About the Lab
The Civic Science Media Lab (CS Media Lab) is a Boston-centered civic science news collective with national and global analysis/coverage on TV, digital print, and radio. The guiding goal: map the civic nature of science which pertains to the interactions between the scientific enterprise and local communities in solving real-world problems and fostering informed decision-making. Why? Well, navigating the rapidly changing civic nature of science is incredibly difficult. Through the practice of civic science journalism, the journalists and analysts we support are making new knowledge, lived experiences, activities, behaviors, roles, motivations, and responsibilities across the landscape of civic science more accessible, informative, and actionable for interested parties such as scientists across different career stages, science engagement practitioners (science communicators, science journalists, science educators, funders, entrepreneurs), local community leaders, and the broader publics.
Our framing of the term ‘media’ – plural of the word medium which refers to the environment in which something may function or flourish.
Our website is called the CSM Lab Terminal, which is a Bloomberg/NPR-style platform that brings together the various civic science journalism programs produced by journalists supported by the Civic Science Media Lab on video, digital print, and audio. The terminal is free and provides a searchable and near real-time coverage of the landscape across mediums through our ongoing mapping efforts and direct discourse with scholars, practitioners, and local community members. The ultimate goal is to provide scientists, science engagers, science journalists, funders, and other interested parties with a tool to navigate the insights from the rapidly evolving landscape.
Optimized for video, we are building the platform for high interconnectivity to reduce context switching for the user. What that means is that users can seamlessly move between different formats—whether video, audio, or text—without losing track of the broader conversation or needing to switch to new contexts. For example, a user could watch a video program, see a related upcoming event or recent audio program on a related theme—all while without the need to switch platforms. The goal is to make it easier for users to make new connections.
Get in touch with Lab Director Fanuel Muindi to learn more: [email protected]
Programs & Initiatives Developed
“Questions of the Day” is the flagship weekly program on the CivicSciTV Network that is hosted by Dr. Fanuel Muindi who is mapping the genotype and phenotype of the landscape of civic science via the lens of the on-the-ground lessons being learned by the scholars, practitioners, and local community leaders in academia, government, think tanks, non-profit organizations, start-ups, and others. Grounded in investigative civic science journalism, the show features action-oriented interviews to help scientists, educators, funders, engagers, policymakers, and other interested parties make sense of the latest developments in the civic science landscape. Insights from the ongoing mapping from the show has been published in external outlets such as Nature Biotechnology, Trends in Molecular Medicine, BioRxiv, and SciDev.
Special Series: Public Engagement with Science Training Programs; STEM in New York; Civic Science Journalism Collaborations; and more.
The QuickTake program is actively analyzing our ongoing engagements with stakeholders, and experiments with showcasing them in less than one minute via YouTube shorts. These nano-episodes are designed to serve as entry points for anyone to explore the insights from the landscape of civic science. The goal is to provide the daily “beat” of coverage. Direct submissions of rapid insights (in less than 60 seconds) from practitioners and scholars with relevance to our ongoing coverage can be submitted by clicking below:
The CivicSciEdu Program features nano-lecturers from various experts who teach select topics related to civic science (e.g., science communication, science policy, citizen science, etc). The target audience is anyone interested in learning and/or teaching about the many topics in civic science. See example. Please send an email to [email protected] if you are interested to submit a nano-lecture.
The CivicSciTV Newsroom Program is dedicated to bringing viewers the latest news and developments in the world of civic science in innovative ways. The program covers a broad spectrum of topics, ensuring that audiences are well-informed about the current events and breakthroughs shaping the field of civic science globally.
Hosts:
Jake Krauss (April 2023 – Present)
Email Jake if you have a link to a recent development that could be included in his program. ([email protected])
Changemakers is a show on CivicSciTV that features conversations with founders and leaders of diverse civic science initiatives from around the world who share their personal and professional stories in the field.
Hosts:
Victoria Gonzalez: Jan 2022-Jan 2024
Fanuel Muindi: Jan 2020 – Jan 2022
The CivicSciTV Journal is a program that features ~8-10 min video abstracts directly from scholars who share actionable insights from their latest published research across civic science areas (e.g., public engagement, participatory science, science communication, science journalism, science policy, etc). The main goal is to make civic science scholarship more accessible and actionable for diverse stakeholders.
Published a civic science related paper recently? Click below to submit a video abstract of the paper to the program:
The Civic Science Times is our print program that hosts reporters who cover the latest developments through investigative pieces, interviews with key figures across the civic science landscape, case studies, data visualizations, opinion pieces, and also features stories in science directly from scientists. The publication aims to inform and inspire scholars, practitioners, the public, and all other interested parties.
Ongoing Special Series: Scientist Stories in Science
Scientists – Have you published a research paper recently? Consider submitting the human stories behind the paper by clicking below:
The Perspective is an issues-focused show on CivicSciTV that features thought-provoking interviews with leading experts in different fields to examine science-related societal challenges, from climate change and public health to technology ethics and sustainable development, through the lens of civic science.
Hosts:
Diya Dwarakanath (2024 – Present)
Email Diya if you have ideas for future segments that could be included on the program. ([email protected])
CivicSciTV Radio features carefully curated replays and analysis of the main coverage on CivicSciTV and the Civic Science Times. Additional in-depth interviews with diverse experts are also provided to cover topical issues related to civic science from various angles. The idea is to provide guests with different ways to share their insights to create a synergistic effect that enhances our overall coverage of the landscape.
Ongoing Series
‘Consider This Next’ with Kacie Luaders (New Episodes every month)
The CivicSciTV Sandbox Program serves as a platform for piloting new types of programs and storytelling formats. The program allows us to test new ideas of video coverage that could become part of our regular programming. We welcome ideas for new shows, series, and/or episodes on our network.
Our Partners and Supporters
We extend our gratitude to all the individual and organizational donors, sponsors, and in-kind contributors who have supported our work. Your support has empowered us to continue our mapping work through civic science journalism and leverage it to create programming that benefits the broader civic science community.
Broadcasting Partners
Our broadcasting partners play a crucial role in amplifying the reach of our coverage. By collaborating with leading media and educational outlets, we ensure that our mapping, reports, expert interviews, and other content are accessible to our target audiences through the portals they are already using to access information.
Example Use Cases
We envision our foundational coverage supporting the civic science ecosystem in diverse ways. For example, educators at high schools, colleges, and universities can integrate our ongoing coverage into their curricula to enhance civic science literacy. Media outlets can incorporate insights from our engagements with diverse stakeholders into their science journalism. Science engagement researchers and practitioners can stay informed on the latest developments to identify best practices and potential collaborations. Decision-makers at universities, philanthropic organizations, for-profit corporations, governments, non-profits, and other entities can use the coverage to guide their strategic planning, funding decisions, and initiatives across different civic science fields.
Below are examples of publication outlets where we have published articles, opinions, perspectives, case studies, and others by using insights from our preprint server:
We are thankful to the following organizations for the opportunity to present our work:
The following reports have mentioned our work:
Alignment with the Pillars of Civic Science Learning
Our work collectively best aligns with the following 2 of 4 ‘Pillars of Civic Science Learning‘ as articulated by the Rita Allen Foundation. (1) Scaffolding for Learning and Impact and (2) Leading for Systems Change. Why? We believe dedicated civic science journalism creates an additional line of engagement and connection between the different ways of knowing exercised by civic science scholars, practitioners, and community leaders. We believe innovations around the coverage can accelerate progress across the different “levels of structures, culture, networks, and norms, whether locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally.”
