---
title: "Science communication"
chunk: 7/7
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_communication"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:16:22.672901+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

"Public understanding of science", "public awareness of science" and "public engagement with science and technology" are all terms coined with a movement involving governments and societies in the late 20th century. During the late 19th century, science became a professional subject and influenced by governmental suggestions. Prior to this, public understanding of science was very low on the agenda. However, some well-known figures such as Michael Faraday ran lectures aimed at the non-expert public, his being the famous Christmas Lectures which began in 1825.
The 20th century saw groups founded on the basis they could position science in a broader cultural context and allow scientists to communicate their knowledge in a way that could reach and be understood by the general public. In the UK, The Bodmer Report (or The Public Understanding of Science as it is more formally known) published in 1985 by The Royal Society changed the way scientists communicated their work to the public. The report was designed to "review the nature and extent of the public understanding of science in the United Kingdom and its adequacy for an advanced democracy". Chaired by the geneticist Sir Walter Bodmer alongside famous scientists as well as broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, the report was evidenced by all of the major sectors concerned; scientists, politicians, journalists and industrialists but not the general public. One of the main assumptions drawn from the report was everybody should have some grasp of science and this should be introduced from a young age by teachers who are suitably qualified in the subject area. The report also asked for further media coverage of science including via newspapers and television which has ultimately led to the establishment of platforms such as the Vega Science Trust.
In both the UK and the United States following the Second World War, public views of scientists swayed from great praise to resentment. Therefore, the Bodmer Report highlighted concerns from the scientific community that their withdrawal from society was causing scientific research funding to be weak. Bodmer promoted the communication of science to a wider more general public by expressing to British scientists that it was their responsibility to publicize their research. An upshot of the publication of the report was the creation of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), a collaboration between the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society and the Royal Institution. The engagement between these individual societies caused the necessity for a public understanding of science movement to be taken seriously. COPUS also awarded grants for specific outreach activities allowing the public understanding to come to the fore. Ultimately leading to a cultural shift in the way scientists publicized their work to the wider non-expert community. Although COPUS no longer exists within the UK the name has been adopted in the US by the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science. An organization which is funded by the US National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation and focuses on popular science projects such as science cafes, festivals, magazines and citizen science schemes.
In the European Union, public views on public-funded research and the role of governmental institutions in funding scientific activities were being questioned as the budget allocated was increasing. Therefore, the European Commission encouraged strongly and later obligated research organizations to communicate about their research activities and results widely and to the general public. This is being done by integrating a communication plan into their research project that increases the public visibility of the project using an accessible language and adapted channels and materials.

== See also ==
Conversazione
Hype in science
List of science communicators
Public awareness of science
Science-to-business marketing

== Notes and references ==

== Further reading ==
Bauer, M & Bucchi, M (eds) (2007). Journalism, Science and Society (London & New York: Routledge).
Bucchi, M & Trench, B (eds) (2014). Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology (2nd ed.) (London & New York: Routledge).
Cartwright, JH & Baker, B (2005). Literature and Science: Social Impact and Interaction (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO).
Drake, JL et al. (eds) (2013). New Trends in Earth-Science Outreach and Engagement: The Nature of Communication (Cham, Switzerland: Springer).
Fortenberry, RC (2018). Complete Science Communication: A Guide to Connecting with Scientists, Journalists and the Public (London: Royal Society of Chemistry).
Gregory, J & Miller, S (1998). Science in Public: Communication, Culture and Credibility (New York: Plenum).
Holliman, R et al. (eds) (2009). Investigating Science Communication in the Information Age: Implications for Public Engagement and Popular Media (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016). Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press). doi:10.17226/23674 
Nelkin, D (1995). Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science & Technology, 2nd edition (New York: WH Freeman).
Wilson, A et al. (eds.) (1998). Handbook of Science Communication (Bristol; Philadelphia: Institute of Physics).