About
The University of Rhode Island’s (URI) Metcalf Institute, Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and the URI Science and Story Lab launched the SciComm Identities Project (SCIP) to prepare the next generation of science communicators. The project, supported by a $2.8 million collaborative National Science Foundation grant, addressed a significant gap in science communication research and training by centering the motivations, experiences, and priorities of underrepresented scientists.
This project tested the extent to which normative behaviors ingrained in academia and science broadly relate to cultural norms and communication styles of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority scientists, and how these factors influence their science communication efforts.
Fellowship
The SCIP Fellowship was a one-year professional development opportunity for pre-tenure faculty at U.S. institutions who identify as underrepresented racial or ethnic minorities.
The SciComm Identities Project (SCIP) aimed to shift the paradigm of science communication training and create a more representative suite of academic science communicators through a new fellowship designed to test a training curriculum based on intercultural communication theories. Ultimately, we hope SCIP will elevate science communication activities as a valued aspect of academics’ institutional contributions. We also aim to increase representation of underrepresented scientists and engineers as science communicators and as public intellectuals in environmental news coverage to foster culturally relevant conversations about environmental issues.
