Science Communication & Outreach Organizations
On this page, you'll find a list of organizations focused on communicating science to the public and getting non-scientists involved in the world of scientific research.
Story Collider
Link: Story Collider
About: “The Story Collider helps people of all walks of life -- from scientists to doctors to patients to engineers to teachers to firefighters -- tell their true, personal stories about science. It’s our mission to find, develop, and share these powerful, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories through our podcast and live events, as a means of: 1. Showing that science is a vibrant and integral part of all of our lives, and that everyone — regardless of class, race, gender, sexuality, or education — has a story to tell about how it has impacted them. 2. Revealing the human experience behind scientific work. We also offer both public and private workshops to foster development of storytelling skills, as we believe narrative is a powerful tool, both for self-reflection and examination and for entertainment, education, and communication. Read more about the research behind our work here.”
Community Science
Link: Community Science
About: “Community Science is an award winning research and development organization that works with governments, foundations, and non-profit organizations on solutions to social problems through community and other systems changes. Using state-of-the-art qualitative and quantitative methods, Community Science’s goal is to strengthen the science and practice of community change in order to build healthy, just and equitable communities. The organization’s services include research and evaluation services, capacity-building products and services, and initiative management and support. Since 1997, our objective has been simple: to develop the knowledge necessary to address social problems in a way that benefits all communities.”
Climate Social Science Network
Link: CSSN
About: “CSSN is an international network of scholars headquartered at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, launched in October, 2020. Scholars in the network are social scientists producing peer-reviewed research focused on understanding political conflict over climate change. Our initial structure includes a core office at Brown University, a growing number of CSSN Scholars, Working Groups, a Research Advisory Board, and those wishing to be kept informed by being on our mailing list. Follow the “Contact” link above to reach us.”
ISee Change
Link: ISee Change
Creator: Julia Kumari Drapkin
About: “ISeeChange began as a prototype and concept in Colorado from field interviews with drought-impacted farmers and ranchers- many who didn’t believe in climate change. Our first opportunity as a team developing ISeeChange came with a public science and media partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2015. As we scaled our community globally we started to see opportunities to grow insights generated through observation, communication, and education into direct impact and local solutions. After successful prototypes on urban heat and flooding in Harlem and New Orleans, we doubled down on making changes from seeing them. In 2018, we became a thriving start-up with partners and clients across the United States and the globe. Our team is rooted in shared values: community, connection, integrity, equity, and insight. We’ve been honored to take part in MITSolve and be awarded McGovern Foundation’s “AI for the Betterment of Humanity” prize. We recently completed the Arcadis City of 2030 accelerator program powered by TechStars in 2020.”
STEM Ambassador Program
Link: STEM Ambassador
Creator: the National Science Foundation (NSF)
About: “The STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP) was funded in 2016 by the National Science Foundation to train scientists to engage members of the public in innovative ways outside traditional venues. Participating scientists (referred to as “STEM Ambassadors), link their research, personal interests, experiences, and desired social impacts to a particular “focal group,” or a group gathered around shared interests, hobbies, circumstances, or experiences that resonate with the scientist. Scientists engage the group in-place, rather than requesting the group travel to an informal science education venue. This provides greater access to science for those who do not or cannot visit science education venues, reinforces the connection of science to everyday life, and opens portals for scientists to gain new ideas and perspectives from the community.”
Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
Link: ASTC
Summary: ASTC started the “LISTEN” Network, or: “The Leaders in Science and Technology Engagement Network," to connect and support "perspectives from across the science-engagement ecosystem, including informal science education, public engagement, journalism and science writing, live events, community science, and science-communication training.”
About ASTC: “The Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) is a professional membership organization with a vision of increased understanding of—and engagement with—science and technology among all people and a mission to champion and support science and technology centers and museums.”
RepublicEn
Link: RepublicEn
About: “We are the EcoRight, a balance to the Environmental Left. We stand together because we believe in the power of American free enterprise and innovation to solve climate change. Together, we encourage, embolden, and applaud conservative climate leadership. We help conservatives navigate the treacherous climate conversation with confidence. Nobody should sacrifice their conservative values to protect the environment and our future. Our conservative values are not only part of our identity, they are key to effective climate solutions."
The Global Action Research Center
Link: Global Action Research Center
About: “The Global ARC developed the Leadership Academy for Social Change in order to support progressive social change at the neighborhood level. The focus of the Academy is to increase the skills, knowledge and abilities of individuals who wish to engage in creating positive change in their communities. It is designed to work with people at several levels from awakening to people who are knowledgeable, organized and engaged.”
More: “Colleges and Universities produce knowledge and technology capable of improving our overall quality of life yet much of it remains out of the reach of communities. The Academy works closely with entities such as UC San Diego’s Bioregional and Superfund Research Centers to translate and communicate research findings to the broader community in ways that are useful and can lead to individual and collective change.”
Root Cause Research Center
Link: Root Cause Research Center
About: “The Root Cause Research Center works alongside and trains community members to investigate and report community concerns. We bring together impacted community members and train them in community organizing, research, and design--all to help them tell their own data stories to the public, to policymakers, and to other connected stakeholders. We partner with local grassroots leaders to launch Community-Based Participatory Research projects. We also design inventive and interactive visuals that break down complex information for collective power building in communities. The Root Cause Research Center is an abolitionist, grassroots-led institution grounded in Data Equity, Movement Science, and Abolitionist Planning (see Definitions below). We are actively building a new system in the American South that provides an alternative to the traditionally hierarchical and classist model of research. We lean into transformative justice by creating community-based alternatives to dehumanizing and inaccessible research institutions that use impacted community members as test subjects rather than co-investigators."
Science Moms
Link: Science Moms
About: “We are a group of climate scientists and mothers who care deeply about the planet that our children will inherit. Together, we aim to demystify climate change, talk honestly about how it will affect our children and give moms the facts they need to take action.”
Environmental Solutions Initiative, Here & Real Project
Link: MIT
Creator: MIT
About: “Here & Real is an ESI project dedicated to direct engagement with U.S. regions as they tackle conversations around climate change and an emerging low-carbon economy. Working with local and state leadership, community organizations, and newsrooms, we combine world-class research with local values and economic realities in order to support decision-makers and residents as they plan—and help create—a more resilient future. The Here & Real team takes the stance that “we’re all in this together.” As such, our approach is to listen thoughtfully to real and perceived roadblocks to taking local action on climate change; respect communities’ deep-seated values; and pursue shared, science-based goals across political lines.”
More: Initiatives include a 4 month journalism fellowship (2021) and on-the-ground community work in Greene County, PA and Wyoming
Public Lab
Link: Public Lab
About: “The science, technology, and data shared on PublicLab.org are community-created and open source. These tools enable people to collaborate on and build upon community knowledge, and to share data about community environmental health. We focus tool development on creating tools that are low cost; open source; easy to use; built through public participation and collaboration; supported by a network of practitioners; and that produce meaningful and understandable data.”
