Science: Opportunity or Brick Wall?
We are committed to creating the touchstone for science and scientists to create their own future.
About You
About You
First Name
Kennan
Last Name
Salinero
Twitter URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Yámana Science and Technology
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, CA, Alameda County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, XX
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
Innovation
Entry Form title
Science: Opportunity or Brick Wall?
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
THE NEED: Describe the need for your solution and the size/dynamic of the community (ies) you will engage
Listen to any Presidential speech, read the paper, watch the news - science is on the topic list at least once a week, with it's promise, potential and productivity for the future. Not only that, but we all know we need more scientists, mathematicians and engineers in the United States. So why do those who heed the call feel like their running head-long toward a brick wall? At the PhD level, it is estimated that 60% of current PhDs and Post-doctoral scholars will leave science. Why?
We are in a time of accelerating change, and science is no exception. It is a time that calls powerfully for increased leadership and an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to moving effectively through the complexity we have created. While we need more scientists, we've created a system that trains too many for academic positions that don't exist. While we need more collaboration, we work in a system that rewards individuals for their competitive prowess, often undermining team-work. In a time that the world is run by fast-changing technologies, we live in a system where scientists have no time and no training in how to communicate with the public.
THE SOLUTION: Please explain what your solution offers and how it is innovative. How will you put your solution into the hands of users or beneficiaries? Be specific!
Yamana Science and Technology exists to create the critical conversations for a fundamental shift in how we 'do' science in the United States. The United States is the far-and-away leader of training programs for PhDs in science and technology world-wide; where the US goes, the world follows. Rather than work for the competitive edge, it is time to open up science to the communities it serves. It is also time to re-formulate how we train our young, how we communicate with each other and with the public, and how we serve society. This will take unabashed, full-out communication. This will take development of empathy, compassion and a basis of trust. Yamana Science and Technology uses our Open Space 'UnSummits' to bring together thought leaders, next generation scientists, policy makers and the general public for accelerated communication and knowledge sharing. We are poised to use our various social media to accelerate this process in the larger community. We expect the changes that will be sustainable need to spring from within the scientific community, but in full partnership with the public. The huge interest in public science events shows the public is knocking at the doors of science, avid to be let in.
THE MODEL: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference through use of information technology and media
1. Create multiple forums for dialog in the sciences to identify common goals. These include open space technology, internet based social networking, the crowdsourcing site we use for our 'UnSummit,' and our facebook, twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
2. Develop emerging models that effectively support discovery, learning, and joy in science. We wish to create an online resource of the many materials we've gathered that speak to new ideas and emergent approaches for all aspects of science, research, organizational development, and education.
3. Develop new routes for training educators in science for K-12, undergraduate, graduate and continuing education. Open Space technology meetings are in development for the educational community.
4. Create partnerships for developing new best-practices and organizational models for the work place. The e-book "Collaboration 2.0" is our resource for virtual and in place tools for collaboration and partnering.
5. Connect scientists at vulnerable stages in career development with the resources that provide effective mentoring, tools and support for thriving, balanced lives and successful career outcomes. This will rely heavily on creating an 'attractor' portal for scientists in the training stages to connect with one another and with bigger ideas for positive change.
6. Nurture and participate in the new practices that are arising in social media for robust science/societal communication.
THE MARKETPLACE: Who are your peers and competitors? What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
We have many peers. Our model is to find emergent ideas and movements, both within science and in other sectors. We then share these ideas across boundaries. We are conveners and cross-pollinators. The level of isolation in science is staggering. Silicon Valley has been a major source of ideas unknown to the academic sector - models for communication, team-work, self-development and leadership. We let Carnegie Foundation know what the Sloan Foundation is doing, and American Association for the Advancement of Science about both. There are no competitors in this landscape. We are strong proponents of partnership, and believe in the vision-driven model for positive change.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
FOUNDING STORY: We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
We are audacious. And I take responsibility as the one who might be called 'crazy.' I am taking on no less than the end of a 300-400 year era of science. My thinking was prompted by "Lifting the Veil, the Feminine Face of Science" by Linda Jean Shepherd. Upon reading the book, given to me by a neighbor who knew of my passion for the success of science, I was completely taken by Linda's view that science has followed a reductionist, separatist and controlling view of itself and the natural world, a la Descartes. This was needed during the age of enlightenment. However, scientists, who have been operating from a pedestal, are now looking around and asking 'where is everybody? where is the love?' I believe 'Everyone' is looking for scientists to join THEM. Linda became one of our founders. We think a more nurturing, listening, and 'feminine' (as in the Jungian feminine) scientific enterprise will enrich it's own members as well as society.
Specify both the depth and scale of your solution’s social impact to date
Several joint projects have been spawned by the relationships created during our 2010 Science 'UnSummit' in Washington DC. This includes writing projects for book chapters on environmental science, visits made to others' organizations to present new training methods for increased effectiveness in team work, and attendance at various conferences and workshops that we were able to network about. We are also responsible for disseminating knowledge about major projects various foundations have done that impact science, cross-fertilizing this work across agencies.
What is your projected impact within the next 1-5 years? Is your idea replicable? If so, how?
We are currently deploying what we call 'The Third Space.' These are dialogus that will be held on campuses across the country that can be replicated by others. Third Space is a take-off on 'The Third Place' terminology of Ray Oldenburg. Our definition is "It's not home, it's not work, it's the place we gather together to create."
We are working at the emergent edge of the budding movement to bring self-awareness, social responsibility, and the whole human to science. This movement is gaining ground in the United Kingdom, where the Royal Society is working on transparency in science and input from the general public much further upstream in the discovery and development process. Part of the impetus there was the shut-down of GMO products by a public that hadn't been consulted.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and mark growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Capacity building - bringing people's messages to our platform
Six-Month Tasks
Task 1
Science 'UnSummit' 2012; April 2012 in Washington DC.
Task 2
Third Space - have hosted 5 events
Task 3
Increase flow through our crowd-sourcing sites
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Self-sustaining
12-Month Tasks
Task 1
Funding sources have been developed and are supporting our work
Task 2
1-2 staff positions so the work is not entirely volunteer
Task 3
Third Space events have gained their own momentum and have been hosted on multiple campuses
How many people have been impacted by your project?
101 - 1,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
1001‐10,000
Sustainability
Explain how your company, program, service or product is structured
Non-profit
What barriers have hindered the success of your project to date? How do you plan to overcome these and other challenges as you grow your solution?
We are looking for growth in funding sources. We have completed the necessary paperwork to be eligible for National Science Foundation grants, and are doing the legwork to learn what is needed to be competitive in this area.
How do you see the information-technology and media sectors shifting over the next decade? How will your solution adapt to and/or drive that changing environment?
We are strong believers in the power of self-organization of complex systems. Communication and a sense of common purpose are key. I don't know how deep we will need to scratch for the change that is trying to be born in science to come to the surface. It is an idea that has the potential to spread like wild-fire, if we tap into the hearts and passion of the community. We are also believe in the value of the human, empathic connection while being connected electronically,and will endeavor to keep and grow this aspect using developing technology.
Failure is not always an option. If your solution fails to gain traction in the next two years, what other applications of the idea could you explore?
We are working on many fronts - every movement forward is a positive one. We are following Robert Fritz's model for creative tension - keeping the larger vision for a thriving science and scientific community front and center, while monitoring where we 'are' right now. We are interested in giving over ownership of this change movement to the community itself - whatever routes that entails. Social media is the most effective for exponential growth, but in person and by-phone networking are also in our tool-set.
Expand on your selections, explaining how you will sustain funding
We are doing the necessary paperwork (almost complete) to be eligible for Federal grant dollars. We want the granting agencies, who are major drivers in the scientific world, to become stakeholders in our specific projects. We also continue to pursue foundation funding, while remaining dedicated to the equally important power of grass-roots funding.
Tell us about your partnerships
We base our work on strong relationship with various scientific organizations, as part of our purpose is to help 'advertise' and move their work forward. This includes the National Post-doctoral Association, and the Sloan and Carnegie Foundations. We had participants from the National Science Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The National Academies of Science at our first Science 'UnSummit.'
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section?
We currently have a list of over 200 key volunteers and/or contacts that come from across the country, and several contacts that are global - our volunteer list is large and growing. We could use an administrative support person.
Changemakers is a collaborative and supportive space. Please specify any community resources you would need to grow and sustain your initiative. Select all that apply
Research or information, Collaboration or networking, Pro-bono help (legal, financial, etc.), Innovation or ideas, Mentorship.
Specify any resources you might offer to support other initiatives. Select all that apply
Research or information, Collaboration or networking, Innovation or ideas, Mentorship.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren’t specified within the list
Though we have blossomed using less formal, highly interactive and highly creative team-building tools and approaches, we are at a point where we need more formal input - legal and accounting - to make sure we fit the more traditional systems while we bridge to new ones.
Summary
Define your company, program, service or product in 1-2 short sentences
We are working to create a fundamental shift in how we 'do' science in the United States.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences
We are committed to creating the touchstone for science and scientists to create their own future.
 | 87 weeks ago Kennan Salinero updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Kennan Salinero updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Kennan Salinero submitted this idea. |
