Science communication is everyone’s business

One of my favourite things about science communication is running a business. Let me explain.

In 2015, I founded the science communication consultancy Scientell Pty Ltd with the late Paul Holper. Almost 10 years on, Scientell now comprises 3 other science communicators (Alysha, Cintya and Sonia), administrative staff, and over a dozen specialist subcontractors, including editors, designers, photographers, videographers, and animators. We have worked on nearly 400 projects for clients, including leading universities and research centres, Commonwealth, state and local government, CSIRO, and private companies.

We aim to tell a good story, framing information in ways that appeal to people’s values, while basing the content on robust and credible evidence. We consider what the audience needs to hear more than what scientists want to say. Rather than simplifying, our work is about clarifying – it’s not about dumbing down or dulling down; it’s about using clear, jargon-free language while maintaining the integrity of the information, and the excitement of the science.

Before founding Scientell, Paul and I had worked at senior levels in science agencies, which sometimes involved contracting consultants. I’ve looked at consulting from both sides now.

We noted 9 tips for running a science-based business:

1. Choose your team members wisely. In a small business, you need to ensure the team shares the same values, has a strong understanding of scientific processes, and demonstrates good interpersonal skills.
2. Manage the peaks and troughs of a small business through planned business development activities. Know which months are generally quieter and plan business development activities in advance to bring in business.
3. Understand your market, and price your products and services accordingly. NGOs and local governments have different budgets to private companies, and governments all have different procurement thresholds.
4. Ask the client about their budget range when quoting, as doing so can avoid misunderstanding about the size and scope of the project.
5. Once contracted, help your client understand what they need from the project by clarifying the scope, objectives, and precisely what the end product(s) will look like.
6. Always look for ways to improve your client service and expand the job: have a continual improvement mindset, and consider what else you can do to help the client.
7. Consider yourself part of the team in the organisation that is employing you. Your client should see you as part of the team and treat you like colleagues, not outsiders.
8. Define your audience(s). A campaign for multi-million dollar funding will be very different from an internal awareness-raising project. And don’t just call the audience the ‘general public’; there’s no such thing.
9. Advocate for the importance of science communication in science. It is not an add-on at the end, but an essential and integral ingredient in science (see below).

My 3 top tips and takeaways about communicating science:

1. Science communication isn’t rocket science – it’s communicating rocket science, which is just as hard. Science communication is difficult and needs to be approached professionally and respected as a profession.
2. Science communicators aren’t saving the world – we’re helping the people saving the world save the world. Science communicators help by ensuring science has impact. As a communication professional, you have a lot of value to add – such as providing advice on how to increase impact, getting people to think about their audience rather than themselves, and providing expert help and facilitating scientists’ communication.
3. Science communication isn’t the icing on the cake, it’s an essential ingredient in the cake. Science communication shouldn’t just come at the end. It’s integral to science, needs to be there from the start, and has to be a part of how science is done. The science cake won’t taste as good if this essential ingredient is omitted.

This is a modified extract of an article published in the Royal Society of Victoria magazine. If you’d like our help in communicating your version of rocket science, get in touch with us at info@scientell.com.au.