CEA Science Focal – CEA-Focale-Science

CEA SCIENCE FOCAL project

"Getting closer to society" is one of the basic pillars of the CEA’s strategy.
Energies, digital, health, defence : beyond the scientific and technical questions they raise, the CEA’s research topics reflect major societal challenges. They are legitimately at the heart of concerns within society. The project we are proposing, CEA SCIENCE FOCAL, aims to present research in its human and collective dimension, while providing people with analytical and backgrounding content on our research themes.

This call for projects is relevant to 44 CEA projects. These cover a very wide range of research themes and fields of discipline. In order to promote them, the CEA is proposing a structured and coherent initiative managed by Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture (CSTI) professionals, supported by popular media and likely to interest a wide public via short, accessible formats: videos, TV studios, reports, interviews, etc. The objective is to present the scientific themes in a lively, instructive way, let those conducting the research have their say and showcase their laboratories. Pride of place will be reserved for young male and female researchers, but also to the women who are moving science forward in our laboratories.

To efficiently conduct this initiative and affect as many people as possible, we have chosen to partner with a CSTI broadcasting professional recognized for the quality of its production: l’Esprit Sorcier. An ambitious production program will be rolled out over a 3-year period, in order to address all the projects supported by the CEA. A steering committee will co-build this program schedule with L’Esprit Sorcier, ensure overall consistency, arbitrate editorial choices and provide support to the scientists participating in the production of the content.

These productions will be broadcast through a TV channel, Esprit Sorcier TV (ES-TV), which will be offered free of charge in some of the widest-used TV packages. All the content will also be widely broadcast on the Web and social media by the CEA and provided to its partners. A very strong impact is expected. Distribution at a more local level is also planned, since the 4 CEA civil centers, Paris-Saclay, Grenoble, Cadarache and Marcoule are concerned and involved.

The 44 projects are divided among several CEA Branches and Institutes. In order to define, support and coordinate the proposed initiatives throughout the project, an interdisciplinary steering committee will be set up. It will be composed of the CSTI points of contact at the CEA, correspondents positioned within each Institute, as close as possible to the project promoters and the scientific life of the entity; these will be combined with the local enablers of the CEA Centers, daily engaged in scientific mediation.

No subscription will be needed to watch the programs broadcast on ES-TV, making them accessible to a wide public. The steering committee will review the impact of the programs in terms of viewers on ES-TV. From the first broadcasts, it will also ensure the relevance and matching of the formats with expectations, i.e. the broadcasting of programs capable of making the general public aware of scientific research, how it works, its challenges, its results, but also the human and collective adventure which it forms and the values which underpin it. To the extent necessary, adjustments may be made in order to best meet these requirements.