Public Outreach: It Benefits Us All
As scientists, public outreach is a part of our responsibility to increase knowledge in the surrounding communities, pass effective policy, and acquire government funding. However, over the past few years, the general public has expressed growing distrust of the scientific community. A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2014 found that 15 percent of U.S. adults believe that science has made life more difficult for most people, a figure that increased from 10 percent since 2009.
The easy way out is to blame the educational system or misinformed politicians for this gap in knowledge and the fostering of mistrust. When looking at science degree programs, however, community outreach simply is not deemed a priority or a requirement. As students and professionals become more specialized, the focus is on communicating research between colleagues and collaborators to progress their science. Community outreach is left on the back burner, with many not knowing who should be responsible for educating the public and whether or not this education is even necessary for research.
The poll conducted by Pew Research Center shows us that public outreach is necessary in order for science to progress. If the public distrusts scientists, it creates two separate communities: us and them. Science shouldn’t be combatting public thought; rather, it should be molding and guiding public thinking along with scientific developments. Thus, all scientists should feel responsible to the public. By making their research relevant, the public response can show researchers what to focus on and where the need is, especially on issues of public health.
Science shouldn’t be combatting public thought; rather, it should be molding and guiding public thinking along with scientific developments.
So what can be done? Dr. Gail Begley, teaching professor at Northeastern University, suggests that “students and scientists at all levels should work on articulating science and ‘putting it into words.’ It is our privilege, and therefore our duty, to educate the public.” Dr. Begley helps her students learn this skill by enrolling them in the Service-Learning program at Northeastern, where they communicate science to various groups of people within the Boston community, from young students to Spanish-speaking mothers. This program is effective in reducing this environment of distrust in two ways. First, it engages the public and gives them experience with the scientific community, where they can learn about relevant topics and ask direct questions. Importantly, it also gives more formal training and experience to young scientists in order to learn how to communicate what they’re learning to different audiences.
At the end of the day, we need to provide means for students at all levels to gain experience and to understand the importance of public outreach. For science to progress and for the knowledge we gain to be beneficial, it is our job to make our science relevant. By implementing and engaging in programs such as Service-Learning, we can learn how to effectively communicate science in order to change the public’s perspective on how they view science and its teachings.
