A new report published by the Science Media Centre (SMC) was the focus of a discussion with Stempra members held on Zoom on 2 November 2022. The event was chaired by Shane Canning, PR & Media Manager, University of Edinburgh, with a panel discussion led by Claire Whitelaw, Head of Communications and Engagement, Durham University; Pete Castle, External Communications and PR Manager, University of Reading; and Dr Jenny Gimpel, Head of Brand and Communications at Kingston University.
SMC Report: The changing role of science press officers
The evening began with a presentation from Dr Helen Jamison, author of the report commissioned by the Science Media Centre to mark its 20th anniversary, along with Dr Claire Bithell who sat on the project steering group. Based on interviews, a survey and focus group research with press and communications specialists, senior executives and university researchers, the project explored how the role of science press officers is evolving and the challenges they face today.
While research communications has grown exponentially over the past two decades, major changes in universities and the media and social media landscape have resulted in growing pressures on communications teams along with a shift in university priorities towards student marketing, higher education policy, community engagement and other stakeholder needs. Many of those interviewed were honest about the difficulties they faced, with some considering a change in profession.
The report makes a series of recommendations for universities on prioritising research communications, ensuring it is adequately resourced and supporting the career development and progression opportunities for science press and communications officers.
With a growing network of communications professionals, Stempra is well-placed to explore more opportunities for networking, training and support for those at all levels – we welcome suggestions from Stempra members for future training sessions and events.
Public understanding of science remains critical to the mission
The panel made a number of points on the role of universities and their communications teams.
Universities serve to generate and share knowledge, challenge current thinking and evolve our understanding of ourselves and the world. Public understanding of science forms part of this mission, and indeed some universities explicitly recognise this in their vision statements and strategies. Both research and teaching universities have a role to play here, providing academic expertise and independent comment which are the bedrock of good journalism.
The global crisis which unfolded during the pandemic not only drew heavily on academic experts to guide populations through fast-emerging science and new health guidance, but also proved the business-critical role of communications.
Research communications remain exceptionally important to universities, helping to build their reputation and brand and showing their impact on wider society in diagnosing and addressing real-world problems like climate change.
Demonstrating the value of research communications
While many recognise the intrinsic value of building public understanding and trust in science, demonstrating its impact is equally important – press teams should be ‘doing their own PR’ to remind senior leadership teams and the science community of the importance of their work.
Many communications teams now capture and report on their impact in the media and on social media, not only to show how their work helps to build a university’s profile and reputation, but how it maps to the organisation’s strategy and mission.
Providing evidence of the value of communications was a key theme of the evening’s discussion, with suggestions to make this the focus of a future Stempra event where people could share examples of how they have evaluated and reported on their work.
Building capacity and upskilling within universities
Given the growing demands of media and social media, with social media becoming more immediate and time-consuming, some communications teams are shifting their approach to manage their workloads by prioritising issues and stories that need to be covered centrally, while training and supporting academics to manage more day-to-day communications themselves.
Sadly, some researchers have experienced online abuse and harassment as a result of their public work. The SMC report makes a recommendation to better understand and address the challenges facing academics, with policies in place to provide clarity and support around this issue.
Next steps
Helen Jamison will be presenting the SMC report findings at the UUK Marketing and Communications in HE conference on 1 December 2022.
Written by Jenny Gimpel, Head of Communications, General Pharmaceutical Council and until recently Head of Brand and Communications, Kingston University
Note from the Stempra Committee:
We are keen to take forward the recommendation for Stempra in the report:
Recommendation 5: The science community should explore improving career development and progression opportunities for science press and communications officers.
Universities, along with Stempra, should explore how to support the career development and progression of science press and communications officers. This should include creating opportunities for networking, training, and support for those at all levels, and providing more sustainable and attractive career propositions for those in entry level positions.
If you have any thoughts on this, please feel free to get in touch with us via info@stempra.org.uk.