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The SciCommer · Aug 18, 2026

The SciCommer: 18 August 2026

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Heather Doran · The SciCommer

I enjoyed seeing lots of people in northern europe making pin-hole cameras this week! The weather even played ball where I was to get a great view of the partial eclipse.

A reminder, unfortunately, the cost per transaction from Stripe (the payment platform I need to use) is going to be rising so I need to increase subscriber fees. The pay-per-month subscriber cost has increased already but you can still lock in the current rates for annual subscriptions until the 1 of September.

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This newsletter is for science communicators around the world. It brings together news, events and research. I prioritise videos, links and research/events/conferences that help us to improve science communication practice and research in this newsletter (and don’t forget to check to see if it has been included already).

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The UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education is pleased to announce the launch of the "Knowledge Democracy and Participatory Research Open Access Repository".

The Call for Proposals for PCST 2027 in Shanghai is now open!

The award-winning science podcaster and filmmaker Zakiya Whatley, PhD answers five questions about her SciComm pathway and practice

In Nature ‘NIH limits funding for research on the health effects of public policy’

A study investigates for the first time watchdog science journalism in Ibero-America, an essential practice to combat fraud, abuse and corporate interference in science.

WATCH:

Rice University has launched SCOPE, a new science communication center (USA)

Play the game: Guess-The-Citations to explore why citation counts are not an intuitive measure of scientific impact. I thought you might like it! Players guess which of two papers received more citations per year, based only on title and abstract.

UK based? The Institute of Physics Public Engagement Grant Scheme of up to £4000 is live. They are looking for public engagement projects that strengthen families’ relationship with physics, challenge stereotypes, and those that reach underrepresented audiences.

I get a bit of help from AI for this part of the newsletter and prompt it to include a short summary of the research articles to help out readers.

‘The Theater of Science and the Science of Communication: A Dialogue With Daniel Raichvarg on Bridging Science, Art, and Society’ Communication and the Public — This dialogue explores the connections between science, art and society, considering how theatrical and artistic approaches can contribute to science communication and public engagement.

‘A Comparative Study Practical Versus Reflective Models in Training Scientists to Communicate with The Public’ International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science — This study compares practical and reflective approaches to training scientists in public communication, examining how different models can develop scientists’ communication skills and confidence.

‘Exploring genetic inheritance through public engagement: A science outreach initiative at the European Researchers’ Night’ International Journal of Science Education, Part B — This paper examines a public engagement initiative focused on genetic inheritance delivered as part of European Researchers’ Night, highlighting approaches for making genetics accessible and engaging to non-specialist audiences.

‘Scientists and their motivations for science outreach’ International Journal of Science Education, Part B — This study investigates why scientists participate in science outreach and how their motivations relate to the educational and engagement contexts in which outreach takes place.

‘How can citizen science reduce psychological distance to science? Insights from three projects in contested environmental contexts’ Journal of Science Communication — Drawing on three contested environmental citizen science projects, this study examines how participation can reduce social, spatial, temporal and hypothetical psychological distance from science. It highlights science communication as an integral part of participatory research and the development of socially robust knowledge.

‘User perceptions of incidental exposure to science content on social media — a qualitative study’ Journal of Science Communication — Interviews with 19 social media users explore how people encounter science content incidentally through algorithmically driven feeds. The study finds that personal relevance, trust, familiarity and verification strategies shape whether users engage with and believe this content.

‘A Qualitative Study Identifying Behavioral Science Communication Strategies to Improve Client Engagement and HIV Prevention by Disease Interventionists’ Sexually Transmitted Diseases — This qualitative study identifies behavioural science communication strategies that disease interventionists can use to strengthen client engagement and support HIV prevention. It considers how communication approaches can help improve interactions with people receiving public health services.

I can’t fit all entries into the weekly newsletter so I prioritise new entries. If you are a paid subscriber, you can access the full diary listings at any time via the button. You can also see what is coming up this week or so, for free, via the button below.

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Looking for a SCICOMM INTERNSHIP or FELLOWSHIP? Follow the link to see a list of opportunities that often run on a yearly cycle. These are always available for free for everyone - as are entry-level and paid PhD positions.

UK: Newcastle University is looking for a Communications Assistant £29,588 to £31,236 per annum [Newcastle]

UK: Science Museum Group is looking for a Public Programme Developer £29,400 per annum [Bradford]

USA: University of South Florida is looking for a FWS Communications and Marketing Intern [Tampa, FL]

I share entry level and PhD jobs for free, but more senior posts are paywalled. To see more and access the archive please take out a paid subscription.

Read the original on thescicommer.substack.com ↗

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