Posts in: Bridging Communities

This weekend COMPASS heads to Canada for the 2018 North American Congress for Conservation Biology (NACCB) in Toronto. We’ve been working for many months with the conference organizers to bring opportunities to share science within a wider societal context through the design of the opening plenary and activities throughout the week bringing scientists and journal...

Ashley Ahearn is an award-winning environment reporter at KUOW, and regularly shares her insight and expertise with researchers through COMPASS workshops. Ashley’s new national podcast terrestrial, developed in partnership with NPR Story Lab and KUOW in Seattle, weaves together stories around the choices we make in a changing world, like the psychological toll of...

Many scientists fear repercussions from engaging around contentious subjects like climate change—anything from losing connections and opportunities, to jeopardizing their careers and credibility. But there are still productive conversations to be had, even in highly politicized environments. Continuing to engage, even when it’s difficult, is crucial for society...

This fall I received an invitation to attend the Branscomb Forum on Environmental Justice, Science, and Democracy. My first thought was “I’m too busy to travel to another meeting….” I was questioned by a friend, “do you even work on democracy and social justice, I thought you did science communication?” I could easily have justified not attending this...

Dr. Marina Joubert, guest author of this post, researches science communication at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science, and Technology at Stellenbosch University, and launched the first-ever online course in science communication in Africa. She also serves on the scientific committee of the global Public Communication of Science and Technology network an...

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is well known for its leadership in the social science of science communication. I spoke to Dr. Dietram Scheufele, a communication expert at UW-Madison on the public and political interfaces of emerging science, about what we are learning from social science research and how researchers can better communicate for societal impact....