Bridging gaps and setting standards

The launch of the European Competence Centre for Science Communication’s virtual platform kicked off with a session on the project’s goals, perspectives and quality assurance. Joana Magalhães from Science For Change outlined the project’s timeline and key objectives. The Competence Centre aims to be the go-to platform for science communication, offering quality resources and community connections, which are especially crucial during crises. Tools like the Crisis Navigator and SciComm Innovation Cycle, along with collaborations with National and Regional Hubs, will help achieve these goals.

Tony Lockett from the European Commission highlighted the importance of the COALESCE project and the Competence Centre during his keynote. He noted the rapidly changing communication landscape, with fragmented audiences and evolving news consumption habits, adding that AI can be harnessed to create content faster and more efficiently. In a world where distinguishing real from fake is tough, science is essential for informed discussions and decisions. However, there’s a gap between public interest in science and scientists’ ability to communicate, complicated by a lack of time, resources and common language. The Competence Centre, according to Lockett, can bridge this gap by providing quality resources and promoting science-communication excellence.

At a workshop moderated by Michael Creek from StickyDot, standards for quality science communication were discussed. Liliann Fischer (Wissenschaft im Dialog), Anne-Sophie Gresle (InSPIRES Open Platform) and Arko Olesk (Tallinn University, COALESCE) emphasised the importance of building on existing resources and ensuring evaluation and standardisation. Fischer pointed out that these mechanisms should not overburden science communication with having to be scientifically validated but should be sensitive to different contexts. The goal is for COALESCE’s resources to become essential for practitioners and available in local languages.

– Aleks Peliushkevich, UWE Bristol