
Donor���contributions���
Average contribution ≈���
$55
Funding target met 20 project views ≈���
1 contributor
The Secret to #SciFund: Engagement
You need to build a scientific fanbase! It is not possible to be an overnight success!
#SciFund & Engagement • What is Crowdfunding?
• Engagement & Outreach: The Keys to the Crowdfunding Kingdom
• The #SciFund Challenge
• Lessons and Benefits of Engaging via Crowdfunding
If you build it, they will come
If you build it, they will come
How Can I Crowdfund my Science?
• Build an audience for your work
- Crowdfunding, Blog, Tweet, Science Cafes, etc.
• Get trained in outreach
- Media & social network training
• Work to change academic culture & policy
- Hiring & promotion practices
- Collaboration with media & arts departments
Number of fans
Inte
rest
in y
our
rese
arch
Super-engaged fans that contribute $ to your research
Larger number of fans that don’t contribute, but are still impacted by your science message
A version of the 1000 True Fans Model
Larger Benefits to Crowdfunding
• Build bridges between science & society
• Enhanced science literacy
• Science incubator for new projects
• Metric to assess scientists' ability to connect
• Look at it as funded outreach training
Scientists Broader public
reaching out with science message for its own sake
research cash via crowdfunding
Collaborators: Barbara Walker, Zen Faulkes
Participants in Round 1: Aditya Rao, Ali Swanson, Andi Wolfe, Andrea Lucky, Barbara Walker, Breanna Putman, Chip Cochran, Daniel Karp, Daniel Mietchen, Debi Kilb, Diane Kelly, Eric Abelson, Eric Basham, Holly Menninger, Jarrett Byrnes, Jeffrey Bodwin, Jennifer Schmitt, Jessica Carilli, John Gust, Jorge Mederos, Kalani Kirk Hausman, Katelyn Cavanaugh, Kelly Lyons, Kelly Weinersmith, Kevin Fomalont, Kristina Killgrove, Lee Worden, Levi Lewis, Lindsey Peavey, Luis Valledor, Luke Frishkoff, Marisa Alonso Nuñez, Marisa Tellez , Matthew Hutchins, Matthew S. Leslie, Melia Nafus, Rebecca Rashid Achterman, Robin Freeman, Ross Whippo, Scott Chamberlain, Shermin de Silva, Steve Herbert, Susan Tsang, Timothy Bonebrake, Walter Weare, Yoav Ram, Zen Faulkes
Round 2 is Ongoing!
Projects: scifund.rockethub.com
Blog: scifundchallenge.org
Twitter: #SciFund