FAQs

Incorporated in 2018, the Civic Science Media Lab is a non-profit civic science journalism collaborative that is actively documenting the diverse practices of civic science through video, audio, photography, and digital content. Our goal is to make this work visible, understandable, and actionable for practitioners and decision-makers. Explore our history.

We document a wide range of civic science activities, including science communication programs, participatory research initiatives, science policy efforts, and informal science learning. Our focus is on how these efforts are designed, funded, and implemented in practice. We also welcome suggestions of projects and people that we should explore or consider including. Have a suggestion? Email us at teams@csmedialab.org.

Organizations can partner with us through sponsored reporting, program support, or collaborative documentation projects. These partnerships typically involve producing media and analysis that document specific initiatives or themes in civic science, with the goal of generating structured visibility and actionable insights. Learn more.

We define impact in terms of whether our work makes civic science more visible, interpretable, and actionable. This includes helping practitioners understand how others are designing and implementing initiatives, enabling funders to see patterns across investments, and supporting researchers in identifying gaps and opportunities. As such, we are actively tracking engagement metrics but more importantly, we are also tracking the actions that our coverage is enabling. Learn more.

We are actively building a civic science journalism corps made up of freelance journalists who are contributing to mapping the different aspects of civic science across different mediums. Those accepted can access the lab’s funding, utilize the lab’s resources to apply for funding, and collaborate with other like-minded journalists. In that sense, we operate in part like a collaborative. Learn more.

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 journalism practice. Science engagement researchers and practitioners can stay informed on the latest developments to integrate 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.

Our work aligns closely with Rita Allen Foundation’s Pillar 1 (Scaffolding for Learning and Impact), as our civic science ethnojournalism adds a layer of translation between scholars, practitioners, and community leaders. It also advances UN Sustainable Development Goal 17 by fostering stronger partnerships, knowledge sharing, and cross-sector collaboration by making civic science insights more accessible and actionable across communities.