Science Media & Engagement Strategies

Many of the most vexing and urgent challenges facing our society today are based in part on science and technology: managing climate change, public health systems, loss of biodiversity and diminished natural resources, to name a few. But these are not just scientific problems that science can resolve on its own. They are also pressing social challenges with profound political, economic and even moral implications. Solutions require multiple disciplines, collaboration, and most importantly, ongoing public engagement with science at unprecedented levels.

There is nothing new about science engagement, of course. Four distinct communities are working to provide content, physical infrastructure and services to stimulate and inform this public dialogue on science: science educators (both formal and informal), science media, research institutions, and foundations that sponsor science communications and outreach. Unfortunately, despite their many notable achievements, progress is dishearteningly slow. The dimensions of the social problem are staggering and may even be getting worse.

Yet there are reasons to be optimistic. Although quality is uneven and capacity is limited, some powerful and effective media and engagement tools have been developed. There is enormous, untapped potential in new technology and building more effective strategic partnerships, communities of practice and social networks, for example. And finally, we know exactly what kinds of communication work: we just have to figure out how to replicate them and make them scale.

Science Media and Engagement (SME) Strategies was created to help these organizations scale using Internet technologies, social media, social networks and local events. We consult with clients to identify programs and media that will potentially scale, to adapt and test them for widespread distribution, and then to find funding, staff and partners to implement more scalable media and engagement strategies.

Read more about what we do and how we do it.

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You can also sample our science writing and blogs on HowDoWeKnow.info, where we explore authentic voices of science, personal stories as well as the history and philosophy of science and learn how we know what we know.