A Collaborative Model for Astronomy Educational Resources for Global Outreach

Case Study in Progress – Universe in a Box

Jaya Ramchandani, Pedro Russo, Cecilia Scorza, Natalie Fischer, Erik Arends

and Charlotte Provot on behalf of EU-UNAWE’s Universe in a Box team

Many good resources out there

Hard to find

Not created for a global audience

Language restriction

Not documented enough to be shared

Not in “reproducible” formats

Require quality tweeks

Educators tend to develop from scratch

The Situation

www.unawe.org/universebox

Case Study

Universe in a Box is an educational kit to assist teachers andeducators in bringing astronomy and space sciences to 4-10 year oldchildren around the world.

Inquiry-based learning principles

Carefully selected topics, modular

format

Comprehensive activity book in folder format

Materials low cost and easy to

reproduce/replace

Easy to use by any type of educator

Features

2009

MINT-Box Abenteuer AstronomieEine Reise durch das Weltall für Grundschüler

2011

A global product is one

that is standardized to

an extent to gain

economies of scale and

scope but localized to

meet local

requirements.

Identified

“Glocalization”

Establishing need/demand by

determining if the educational content matches with curricula in most countries

Redefining activity book and materials in

a format that is easy to localise and reproduce

Developing a production and distribution model to reach Universe in

a Box to UNAWE’s network of 56countries.

2012

Q1-Q3: Prototyping

50 prototypes distributed in March 2013 to 31 Countries from UNAWE Network

Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Egypt,

Germany, Ghana, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique,

Northern Ireland, Philippines, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi

Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, The Netherlands, UK, USA

Positive first impressions

Feedback and changes

Improvement to educational models

Improvements to production quality

Improvements to packaging

2013

Colombia

Colombiav

Bulgariav

Indiav

United Kingdomv

Q4: First Large Scale Production

1000 boxes commissioned (Curion Education Pvt. Ltd., India) – English version

Two-pronged distribution model: Free Distribution (60%) + Sale (40% for sustainability)

Sale price only includes production and shipping costs of the box

Buy one, Donate one: €128 (two boxes + shipping)

Buy more than five: €75 (one box + shipping)

2013

United Kingdomv

Edward

201220112009 Future2013

Regional versions: Localisation, Production, Distribution

Creates resource

Uses locally

Identifies resource

“Glocal-ready”

Prototyping

Ensure quality

Identify project partners

Version 2.0

Advice on funding

e.g., India Partner

Localisation

Production

Distribution

Free distribution

For sale

The Big Picture

We are uncovering new ways of developing and distributing educational resources for global outreach. Through this work we have come to value:

Co-development (multiple partners) over single organization

Co-production and distribution (with local partners ) over top-down

Co-funding (with smaller amounts) over large capital requirement

Co-branding (multiple logos) over one large brand

Co-profiting (each partner benefits)

Co-ownership (everyone is responsible) over licensing / franchising

Adapted from: Manifesto for Agile Software Development

Manifesto

Sharing of good resources

Quality through review network for educational + scientific input

Acknowledgement of your work towards the common goal

Compensation for your time and energy

Large reach in a short(er) amount of time

Meeting a common goal

Benefits

International Coordination Office: Set up as a cooperative (for sustainability) with stakeholders with the same goal

Cooperative members “buy in” and fund / offer expertise and time to projects

Project-based approach for resource development

Multiple partners for projects (for development, localisation, production, distribution)

What’s Next: Discussion

How to Order

www.unawe.org/buyuniversebox

DISCOUNT CODE

“CAP2013”

How to Order

www.unawe.org/buyuniversebox

We are looking for Universe in a Box partners

• Demand forecasting for country / region

• Promotion and fundraising

• Localisation (language, hemisphere, culture, context)

• Vendor management (production, distribution, sales)

• Coordination with UNAWE IO

We are also looking for funds for the coordination activities for the regional versions and possible seed funding for prototypes in other countries

Regional Versionswww.unawe.org/universebox

Jaya Ramchandani

Project Manager, Universe in a Box

jayar@strw.leidenuniv.nl

Pedro Russo

International Project Manager, EU-UNAWE

russo@strw.leidenuniv.nl

Contact

Design Credit

Charlotte Provot

provot@strw.leudenuniv.nl