COALESCE launches a new series of interviews about the relationship between research and practice in science communication

COALESCE is launching a new series of articles (SciComm Connections) exploring how science communication research and practice connect – what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change. 

The COALESCE Hubs, the network of institutions across Europe sharing resources being made available through the European Competence Centre for Science Communication, include universities and organisations involved in science communication practice. This provides the perfect opportunity to open up a discussion between science communication researchers and practitioners about research and practice connections and how they can be improved.

Each of our interviews involves a researcher and practitioner, who are representatives of two of our Hubs. These Hub representatives will share when the connections worked and when they have not, and what they have learned from the process. Together, these Hub representatives can discuss the research and practice connections in their own countries – bringing in different challenges and opportunities. The joint interviews will provide a safe space to discuss whether one side (research or practice) misunderstands or fails to address the needs of the other side and how that situation could be improved.

One SciComm Connections interview will be released each month from June 2026. 

In the first article of our series, Martina Arabadzhieva and Marianne Achiam discuss how researchers need to pay more attention to the problems identified by practitioners.