SCI’s current work is concentrated in three areas where better communication, coordination, and policy development can help address major challenges.
SCI’s largest current initiative focuses on the global challenge of scaling carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Through CDRANet, SCI has brought together experts, institutions, and other stakeholders from around the world to identify the policies and systems needed for responsible CDR at scale. This work led to the Vancouver Declaration and, in 2026, the Vancouver Process—a government-led forum where countries can compare approaches, share experience, identify common challenges, and explore international cooperation on CDR.
OverviewDisinformation has become one of the most difficult communication challenges facing science and society. SCI is exploring how researchers, educators, communicators, policymakers, and other experts can work together more effectively to understand the problem and develop practical responses. This work includes our proposed Disinformation Awareness Training & Education (DATE) initiative, as well as ongoing SCI analysis of how misinformation, belief, media, and social dynamics influence public understanding.
OverviewFrom 2014-2024, SCI’s Open Scholarship Initiative (OSI) brought together researchers, universities, publishers, funders, governments, libraries, and other stakeholders to examine the future of scholarly communication and open science. SCI continues to draw on this work to promote open science policies that are evidence-based, sustainable, globally equitable, and responsive to the needs of research and researchers. Its reports and recommendations remain an important resource for the global community.
OSI
SCI has developed and explored a variety of other projects aimed at improving how science is communicated, shared, understood, and used. Some remain active at a smaller scale; others may be revisited as funding, partnerships, and opportunities allow.
Science communication spans many professions, disciplines, institutions, and audiences, but the people doing this work often have few opportunities to learn from one another across these boundaries. SCI began developing a network to connect science communication practitioners, researchers, educators, and others so they could share experience, identify common challenges, and build a stronger understanding of the field. This idea remains part of SCI’s longer-term agenda.
Research, writing, and analysis have been part of SCI’s work since its founding. Over the years, we have published newsletters and policy analyses, written and edited articles and books, spoken at conferences, and contributed to discussions about science communication, scholarly publishing, climate policy, disinformation, and other issues where communication plays an important role.
Science clubs can provide an important entry point for young people who are interested in science, particularly when schools and communities have limited STEM resources. SCI has explored ways to strengthen these clubs by connecting them with one another and with scientists, mentors, speakers, resources, and successful program models. The goal is a simple one: help more local science clubs become active, sustainable, and effective.
Since 2011, SCI has launched, tested, supported, or explored a wide range of projects. Some developed into major SCI initiatives; some served their purpose and ended; and others remain ideas we may revisit in the future.
During SCI’s first several years, we published a regular newsletter covering science communication research, ideas, people, and projects. Changes in online publishing and search eventually made the original format difficult to sustain, and the newsletter was retired in 2014. Writing and analysis have remained an important part of SCI’s work, however, and continue today through the SCI website and our individual project publications.
SCI NewsletterIn 2013, SCI organized the Journals & Science conference to examine the changing role of scholarly journals and the future of research communication. The discussions surrounding this conference helped lay the groundwork for the Open Scholarship Initiative, which SCI launched the following year and developed into one of its largest international programs.
Journals & ScienceSCI’s Science Profiles series explored science communication through the experiences of people doing the work. Researchers, science writers, filmmakers, educators, policymakers, community leaders, and others shared what they had learned about communicating science effectively and where communication breaks down. The series is now largely retired, but its interviews remain an archive of perspectives from across the science communication community.
Science ProfilesSCI explored creating a national speakers bureau that would make scientists and other STEM experts available to schools at little or no cost. Although we were unable to secure enough funding to build the program at scale, the underlying need remains: many schools have limited access to working scientists and other STEM professionals who can help students see where an interest in science might lead.
SCI also explored the possibility of developing an advanced academic program devoted specifically to science communication. One challenge quickly became apparent: science communication is an unusually broad field whose boundaries, core competencies, and academic foundations are still evolving. The idea remains interesting, but developing a meaningful doctoral program will require greater agreement about what advanced professional and scholarly training in science communication should encompass.
Other SCI projects and experiments over the years have included science communication surveys; efforts to identify and share best practices; a proposed crowdfunding platform for science communication projects; consultations with outside organizations on improving access to scholarly information; and early work on shared research infrastructure and a “science cloud.” We have also helped develop, advise, or support smaller projects initiated by others. Some of these ideas eventually evolved into other SCI programs; others remain available to revisit as needs and opportunities change.