The SciComm Identities Project (SCIP) aimed to shift the paradigm of science communication training and create a more representative suite of academic science communicators. The SCIP fellowship is designed to test a training curriculum based on intercultural communication theories. We hope SCIP will elevate science communication activities as a valued aspect of academics’ institutional contributions. The project also aimed to increase representation of underrepresented scientists and engineers as science communicators and as public intellectuals in environmental news coverage to foster culturally relevant conservations about environmental issues.
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 Fellowship had a different thematic focus in each of its three one-year cohorts. Each theme related, broadly, to climate change. SCIP Fellows gained science communication expertise and practice and built their professional networks in ways that will support new collaborations and research insights.
Fellowship Thematic Focus:
January – December 2023, Cohort 1: Energy
January – December 2024, Cohort 2: Water
January – July 2025, Cohort 3: Food*
*The 2025 cohort was cut short as part of the grant terminations issued by the National Science Foundation under the orders of the Trump administration.
Fellowship Goals & Commitments
The fellowship was designed for researchers at the pre-tenure career stage to:
- Foster confidence and science communication skills that can be implemented and further honed throughout the Fellows’ careers
- Emphasize the importance of science communication among tenure-track faculty
- Facilitate the transfer of these skills and competencies to Fellows’ students and colleagues
Training
SCIP Fellows participated in science communication training focused on a wide range of skills and competencies, including strategic and inclusive science communication, intergroup dialogue, adapting to situations and audiences, sharing personal stories through compelling narratives, writing style, framing and messaging, interviewing skills, and working with journalists.
Fellows participated in two one-week immersive trainings during the fellowship, as well as up to six web-based, interactive training modules conducted on a bi-monthly basis throughout the fellowship year. The modules provided additional training on topics such as equitable community engagement and developing substantive, inclusive broader impacts components for proposals. The virtual meetings provided a supportive space for Fellows to test their ideas for podcast episodes, receive feedback and technical guidance, and discuss concerns or other topics as determined by the cohorts’ needs and interests.
Evaluation
Fellows also committed to responding to pre- and post-training surveys and participating in interviews to inform the research questions of the SCIP project.
Podcasts
SCIP Fellows received training to develop a podcast episode. This experience prepared SCIP Fellows to participate in other communication and public engagement activities beyond the fellowship, and, perhaps, to become engaged as science communication trainers themselves, whether in their own classrooms or in other settings. SCIP Fellows received training in developing narratives, interviewing guests, and recording techniques. Fellows also had access to ongoing mentorship and assistance from the SCIP Podcast production team.
As part of the SCIP Podcast, each Fellow developed a podcast episode over the course of their fellowship. The resulting podcast was intended to cover a broad spectrum of topics and perspectives on the annual research themes and provide a wider range of diverse perspectives on environmental and climate change research to expand public interest and engagement with these critical topics. Unfortunately, the early grant termination prevented the podcast from being completed.
The SCIP team also tested a novel peer-review process for these podcast episodes as a way to expand institutional thinking about “what counts” as academic scholarship. This approach was designed to to add new scholarly works to the Fellows’ academic records and CVs, while creating broadly accessible and compelling podcast episodes about their research interests.
Our Commitments to SCIP Fellows
This was a novel science communication training and research project. The SCIP team expected to learn from the Fellows, and, therefore, we used an adaptive approach toward the training curriculum, adjusting as needed to ensure a training experience that was responsive to the experiences and identities of the Fellows.
Fellows received financial and other support as follows:
- a $5,000 honorarium as an acknowledgement of the required time commitment.
- for each in-person training, reimbursement for roundtrip travel, 5 nights’ lodging, roundtrip ground transportation from local airports, and per diem for any meals not provided as part of the training. Local ground transportation will be provided during the workshops.
- an audio recorder for use in podcast development.
The trainings were developed collaboratively by the University of Rhode Island and Michigan State University teams. We invited speakers and external trainers who represent the racial and ethnic diversity we sought to support in this project to ensure a wide range of perspectives on science communication as an intercultural and culturally responsive practice.
2025 Cohort Fellowship Calendar
- January in-person workshop – 1/6/25-1/11/25
- February virtual office hours (optional) – 2/12/25
- March virtual workshop – 3/12/25
- April virtual office hours (optional) – 4/16/25
- May virtual workshop – 5/14/25
- June virtual office hours (optional) – 6/18/25
- July virtual workshop – 7/14/25-7/17/25