No one has mapped it yet
There is no region-wide inventory of who communicates science, through which channels, or with whom. We’re building the index.
A BURROUGHS WELLCOME FUND PROJECT
Who communicates science across the South?
The Southern Science Communication Project is mapping and supporting the people and organizations that connect science & communities across the US South and Puerto Rico. If you do this work, we want to hear from you.
WHY IT MATTERS
Science communication in the South faces unique challenges that deserve attention.
The people doing it need more support
Research with land-grant faculty finds that communicators perceive limited support from peers and administrators.
Rose et al., 2020
The barriers are specific, so the solutions can be too
The research points to challenges tied to particular topics and settings, not a single regional problem.
WHAT WE DO
The landscape study is where we start
Mapping comes first. Everything after builds on what we learn.
- NOW · YEAR 1
Map
Who communicates science in the region, through which channels, and to whom.
- YEARS 1 & 2
Listen
Sessions with communities about whom they trust and how they get science.
- YEAR 2 AND ONGOING
Connect
A regional convening that grows into an ongoing practitioner network.
- AHEAD
Build resources
Development of practical tools for communicators and the scientists they work with.
- AHEAD
Fund
Provide needed evidence that points funders to where support is needed for work in the region.
- ONGOING
Evaluate and report
Regular, public reporting on what we find and what works.
COMING SOON: THE PRACTITIONER SURVEY
Tell us how science reaches the people you work with.
If you share science with the public in any part of your job, this survey is for you, whether or not you call yourself a science communicator.
THE INDEX
16 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Puerto Rico
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia