Enhancing Public Engagement in Science Communication through Journalism

The ENJOI project highlighted the need for effective scientific communication and public engagement, fostering dialogue between experts and non-experts. Sociologist and science policy expert Alondra Nelson emphasizes journalists' role in enhancing public understanding of science policy, aligning with NEWSERA's focus on integrating citizen science. Together, these initiatives aim to bridge the gap between science and society.

One of the ENJOI project's prerogatives was to better understand the elements that characterize quality scientific communication and journalism. Engagement is one of the pillars of the ENJOI Manifesto, which is the result and synthesis of the three-year research and co-creation work. According to experts, professionals in the sector and simple users of scientific communication, engagement is a fundamental element because it provides the opportunity for meaningful two-way dialogue in an actual collaborative framework.

The role of non-experts is vital in another activity, citizen science, a practice at the centre of the recent EU-funded project NEWSERA. The NEWSERA project looked at integrating citizen science into science communication, shortening the distance between communication producers and receivers.

Both subjects are at the core of Alondra Nelson's recent interview with the MIT Science Policy Review publication. Nelson is a distinguished sociologist and scholar, currently serving as the Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Her work underscores the importance of broad public access to scientific education and participation in STEM fields, aiming to dismantle barriers that limit involvement in science, thus looking at the same gaps ENJOI and NEWSERA looked at, even if she approached them from the science policy perspective.

Based on Nelson's comments, journalists could play an expanded role in engaging the public on science policy issues in several key ways:

Facilitating Public Input

• Journalists could conduct more in-depth reporting that solicits public perspectives on major science policy topics.
• This type of reporting could help gather diverse viewpoints on issues like climate/energy policy, AI governance, healthcare access, etc.

Increasing Public Understanding

• News coverage could focus more on explaining the science policy process and opportunities for public involvement, like federal comment periods or ideation challenges.
• Journalists could break down complex scientific topics and their policy implications in accessible ways for general audiences.

Highlighting Policy Impacts

• Reporting could examine how science policies affect different communities and demographics.
• After implementation, Journalists could investigate the intended and unintended consequences of science-based policies.

Promoting Transparency

• News outlets could push for greater access to scientific data and research findings, especially for federally-funded work.
• Investigative reporting could uncover issues around scientific integrity or data manipulation in policymaking.

This above differs from the traditional list of activities and roles journalists are asked to perform. Still, it is instead an updated version that goes beyond the historical science and society divide by acknowledging a broader importance of a sort of "contamination" of expertise that comes from a real open dialogue.

Read Scientific expertise and public engagement in science policy: A conversation with Dr. Alondra Nelson in its entirety