Ideas to inspire!

We encourage Young Investigators’ to submit impactful science outreach ideas that reflect passion, creativity and impact to broader society in India. This can include in-person events and programs, as well as online resources, virtual programs and databases. While the mandate of the IOG is broad, we strongly encourage outreach programs and resources that focus on current national challenges such as sustainable solutions, biodiversity and conservation, contemporary science education, specific less-addressed health concerns, to name a few. Further, we encourage outreach to be catered to a wide range of stakeholders such as underserved communities and peripheral parts of the country. The outreach can be carried out in regional Indian languages or English. From this year, ONE grant will be reserved for a project that conducts outreach in regional Indian languages.

The disseminated material should carry the IndiaBioscience logo, adhere to branding guidelines, and would be copyright of IndiaBioscience under the Creative Commons license. The material would be not-for-profit and should not be commercialized, for the duration of the grant period. 

Below is a subset of thematic areas to help you get started.

Note: These are only suggestions and are not meant to be an exhaustive list. We strongly encourage novel and diverse ideas.

Science outreach e‑compendium by IndiaBioscience

  • Dhvani — A compilation of resources for science outreach in India
  • The e‑book is a comprehensive resource packed with contributions from scientists, communicators, journalists, and outreach professionals of India.
  • It explores the landscape of science outreach in our country, offering insights into best practices, sustainable models, interviews with scientists doing outreach in regional languages, skill-building guides, and curated resources for outreach funding. 
  • It also features the impact of the IndiaBioscience Outreach Grants (IOG) program, providing a closer look at the intricacies of initiating and sustaining outreach efforts.

Science outreach for health

  • Cartoons and infographics on topics of relevance to health — including less-addressed areas such as mental health, genetic disorders, malnutrition, childhood obesity, etc.

  • Support groups for disease awareness, information, advocacy, de-stigmatization, including but not limited to rare diseases, mental health, genetic disorders, etc. 

Science outreach for national and global challenges 

  • Building resources and tools for awareness and solutions towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

  • Facilitating local communities to take part in crowd-sourced scientific projects, including conservation, biodiversity, sustainable climate change solutions, etc.

Science outreach for rural and tribal communities 

  • In-person discussions and/​or resource materials in local and regional languages on scientific issues and solutions, and combating scientific misinformation in rural and tribal communities

  • Showcasing the value of science education to members of rural and tribal communities

  • Information on science careers for students and young adults in rural and tribal communities

Science outreach to facilitate the scientific and research community

  • Reinvent networking for scientists using digital platforms

  • Ideas to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity in scientific communities, with a focus on enhancing the visibility of underserved groups and communities 

  • Improved local and open sharing of scientific ideas and resources across the scientific community. 

Additional reading:

Science outreach for the documentation of science

  • Innovative approaches to showcase achievements in Indian science and their role in nation building (exhibits, posters, online interactive platforms, virtual museums)

  • Approaches to highlight the history of science — stories behind specific discoveries and how they were made, etc.

  • Materials or approaches to highlight the roles and contributions of under-represented or under-served individuals or communities in science

Science outreach events 

  • One-day science fairs or festivals are conducted for school and college students, curious adults, public at large 

  • Short in-person demonstrations, tinkering labs, hands-on activities for school and college students, curious adults, public at large 

Additional reading:

Science outreach for K‑12 students 

  • Explainer science websites, videos and virtual labs for school students and curious adults

  • Engaging the public with at-home experiments — output could be in the form of a short movie or a popular book

  • Setting up e‑colouring books for primary school students with basic life science concepts 

  • Hosting regular podcasts or webinars, or discussing/​sharing relevant scientific principles and advances 

  • Interactive in-person or virtual sessions for the public to interact with scientists, etc.

Additional reading:

Science outreach for adults and special groups 

  • Approaches to counter scientific misinformation, myths and superstitions in society, using popular tools such as WhatsApp

  • Fun science outreach for retired age groups, ex-service personnel, alumni associations, with in-person scientist talks (science behind cheese-making, science of idlis, science behind hand sanitiser)

  • Scientist-led day trips to local science incubation parks to observe product-driven scientific research, etc.

  • Science materials for persons with special needs, using materials with tactile, auditory and visual modifications for engagement

Additional reading:

Science outreach via unique approaches 

Public engagement of science via unique approaches such as art, music, dance, theater, stand-up comedy, poetry, street plays, memes, photography, handicrafts, etc.

For more resources related to science outreach, click here.

Additional reading:

Previous IOG Awardees:

Projects that have been successfully funded by the IOG program can be found here: IOG 2020 – 21, IOG 2021 – 22, IOG 2022 – 23, IOG 2023 – 24 and IOG 2024 – 25.

Additional reading:

To know more about the IOG awardees, click here.