The SciComm Trainers Network community includes individuals and organizations who train (or aspire to train) scientists in communication and engagement skills; study science communication training; or fund science communication training. We are currently led by the Reboot Team.

The SciComm Trainers Network cultivates a community of individuals and organizations who are committed to advancing science communication training that builds scientists’ capacity to engage diverse audiences and strengthen relationships across society.

Network participants agree to prioritize and practice the following guiding principles in our collective work:

Inspiring Community — Participants build connections and cultivate trusting, positive relationships that enrich and enliven all participants’ work and support the wellbeing of everyone in the network.

Equitable Inclusion — Participants create an empowering network that seeks out and elevates a wide variety of perspectives, experiences, and identities, especially those that have historically been underrepresented. This includes ensuring equitable access to the opportunities provided by the network.

Respectful Collaboration — Participants advance our common purpose while respecting ownership and livelihoods, including boundaries around proprietary information, intellectual property, and business practices.

Accountability — Participants hold themselves and each other to ways of working that advance the quality and professionalism of the field, particularly through effective and reflective conduct and communication.

We maintain a Slack community and periodically convene workshops, trainings, and events, to achieve the following goals:

Cultivate Community — connect, recognize, validate, advocate for, and support each other by engaging in network activities including convenings, peer mentorship, and our online communication system.

Improve research-to-practice — collaborate to share evidence-based practices, improve efficiency, and measure impact; establish clear quality and information sharing standards; connect research and practice; and build resources and institutional support for science communication training; advancing institutional change to improve equity and belonging in science communication and scicomm training. 

For an example of this work see SciCommBites, a research summary blog site dedicated to digesting and translating the latest science on science communication.

Broaden Participation — expand opportunities and access points for current and aspiring science communication trainers; map, categorize, and communicate the various offerings across the field; and increase diversity and inclusivity among trainers and trainees; developing inclusive practices and language.

The idea of the SciComm Trainers Network originated from a series of workshops that were held in late 2017-early 2018 that you can read about here.  The Network was initially lead by Amanda Stanley, Ph.D.  (Executive Director, COMPASS) and Laura Lindenfeld, Ph.D. (Executive Director, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science). Under their leadership,  convenings of the Network were held in 2018 and 2019, which you can read about here and here.

The SCTN is funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Kavli Foundation and is fiscally sponsored by the Institute for Learning Innovation.