Development of a science outreach centre business plan

Scientell developed a costed, well-argued proposal for a new science outreach centre for the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory.

Client: Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL)

Audience: SUPL board members, other managers and decision-makers, potential funding bodies, sponsors, government departments, and industry bodies.

Description

SUPL is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, built deep underground within Stawell Gold Mines. Scientists and engineers are installing highly sensitive detectors within the underground laboratory to discover the elusive nature of dark matter.

Scientell developed a proposal for a new world-class education, outreach and communication centre at SUPL. The centre would raise interest in, and support for, research into dark matter and other world-changing experiments. It would create a long-lasting hub for managing relationships between SUPL, Stawell Gold Mines, the local community, Traditional Owners, the Victorian community, and others.

The proposal explained the benefits, need for, content and operations of a potential outreach centre, and presented ways to raise funds from sponsors, government and industry. It explained the benefits to tourism, education, STEM, Women in Science, access to science, social license for dark matter experiments, jobs, regional Victoria’s importance, and the impact of world-class science.

Innovative Features

Scientell worked with SUPL to interview related experts, including SUPL board members, education and university representatives, Stawell Gold Mine representatives, government stakeholders, and science centre experts. We combined the interview findings with background research and our science communication and education knowledge to produce the proposal.