CHICAGO COUNCIL ON SCIENCE ANDTECHNOLOGY

Being a Chicago‐based organization, we aim to increase scientific literacy in the Chicagoland area and encourage public engagement with the scientific community. We also want to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders to study and pursue STEM based careers. While our primary focus is on the adult community (18 years of age and older) we do partner with institutions that are dedicated to STEM outreach with students and children. We are maintaining a network of community organizations and schools focusing on women and girls in STEM and seeking out community partners that serve a more diverse segment of the population.

It is our goal to strategically increase the diversity of our audience by taking steps to expand our reach through a greater variety of program locations, formats, and venue types. C2ST also aims to diversify its speaker pool to be more representative of the general Chicago population. We plan to increase our physical and online audience by using our social media accounts and working with our Artist in Residence to create engaging and educational video teasers for upcoming programs. It is our intent to increase our reach with teachers and parents at middle and high schools in the Chicago area with our Chicago Public School system partnership, different area private schools, and our C2ST Educator Fellow. Besides working with regional partners, national professional societies, and local maker spaces, we also plan to work with partners who serve a more diverse segment of the population (Chicago Public Library, Chicago Public Schools, and area museums).
Overarching Goals:
- Be a voice for the scientific community in the metropolitan Chicago area.
- Enhance the public understanding and appreciation of science and technology (S and T) through public discussions of emerging and important S and T policy issues.
- Provide opportunities for members of the scientific community to meet each other and develop a greater sense of identity.
- Link academic, business, and public policy leaders to build consensus for science education, technology innovation, and robust knowledge ­economy growth in Chicago and the Midwest.
- Maintain a working relationship with the science journalism community in the metropolitan Chicago area.
- Attract new science, engineering and technology based industries to the Chicagoland area.

C2ST will undertake the following initiatives:

Engage our audience by diversifying programming by adding more venues and formats. Examples are: pub science programs, book tours, and hosting booths or tables at local science festivals and existing community events. Our goal is to educate as many people as possible, and diversifying our venues and audience is key to this facet of our mission.

We assembled an Auxiliary Board of members who are early‐to mid‐career professionals. They have been involved in program planning, marketing, engagement with a younger audience, and development of fundraising activities. As we have seen at speakeasy events, a younger audience is interested in learning and involvement with the sciences. We will continue to cultivate the enthusiasm of this Board so the members are a force of inspiration and a connection to young Chicago professionals.

Take a more active approach to social media by posting more frequently and tagging organizations whose followers might be interested in attending our programs. We saw diversity at a number of programs after tagging various organizations. It is a much more effective way to reach thousands of people if a statement is shared, rather than sending emails to contacts.

Continue to strengthen our partnership with the Chicago Public Schools and other private schools in the area, to provide science teachers with the opportunity for professional development (CPS teachers receive CPDU credits by attending C2ST programs) and bring programs to middle and high schools to engage students, teachers, parents, and the surrounding community.

Partner with professional societies to provide a public outreach component to their existing scientific dialogue. This took place in 2017 with the Quark Matter Conference in February and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in April. C2ST helped produce public programs to build a bridge between scientists and the population at large, reinforcing societal implications of the research showcased.

Forge relationships with city incubator spaces and indirectly support the development of the city's labor pool by showcasing the importance of the STEM industries. At our programs, people are not just learning about scientific ideas. They are exposed to a wide range of institutions and organizations that are major employers.

Continue to connect with a diverse audience at Chicago Public Libraries. A partnership formed with the Harold Washington Center specifically. This staple in the city was established for learning and community development. They have continued to update their services, adding a vast number of computers, a 3­D printing lab for the public to share as well as a wide range of events in their auditorium. It is evident that STEM information and technology needs to be shared with all communities.

C2ST brings together Chicago's scientific leaders ­­- academic, corporate, government institutions, museums, professional societies, universities and national laboratories ­­to provide a forum for the discussion of current and relevant issues of scientific interest that are at the forefront of the public interest.

Our areas of programming interest are categorized in the following manner: Life Science; Climate, Energy and the Environment; Physical Science; Science and Society; Technology, Engineering and Innovation; Health and Wellness. Programs are not limited to these thematic areas, but give our audiences a way to seek out additional programs they may enjoy based around scientific areas or themes.

Our women in STEM initiative continues to support women and girls at all stages of their careers and education in all STEM fields. To better serve the Chicagoland community, we now hold these programs at least once a year, and as frequently as four times annually. We furthered this initiative by increasing the number of female speakers to 50% of our annual totals. Gender diversification of our speakers approached 45% the last three fiscal years.

C2ST's monthly program, "C2ST Speakeasy," allows us to reach a new audience of science‐minded Chicagoans. The audience for these programs has been younger than our typical audience, and has attained a lower level of formal education. The casual atmosphere facilitates easier interaction between the audience and the speakers, making for a very engaging and fulfilling program. We plan to continue developing this initiative's offerings and reputation by attracting a larger audience and more prestigious speakers.

C2ST's Artist in Residence initiative continues to thrive as comedian and journalist, Aaron Freeman helps promote science and technology to the greater Chicagoland area through a different lens. Freeman has created short videos on C2ST's behalf, both with our program presenters and to promote upcoming events, on topical events in the news, and on popular culture. He has contributed program ideas, moderated panel discussions, presented a Speakeasy program and hosted special events.

In 2016, C2ST partnered with the Chicago Public School system to designate a teacher the CPS Educator Fellow. This teacher acts as a liaison between the two organizations to help each understand the needs of the other. Our current Educator Fellow is Kori Milroy, Science Teacher at Skinner West Classical School.

C2ST strives to link academic, business, nonprofit and governmental leaders to establish an overarching umbrella institution that is concerned with public STEM outreach and scientific literacy. C2ST serves as a liaison and resource for the scientific community, and makes connections between various constituent groups within this community.

Our partner institutions include: Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Horizon Pharma, AbbVie, The Morton Arboretum, Museum of Science and Industry, Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and ARCS Foundation, as well as research institutes, techpark innovation centers and incubators at all of the major Chicagoland universities.

We work with these institutions for several reasons, including increasing the quality of our programs, driving awareness of our events and attendance, encouraging engagement with our organization, and to afford greater public access to our programming and scientific developments.

In an attempt to reach the broader public, C2ST hosted tables/booths or partnered with local events that were already taking place including: Chicago Women in STEM Symposium, Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER) 2019 Distinguished Lectureship Series, March for Science Chicago Expo at the Museum Campus, Brookfield Zoo's Party for the Planet on Earth Day, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's Open House to celebrate their 50th Anniversary, Quark Matter Conference 2017 at the Hyatt Regency, ASBMB Annual Meeting 2017, and the French Consulate's Annual Science Festival.

We also started our Science in the Parks initiative. This initiative grew out of an impetus here at C2ST to reach communities that were underrepresented in our audiences. We wanted spaces that were established in Chicago neighborhoods where we were not able to reach previously. This is a concerted effort between C2ST and the Chicago Park District to bring free, family-friendly programming to Chicago’s communities and make science more accessible to everyone.

Media relationships that have emerged as a result of our successful programming, and that are working to broaden the scope of C2ST are: Chicago Public Radio's WBEZ, PBS/WTTW, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, Shore Magazine, IIT's Tech News, Fox News Chicago, and WGN News.

The Chicago Public School system agreed to promote C2ST programs to its high school science teachers and science coordinators. Further, they agreed to issue professional development credit hours to CPS teachers who attend C2ST programming. This is a significant step in promoting our mission, and making our quality programming and vast archive of materials available to science educators.

With adequate funding to continue this work, we can build upon our current capacity in a way that makes philosophical and operational sense for the organization and that positions us to better fill the existing need.