Filter by author: Pedro Russo

The GlobalSCAPE research project was tasked with engaging people working in science communication to better understand their views of the field. While being a European-based research project, GlobalSCAPE aimed to connect with science communicators across the globe. This practice insight paper reflects on the lessons learned from GlobalSCAPE, the successes and failures, and what might be done to continue the work of global science communication research projects. It is hoped that such learnings will be of broad interest to research and practice communities grappling with ways to fund and support science communication around the world.

The Future of SciComm 2.0 conference was a one-day event in Brussels on April 26th 2022. Focusing on the future of European science communication, sixty participants from twelve countries with different expertise discussed the current challenges and possible solutions for the field. Key themes centred around disinformation, communicating global challenges, evidence-based practices and institutional structures woven through the plenary opening, afternoon workshops and the closing public panel discussion. The conclusion is a need for an European science communication ecosystem that is transdisciplinary, connected and cooperative in practice, weaving between policy, research and industry. Finally, citizen science and open science could be included as scholarly praxes to facilitate societal interconnectivity.

Communities of practice in science communication can make important contributions to public engagement with science but are under-researched. In this article, we look at the perspectives of a community of practice in astronomy communication regarding (relations with) their public(s). Most participants in this study consider that public(s) have several deficits and vulnerabilities. Moreover, practitioners have little to no contact with (and therefore make no use of) academic research on science communication. We argue that collaboration between science communication researchers and practitioners could benefit the science-public relationship and that communities of practice may be critical to that purpose.