Science education for non-scientific staff

[Angela Bowman]

Good morning,

I’m wondering how other organizations handle mission-related science education for non-scientific staff (e.g., field teams, fundraisers, etc.). Do you have a set curriculum? Are there defined expectations of proficiency, perhaps aligned with role?

Thanks,

Angela

Foundation Fighting Blindness

[Julia Miglets-Nelson]

Hi Angela,

We do not have a set curriculum or proficiency expectations for our staff. There are no scientists on staff at the American Brain Foundation, and in fact, nearly everyone is a humanities major. We see this as a positive – our team asks lots of questions of our grantees to understand their work, and staff seek out resources and training on their own. While we don’t have explicit expectations for scientific training/education for staff, there is an expectation to uphold a culture of curiosity. We will also connect our fundraisers and donors to scientific experts on our board and research advisory committee when the need arises.

Staff do not evaluate research, and we use expert reviewers and a research advisory committee to make funding decisions and help “translate” science for our staff. We’re also investing in communications training for our funded researchers to help them share their research and the stakes of their work with non-specialized audiences. We’ve also started interviewing current and past grantees to learn about their research, and we always ask them to explain their research as if they’re talking to a grandparent or child, which often takes a few tries!

Thanks for posing this question – I’m curious about others’ approach!

Julia

JULIA MIGLETS-NELSON, PhD

Director, Research Programs & Partnerships

American Brain Foundation

[[email protected]]

Hi Angela,

For context, TSC Alliance has 25 staff, 7 of whom are scientists at some level (3 BS, 2 MPH, 2 PhD). We do not have a structured way of educating non-scientific staff on the science
of TSC, but those in outreach, communications, and development tend to pick it up from presentations they attend, or from helping prepare materials. Because we deal with a single rare genetic disease, it seems people pick up some key basics pretty well because
the disease is at the heart of everything we do.

We set up TSC Academy a few years ago primarily to educate our community volunteers who are leaders in their local TSC communities and/or who are advocates for federal funding of TSC research. It is free, so you are welcome to log in and look at as much as
you wish (https://tscalliance.tovuti.io/). We have an expectation that volunteers for whom we pay for travel to come to advocate on Capitol Hill will have completed the relevant courses of TSC Academy.

Steve

—————————————————————-
Steven L. Roberds, PhD | Chief Scientific Officer

TSC Alliance® | Hope no matter how complex^TM
Main: 301-562-9890 | Direct: 240-638-4645

tscalliance.org

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