Aoife Taylor is a science communicator and research project manager in the Science and Society Research Group at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She is working on the EU-funded COALESCE (Coordinated Opportunities for Advanced Leadership and Engagement in Science Communication in Europe) project to support impactful science communication practices throughout Europe and the recognition of science communication as a profession.
What does the Science and Society Research group at Trinity College Dublin focus on?
What is your role in the COALESCE project?
Aoife Taylor: Trinity College Dublin is leading Work Package 5, which is all about impact and sustainability, ensuring that the project has relevance on a wider scale. We want to connect with different stakeholders, particularly in areas such as research and policy, and develop a business plan to ensure that the Competence Centre lives on after the project. This involves demonstrating the need for support for science communication across the EU.
We are reaching out and connecting with others who are doing the same type of work to build a network and learn from each other so we are in a stronger position to shape engagement with science, open science and responsible research and innovation.
In addition to focussing on the project’s long-term impact, we are also continuously evaluating our activities to see if what we are doing working and ways we can do better.
What has the project achieved to date and what will be the next steps?
Aoife Taylor: A big part of the project is co-creating the Competence Centre with communities of practice to ensure that it is built by and for the community, and that it supports people in the right ways.
We are attending policy events and conferences to build our network and get perspectives from all the different actors that have a stake in science communication. We are also gathering and building on the knowledge gained in previous Horizon 2020 SwafS (Science with and for Society) projects. We are using this knowledge to develop criteria for high-quality science communication and write policy briefs on ways to support science communication and recognise the value of science communicators.
We want the Competence Centre to bridge the gap between science, science communicators and policy makers and improve how science informs policy at all levels, from local to regional, national and EU levels.
Can you tell me a bit more about the national and regional hubs that the project is establishing?
Aoife Taylor: Through national and regional hubs, we are developing meaningful relationships with experts in different regions so we can share high-quality resources and support each other. They will give the Competence Centre a physical presence as well as local relevance. I am excited to see how they will grow in the next couple of years.
What will be the project’s main priorities for 2025?
Aoife Taylor: One of the main priorities for 2025 is to make sure that the project has a legacy. We want to give the Competence Centre the most value it can have.
I’d like to see it continue supporting science communicators, highlighting the importance of science communication and science communicators, and their need funding and recognition.
We will also further our work on building several elements of the Competence Centre like the science communication academy that will offer bespoke science communication training, and on developing an evaluation strategy that measures the transformational impact of the Competence Centre on science communication practice.