This publication is the culmination of SciPEP efforts, with a synthesis of five years’ worth of themes, takeaways, tips, and new questions to explore going forward for basic scientists, science communicators, communications trainers, social science researchers, and more.

With support from The Kavli Foundation, a special issue of the Journal of Science Communication (JCOM), titled “Communicating Discovery Science,” explores the unique insights, challenges, and opportunities associated with communicating basic, discovery science.

Details about the landscape of public engagement with basic science, remaining questions, and next steps for SciPEP.

Science Communication Training: What is Needed for Basic Science and Basic Scientists?

This report synthesizes the main ideas that emerged in discussions over a two-day workshop hosted by SciPEP that brought together science communication trainers, scholars, and other experts with the goal of deepening their understanding of the needs and opportunities of basic science communication training. This report aims to further the objectives of this workshop by inspiring effective approaches for basic scientists and others doing, studying, or training basic science communication.

Budenholzer, L., Sawyer, K., Borchelt, R., and Smith, B. (2023). Science Communication Training: What is Needed for Basic Science and Basic Scientists? Synthesis Report of a SciPEP Workshop. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/P7S9R

Science Talk Q&A: Challenges Communicating Basic Science in the Shadow of More Popular Applied Sciences

In a special SciTalk Q&A, Dr. Kiki Sanford sat down with Brooke Smith and Rick Borchelt to talk about key themes discussed during the first SciPEP conference and what’s next.

Basic Research Needs for Communicating Basic Science

SciPEP carried out a two-part landscape analysis: literature surveys of social science scholarship and a basic research needs conference.

Sawyer, Keegan, Church, Michael, and Borchelt, Rick. Basic Research Needs for Communicating Basic Science. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. DOI: 10.2172/1836074

Why Connect People to Basic Science?

At The Kavli Foundation, Brooke Smith explores the goals and questions surrounding engaging people in basic science.

Basic Scientists’ Views about Potential Engagement Goals

What are basic scientists’ goals for engaging with the public? This report seeks to provide a better understanding of scientists’ goals for their engagement, including whether field, degree of identifying their work as basic science, and other factors impact their goals.

Basic Scientists Views about Engagement – Besley, J.C. & Dudo, A. (2023). Basic Scientists’ Views about Potential Engagement Goals: Project Report. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/R4AQ5

Basic and Beyond: Next Steps on the Path to Effective and Meaningful Science Communication

SciPEP’s prospectus and landscape reports revealed that little is known about effective science communication and engagement specifically on basic science topics. This work builds on the high-level questions articulated in the prospectus by exploring how researchers, practitioners, and others in the field of science communication and engagement might approach those open questions, sparking new ideas and initiatives.

Hendricks, R. and Fond, M. (2023) Basic and beyond: Next steps on the path to effective and meaningful science communication. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/4YJW7

Communicating About Basic Science

Evidence-Based Recommendations for More Effective Communication with the Public About Basic Scientific Research

Volpe, C. M. (2023). Communicating About Basic Science: Evidence-Based Recommendations for More Effective Communication with the Public About Basic Scientific Research. Report for The Kavli Foundation as part of the Science Public Engagement Partnership. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/3K6YU

Assessing the Scholarship of Public Engagement with Basic Science

What does the U.S. public think and feel about basic science research? What do scientists and professional communicators publish about their public engagement with basic science efforts? This report explores trends in U.S. public opinion about basic science and presents the result of a large-scale investigation on what research exists on public engagement with basic science in peer-reviewed Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) journals.

Newman, T.P., Brossard, D., Scheufele, D.A., Chen, K., Qian, Y., Cate, A., Middleton, L. (2021) Assessing the Scholarship of Public Engagement with Basic Science. Report for The Kavli Foundation as part of the Science Public Engagement Partnership. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/K93CJ

There is a large and robust literature supporting public engagement with controversial science, science policy, applied medicine and health, and technology. But is there a parallel literature on scientists and the communicators who work with them regarding engagement around basic science? This report details the degree to which four key science communication journals have published research on the communication of basic or discovery science. It also describes potential paths forward for the basic science community based on these findings.

Besley, J.C., Peterman, K., Black-Maier, A., Robertson Evia, J. (2021) The (Very Limited) Evidence Base for Basic-Science-Specific Science Communication in Key Communication Journals. Report for The Kavli Foundation as part of the Science Public Engagement Partnership. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/UECXN