Building from the "organizational turn" in science communication

About the event

In society, many agents (e.g., politicians and scientists) and organizations have a fundamental need to communicate science to stakeholders or to use scientific information to engage stakeholders in ways they deem legitimate and credible.

In this talk, Dr VanDyke will share his work considering challenges and opportunities for the role of strategic communication and public relations in organizational science communication. As VanDyke’s previous work demonstrates, although contemporary evidence-based public relations strategies can advance public engagement with science in the public interest, challenges with organizational, practitioner, and social constraints, behaviors, and perceptions also likely hinder the ethical and evidence-based application of public relations and strategic communication in science. The presentation will highlight tensions as well as future research questions related to how public relations and strategic communication might advance science communication theory and practice.

Dr VanDyke's research examines the role of public relations in communicating about science and environmental risk. His research has been published in leading journals, and he has led and collaborated on teams receiving more than $4 million in extramural support. He serves on the editorial boards for Corporate Communications: An International Journal and Science Communication.