By Quyen Aoh, Steven Del Signore, Laurie Littlepage, and Barbara Sorkin
It is imperative for scientists to engage with all spheres of society to ensure that society trusts, understands, and benefits from scientific discoveries. To this end, ASCB is promoting a Public Engagement Week to encourage, support, and publicize the public outreach efforts of its members.
Imagine a society that values and trusts scientific expertise to help make evidence-based decisions towards a better world. One in which scientific literacy is a normal part of everyone’s sociocultural development. In this society, scientific progress results from the collective strengths of, and meaningful non-partisan dialogue between scientists, policy-makers, and others. Contrast this with the current state of our society, in which social media allows untrained pseudo-expert influencers to share ‘scientific’ ideas and opinions without oversight or moderation to huge audiences. Where trust in science and scientists has eroded, become partisan, and correlates with access to higher education and race (1).
Why has public trust in science eroded? A recent study published in PNAS suggests that a significant percentage of the population may not feel that scientists are as ethical, compassionate, or driven by the same values as themselves, and that scientists may not be able to overcome their own biases when evidence runs contrary to it (3). For better or worse, perceptions of science are intimately tied with perceptions of scientists. However, direct interaction of non-scientists with scientists and science activities is limited among adults and often occurs when helping a child with formal or informal STEM learning (2).
How do we bridge this gap in perception? How do we facilitate the critical shift from our current state to one that appropriately values science? We engage with those outside our scientific spheres, aptly called public engagement with science. Public engagement not only informs non-scientists about current trends in science but also opens up opportunities for intersectional dialogue and for learning about the impact and applications of science to all aspects of society. Increased engagement ultimately should improve the public’s trust in science. These types of dialogues are especially salient in a year when the consequences of political battles will influence the direction and momentum of scientific progress and funding decisions that directly support scientific research.
To this end, ASCB is encouraging all members to participate in a new annual public engagement campaign, #CellSpeak: Empowering Engagement with Science, October 20-26, 2024, to share the excitement of cell biology and the value of evidence-based research with the public. Coinciding with the father of microscopy Antonie van Leewenhoek’s birthday (October 24), we’ll share not just our data but also our stories of becoming scientists, our scientific expertise, and our scientific experiences—all with the goal of building trust and enthusiasm for science and scientists.
What are examples of activities that you can do for this week? Probably things that you’re already doing or have done, including giving a public talk, having discourses in the real or virtual world, facilitating a youth outreach activity, hosting a science cafe, hosting a lab tour/open house for a local school, posting images of your work on social media, making an elevator speech and posting it online, doing a citizen science project, be interviewed by your local news media, or sharing an art project that bridges science and art.
If you’re already planning or thinking about doing one of these activities, why not do them during this week? Or post on social media public engagement activities you’ve done in the past. If you’ve never done anything like this, then this is a great opportunity to get started. You can do this individually or in a group (and even use it as a great lab team-building activity!)
Not sure how to get started? Over the next few months, the Public Information Committee (PIC) will be sharing resources to help you get started and to learn how to engage with the public in effective, meaningful, and respectful ways. These will include webinars on science communication, blogs on various types of public engagement, and links to other resources, such as our Communication Toolkits.
Engaging with the public has never been more important. As scientists, public engagement should not only be viewed as a requisite responsibility but also as a privilege that allows us to be change agents toward making a better society for all of us. Contextualizing and publicizing research and scientific achievements for new audiences ultimately expands the number of people engaged in the scientific process. These efforts also inspire new ideas and ultimately increase the impact that is a consequence of the research. We hope you will participate and will encourage your colleagues to engage, too.
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About the Author:
This post was collaboratively written by several ASCB staff members.
