Realising the Management Challenges for Science Communication Outreach: A Social Marketing Perspective

Social marketing recognises that neither government nor education alone can solve the growing range of complex and multifaceted social policy issues facing societies around the world. Social marketing is about behavioural change for the good of the individual and society, combining individual factors with institutional, organisational and policy variables. Social marketing is, potentially, extremely compatible with and benefi cial to science communication outreach. This paper discusses ways in which social marketing can enhance the management of science communication outreach as a means to engaging citizens and mobilising a science-orientated public, thereby advancing the smart economy in Ireland.