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RSC Networks Newsletter

These monthly newsletters aim to keep all member networks updated with news describing how to get involved, as well as information of relevant events, services and new initiatives from the RSC Networks team. If you require further information about any of the items in the newsletter, or have any comments or ideas for content please contact the Networks team.

Committee members and representatives are encouraged to disseminate this information, as appropriate, to colleagues and other members. E-alert request forms can be downloaded from the Useful Forms and Documents page. Up to date lists of members can be obtained by emailing the Networks Team.
 

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Archive for February, 2020
Networks Newsletter – March 2020
Dear colleague,

Welcome to the Networks Newsletter, our way to keep our member network committee members and representatives up to date with RSC activities, services and new initiatives.

This month’s Newsletter contains:
  • Upcoming Deadlines
  • Upcoming Events
  • Spotlight: Public engagement - know your audience!
  • Communications from across the RSC
  • Latest updates on our policy work
 
Upcoming Deadlines
 
10 March
12 March
24 March
26 March
01 April
07 April
09 April
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 19 March to additional networks
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 19 March
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 2 April to additional networks
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 2 April
Deadline for Local Section and Interest Group Top-Up Fund applications
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 16 April to additional networks
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 16 April
Upcoming Events
 
3-4 March
05 March
19 March
02 April 2020
16 April 2020
7-9 July
29-30 September
#RSCPoster Twitter Conference
Member e-alerts
Member e-alerts
Member e-alerts
Member e-alerts
2019 Member Networks Conference
2nd Chemical Science symposium: How can machine learning and autonomy accelerate chemistry?
Spotlight: Public engagement - know your audience!

What is "public engagement"? What works? What doesn't?

This month Hassun Zafar, our Public Engagement Officer, talks to us about the importance of knowing your audience when planning public engagement activities. This is the first in a series of articles to help you create, plan, and evaluate new ideas to interact with members of the public.

Read the full article on the Networks Newsletter blog, and if you have any questions or suggestions for public engagement activities please let Hassun know!


Read Hassun's article about knowing your audienceRead Hassun's first
 
Communications from across the RSC

Here are updates about events and activities from our Outreach, Careers, Events, International, and Research & Innovation teams, as well as the Chemists’ Community Fund and RSC Publishing.

New expense form for member expenses
We've recently updated the form members and non-members use to claim expenses. You can download the form by clicking on the link below or from the Useful Forms and Documents page: www.rsc.org/FormsDocuments

Download the new expense form here



#RSCPoster Twitter Conference – starts 3 March, 12:00 UTC
The conference that anyone can attend!

The #RSCPoster Twitter Conference is an annual event that has become a staple on many scientific community calendars.

Held entirely online over 24 hours, the unique format removes the environmental and financial costs of attending a traditional conference, and helps scientific researchers share their work and network across disciplines, wherever they are in the world.

Last year, more than 3,000 researchers took part, and posters and conversations were seen by over 2 million people around the world. This year you can submit a poster in one of 12 subject areas, from analytical chemistry to engineering. Posters win prizes if chosen by the subject chairs.

Search #RSCPoster on Twitter tomorrow and join in!

Find your hashtag and get involved on 3 March



Member Networks Conference 2020
All committee Secretaries have received details of this year’s conference along with a request for the following information by 1 April 2020:
  • The name of the delegate who has agreed to represent your committee at the conference.
  • Any subjects you would like to discuss with relevant staff – events, legal, communications, etc.
  • Any issues you would like to be raised during the Interest Group Forum, the Local Sections meeting or the Analytical Division Regions meeting.
We would like to highlight that the Grants for Carers and the Assistance Grants are available to support attendance at this event so please do bear this in mind when discussing availability to represent your committee.



Chemists’ Community Fund Workshops
The Chemists’ Community Fund organise ‘Improve Your Understanding of Wellbeing and Resilience’ and ‘Retirement in Sight’ workshops around the UK for RSC members.

To find out more, or to book a place on one of these free workshops, please go to: rsc.li/ccfevents

Please do promote these workshops to anyone that you think would be interested in attending.

If you would like to host one of these workshops in your local section then please do get in touch with the Fund team on ccfund@rsc.org.



International Conference on Chemistry Education
Cape Town, South Africa, 13-17 July 2020

The 26th IUPAC International Conference on Chemistry Education (ICCE 2020) is jointly organised by chemistry educators from the 4 local universities, with support from universities in South Africa.

The conference will be organised around the theme of a 2020 vision of chemistry education and for the first time ever, there will be a Physical Sciences Teachers’ Day, on the 17th of July, as part of the conference. To support teachers without funding to attend this, we have provided sponsorship for bursaries through the ‘Sponsor a Teacher’ initiative to enable teachers to attend.

The themes of the Congress can be found here and abstract submission is open until 16 March.

Learn more on the Events Database



Introducing Materials Advances
A new gold open access journal from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Free to read and free to publish in for the first 2 years, the research in this journal will build on and complement the materials content already published across the Royal Society of Chemistry journal portfolio.
Jointly led by JMC A, B & C editors-in-chief Anders Hagfeldt, (EPFL, Switzerland), Jeroen Cornelissen, (University of Twente, the Netherlands) and Natalie Stingelin, (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA), our experienced JMC associate editors will also handle submissions to Materials Advances. This ensures a consistent approach and streamlining the assessment process for authors and reviewers.

Read more about Materials Advances


 
Latest updates on our policy work
With a programme of activities spanning research funding, mobility of scientists, open access, chemicals regulation, teacher supply, curriculum and much more, our goal is to shape the development of policy relevant to the chemical sciences.

New Global Talent visa open
The new Global Talent visa is now open, replacing the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa. The new visa route allows successful applicants to work in the UK and is granted for a period of up to five years at a time without a sponsor or entry requirements such as language tests and minimum salary thresholds.

Learn more about the visa programme here



Updated RSC position statement on Open Access and Plan S
In 2018 a coalition of research funders, including UKRI and Wellcome Trust, expressed their commitment to Plan S, an approach to achieving Open Access. Informed by our roles as a learned society publisher and as a voice for the chemical sciences community, and drawing on evidence from our activities to amplify the voice of researchers, we developed a position statement on Plan S. The statement will inform our response to the UKRI Open Access Review Consultation that was launched recently.

Read our position statement here



A Chemicals Strategy for a Sustainable Chemicals Revolution
The RSC has published a new document ahead of Defra launching its consultation in the spring on a new Chemicals Strategy for the UK as part of the 25 year plan for the environment. We are advocating that the evolution of the strategy develops around four core pillars: education, innovation, circular economy and regulation.

Read our sustainable chemicals strategy here


 
Thank you for reading!

This Newsletter has been tailored to you, but the full version can be found on the Networks Newsletter blog. Please read the online version and get in touch with suggestions for what you would like included or feedback about what we've sent you!


Kind regards,

The Networks Team
Fiona, Aurora and Debbie

 
Posted by Aurora Walshe on Mar 2, 2020 3:00 PM GMT
Public engagement 1: Know your audience!
This month sees the first in a series of articles from Hassun El-Zafar, our Public Engagement Officer, telling us about the importance of knowing your audience when planning public engagement activities. If you’d like to get in touch or share your thoughts with Hassun you can find him on Twitter @HassunElZafar or email at zafarh@rsc.org. Unfortunately, since leaving the North, he is unable to take messages via Owls or Ravens.  


We all love public engagement. Or, at least, we all should love public engagement. After all, what’s not to love about the idea that contemporary, boundary-pushing and pioneering research is made accessible for the public, rather than being known only to an exclusive pocket of research, academic or industry experts?

Over the past seven months, I’ve had the privilege to lead on the Royal Society of Chemistry’s public engagement activities. It’s been a phenomenal ride in which I’ve been able to meet, connect and work with many fantastic individuals and organisations across the UK and world. And by doing so I’ve being able to have some honest reflections on the impact of mainstream public engagement in science, particularly in the chemical sciences.

Before I delve into these reflections, it’s worth mentioning that prior to my post here at the Royal Society of Chemistry, I worked as a secondary science teacher and ran several outreach programmes in numerous inner-city areas across south Yorkshire. I was the type of teacher who’d voluntarily run STEAM clubs, science weeks, and organise informal extra-curricular events for students and parents to meet with STEAM industry and research experts. And yes, I was unapologetically that science teacher who’d find any excuse to do the biggest, most colourful and impressive science demonstrations. 

I believed then, as I do now, in Maya Angelou’s beautiful quote in which she states that ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’. I think this quote helps build a metaphorical scaffold for my reflection, and a link to the grander overview of science engagement. After all, there is, and probably never will be, one singular viewpoint of how science engagement is best done. But I’d like to think that we could all at least agree that if an audience feels bored, condescended to or intimidated by our approaches, then something needs to change.

On that note, here’s the beginning of my five-part blog (I promised to not overdo them like the Fast and Furious movies!) where I’ll share my thoughts on public engagement. I’d love to hear from you too! You can get in touch via Twitter @HassunElZafar and email zafar@rsc.org.


Blog One: Know Your Audience
Let me set the scene.
I’m at my desk in the RSC offices with a fair trade banana and Yorkshire Tea cuppa by my side.
The phone rings.
I answer enthusiastically, and it’s our keen member Tim (not a real person). He’s got a fantastic idea to engage the general public with climate science (#ClimateActionNow) and would like us to support his idea with £10,000, a room in Burlington House on a weekday evening, and some complimentary wine and canapés (yummy!).
I listen attentively to the plans that feature invited high-profile university professors, PhD students, and international industry experts delivering seminars and lectures throughout the evening. When he’s finished I ask one simple question… “Who’s the target audience, Tim?”
“Oh, it’s a free event, anyone can attend! So the general public!”
“But you’re inviting 56 people in a venue which has a capacity of 60…”
“Oh…”

I must reiterate in the strongest way possible that this is not a real incident, but it is based on bucket loads of interactions I’ve had.

Knowing your audience is important. Being honest about who your audience is is even more important. As the head of one of the largest science festivals once told us, “the majority of people at Comic Con are most likely comic fans, and the majority of people at a mainstream science festival are most likely science fans. We should embrace that and use it to inform practise, rather than shying away and pretending to do something which we’re not”. These words hit a chord. Perhaps public engagement doesn’t have a right or wrong audience (because all humans, including scientists, are part of the public after all), but good public engagement does have a specific audience, which it aims to have an impact towards.

Here’s a little activity: next time we’re about to do a public engagement activity/event/campaign, write down who the target audience is, and try to be as specific as possible. Common terms such as “high science cultural capital” and “young people” are popular, but are actually pretty vague. For example, the term "young people" can encompass anyone aged 0-35 (and that’s being harsh on anyone over 35…) and in that group you have toddlers, primary children, KS3 students, GCSE students, A-level students, undergraduates, post-graduates, postdocs, PhD students, “young working professionals”, young backpackers, young tourists, “the science museum's lates date audience” or more broadly speaking, the total of approximately 32 million people in the UK alone.

The more specific the target audience, the more tailored the activity will be to meet their needs, which means the activity will probably be more impactful in shaping perceptions, advancing understanding and changing behaviours (trust me, I was rated outstanding by OFSTED for a reason).

Now, there may be some people reading this with the thought that I’m wrong, and that something like a “one size fits all” approach can work. It probably does to some extent. I mean, there’s a reason why millions of people still watch TEDx videos, right? But even then, the best TEDx speakers know their audience (Donovan, 2012).

Subsequently, knowing your audience is great, but in the next blog I’m going to argue that it may not be enough. Should we be moving away from a model where we create for an audience to a model we create with an audience?
 
Posted by Aurora Walshe on Mar 2, 2020 2:05 PM GMT
Networks Newsletter – February 2020

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the Networks Newsletter, our way to keep our member network committee members and representatives up to date with RSC activities, services and new initiatives.

This month’s Newsletter contains:
 

  • Upcoming Deadlines
  • Upcoming Events
  • Spotlight: Get the most out of the Brand Centre
  • Communications from across the RSC
 
Upcoming Deadlines
 
06 February
07 February
11 February
13 February
24 February
25 February
27 February
29 February
Close of applications for Global Women's Breakfast grants
Deadline for 2019 Financial Reports
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 20 February to additional networks
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 20 February
Deadline for 2019 Annual Reports
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 5 March to additional networks
Deadline for E-alerts going out on 5 March
Close of call for nominations for the Analyst Emerging Investigator Lectureship
 
Upcoming Events
 
06 February
20 February
3-4 March
05 March
19 March
7-9 July
Member e-alerts
Member e-alerts
#RSCPoster Twitter Conference
Member e-alerts
Member e-alerts
2019 Member Networks Conference
 
Spotlight: Get the most out of the Brand Centre

All Interest Groups, Local Sections and Division Regions have access to the RSC Brand Centre to order promotional items such as pens, flyers, and even pop-up stands.

Read the full article on the Networks Newsletter blog to learn more about what's available, and if you have feedback about the Brand Centre or suggestions for materials to include please let us know!

Read about the resources available for member networks


 
Communications from across the RSC

Here are updates about events and activities from our Outreach, Careers, Events, International, and Research & Innovation teams, as well as the Chemists’ Community Fund and RSC Publishing.

Correct link: New online event registration system
Unfortunately, the link for the new event registration form in the January Newsletter was broken. The correct link is: rsc.li/member-networks-event-support

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Try out the online system here


Apply for funding for Global Women’s Breakfast events by 6 Feb
We are proudly supporting the 2020 Global Women's Breakfast, taking place worldwide on Wednesday 12 February. The theme for this year is “Building bonds to create future leaders”. We are offering up to £500 for those hosting events.

Find out more and apply here by Thursday 6 February


Thank you for making IYPT a success!
It’s been our great privilege to lead the UK’s contributions to the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT). IYPT has allowed us to acknowledge our profession, our members and our communities through the celebration of our most recognisable tool. From public lectures and outreach events, to teacher resources and grants for member networks, themed journals and books, the RSC worked to inspire people of all ages, backgrounds and experience to engage with the periodic table of elements.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all members that assisted and engaged with IYPT over the year. Your help was invaluable and we couldn't have done it without you.

An IYPT round-up with key statistics and activity highlights will be included in April’s edition of Voice.

Thank you once again for your support and enthusiasm, and for making IYPT such a memorable year!


Member Networks Conference 2020
All committee Secretaries have received details of this year’s conference along with a request for the following information by 1 April 2020:
  • The name of the delegate who has agreed to represent your committee at the conference.
  • Any subjects you would like to discuss with relevant staff – events, legal, communications, etc.
  • Any issues you would like to be raised during the Interest Group Forum, the Local Sections meeting or the Analytical Division Regions meeting.

We would like to highlight that the Grants for Carers and the Assistance Grants are available to support attendance at this event so please do bear this in mind when discussing availability to represent your committee.


Have you heard of our new Assistance Grants?
We are providing financial assistance to help chemists who require additional support to attend professional events, resulting from disability, health conditions or impairments.

With our Assistance Grants, you can now apply for up to £1,000 per year to help with the cost of specific assistance or support needed for you to attend a chemistry-related meeting, conference, workshop or professional development event. Each application will be considered on its own merits. Please see rsc.li/assistance-grants/ for more information.

These grants are supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemists’ Community Fund.

Find out more here


Please respond to the Member Survey by 14 February
The biennial member survey is now live until Friday 14 February.

As most of you will be aware, the member survey is a crucial tool that helps us make decisions on how we improve our services and benefits for members. As such we would greatly appreciate it if you could encourage your communities to participate in the research as you interact with them in the coming month.

All affiliate, Associate Members, Members and Fellows will have received a personalised link that will allow them to stop and start, returning to where they left off each time. As such, it is important that you look out for the email containing your unique link, if you or your members have not received a link please contact membership@rsc.org.

Please note our student members will not be participating in this search and will receive a separate survey in late February.


#RSCPoster: The conference that anyone can attend!
Starts 3 March 2020, 12:00 (UTC)

The #RSCPoster Twitter Conference is an annual event that has become a staple on many scientific community calendars.

Held entirely online over 24 hours, the unique format removes the environmental and financial costs of attending a traditional conference, and helps scientific researchers share their work and network across disciplines, wherever they are in the world.

Last year, more than 3,000 researchers took part, and posters and conversations were seen by over 2 million people around the world. This year you can submit a poster in one of 12 subject areas, from analytical chemistry to engineering. Posters win prizes if chosen by the subject chairs.

Register now to take part on 3 March, and help us to spread the word: rsc.li/rsc-poster-2020

Find your hashtag and get involved on 3 March


Our new careers campaign – Chemistry: Making The Difference
This week we launched our exciting campaign aiming to inspire school age children to study chemistry and pursue careers in the chemical sciences. The bold campaign – based around a series of short videos – has been developed to engage teenagers, a generation who are highly motivated by the issues facing the world, and more determined than ever to impact on them.

This video series showcases the work that chemical scientists are doing to tackle these issues at the moment, as well as providing a glimpse into how chemistry could tackle future challenges. It also includes the relaunch of our careers website, A Future in Chemistry. The campaign will run across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat – please feel free to share our posts with the young people you know, as well as with their parents.

Explore the campaign


Celebrating 100 years of the Chemists’ Community Fund
This year marks 100 years since the formation of the Benevolent Fund for members of the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland in memory of their members who fell during WWI.

The Chemists’ Community Fund will be commemorating this milestone anniversary during 2020 and utilising it to raise awareness to RSC members of the range of support available to them.

The Fund is very grateful for the support that our member volunteers have provided and continue to provide to the Fund and our beneficiaries, much of this work being through the local sections.

Find out how the Fund can help members


Looking to talk to a career adviser?
Our career and professional development team will be out and about across the UK meeting with professional members to provide careers advice, guidance and support. Across Spring, the team will be visiting Stevenage, Derby, Cardiff, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork and Wolverhampton. We also offer twice-monthly London appointments that can be booked online.

Sessions are also held via Skype or phone – email the team to book today.

Book your appointment today


Analytical Division Council Vacancies
There are vacancies for an Honorary Secretary and two elected members of Analytical Division Council to take office from the AGM in July 2020, for a three-year term, until the AGM in July 2023.

Visit the webpage for more information on the roles and how to nominate.

Complete your nomination by 17:00 UTC Friday 7 February 2020


2020 Undergraduate Research Bursaries open in January
Our Undergraduate Research Bursaries will be open for applications on Monday 20 January with a deadline of 24 February.

If you need that extra pair of hands over the summer or want to explore a new project, apply with a student by 2pm on 24 February 2020.

Learn more here


2020 Analytical Research Forum – abstract submissions open
12 June 2020, Burlington House, London

Early career researchers from analytical communities are invited to present their work alongside high profile analytical scientists.

Oral abstract submission deadline - 24 February 2020
Poster abstract submission deadline - 13 April 2020

Learn more here


 
Thank you for reading!


This Newsletter has been tailored to you, but the full version can be found on the Networks Newsletter blog. Please read the online version and get in touch with suggestions for what you would like included or feedback about what we've sent you!

Send us your feedback

Kind regards,

The Networks Team
Fiona, Aurora and Debbie

 

Posted by Aurora Walshe on Feb 5, 2020 2:02 PM GMT
Get the most out of the Brand Centre

All Interest Groups, Local Sections and Division Regions have access to the RSC Brand Centre to order promotional items such as pens, flyers, and even pop-up stands. Here are some things you and your committee should know to help you get started:

What is the Brand Centre?

The Brand Centre is a web-based system designed to make it easier for you to create and order materials to promote the work you do to support the Royal Society of Chemistry members in your community.


Why should I use it?

The materials on the Brand Centre have been designed to maximise the impact of your promotional activities and increase awareness of your group and the Royal Society of Chemistry within the chemical sciences community.

It is also cheaper than ordering from other external suppliers; we receive bulk order discounts from Just Digital (the company behind the Brand Centre) and pass these on to you.


What can I order?

On the Brand Centre you can:

  • Create event flyers and pop-up banners;
  • Order pre-printed materials (e.g. membership and publishing information);
  • Order promotional items like branded pens
If you want to order more expensive items (such as RSC branded tablecloths), please contact the Networks team.

If you want to order bespoke fliers or postcards for your events – something beyond the available templates – then Just Digital can provide design services and coordinate with our mailing house to send these to your members, and at the same corporate rate that they would charge the RSC.


Is it free?

Each Interest Group, Local Section and AD Region committee is allocated credit for each calendar year. The Brand Centre credit is allocated to each committee in addition to the annual grant but we do ask that you use the credit only for those items that you would be happy to use your grant to pay for.

Please note:
  • The credit will reset on 1 January of each year, any unspent credit will not be carried over.
  • We will let you know when your credit drops below £100; if you exceed your annual credit, we will deduct the additional expenditure from your next annual grant.

What about international Local Sections?

We pay the postage for the first order of the year for international Local Sections. We therefore ask our members to order only promotional items as needed and to consider combining their orders into a single shipment, if possible.

We also ask you to consider the financial and environmental impact of ordering bulky items to be shipped from the UK that could, more cost effectively, be sourced locally – for example, mugs are expensive to ship but we can provide members with the correct logo files to be printed onto mugs by a local supplier. As this is not something we could easily deduct from your credit, you can include this in your annual budget request.


How do I log in?

Go to http://rsc.li/brand-centre and enter your committee’s unique username and password.

Please note:
  • Only use the login details for your committee; please do not use personal email addresses as we might not be able to invoice the correct account. If you don’t know your login details, email the Networks team and we’ll send them to you.
  • If no one has logged in recently your login details may not work, email the Networks team to get your account reactivated.
 


Still have questions?

Visit the Promotional items and our brand section on the Useful Forms & Documents page: www.rsc.org/FormsDocuments. There you’ll find FAQs for member networks, as well as the Brand Centre User Guide.

If you have feedback or suggestions for materials to include in the Brand Centre, please let us know!
 

Posted by Aurora Walshe on Feb 3, 2020 12:51 PM GMT