Evaluation report for “Incipient Species Project”

Attached is the final report for an initiative that develops outreach tool to communicate the results of basic science research to the public. “Incipient Species Project” was funded by a National Science Foundation Connecting Researchers and Public Audiences (CRPA) award (#1212753) to develop a documentary and permanent website on the work of J. Albert C. Uy, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Miami. The documentary and website explores Uy’s work on the evolution of new species (“speciation”) in birds of the Solomon Islands. The documentary, in particular, explores the science of evolution, and how Uy has leveraged his basic research to initiate conservation programs in the South Pacific. The report includes an independent assessment of the documentary’s effectiveness in educating the public on concepts about evolution and speciation, as well as changes in attitude towards scientists.