About
The goal of the Civic Science Fellows Program is to catalyze progress toward a future where all people can shape science to expand its benefits and horizons.
Seeding Transformative Change
The Civic Science Fellows program is building a network of leaders working to advance change across sectors—so people from all backgrounds shape science and benefit from its power and promise. The program brings together an interdisciplinary network of journalists, bench and social scientists, community-facing practitioners, content creators, public-interest organizations, and funders to develop evidence-based, human-centered approaches to build meaningful collaboration between science and diverse communities. Civic science goes beyond science outreach, co-creating a culture in which science is strengthened through evidence-based engagement with people across diverse issues and experiences, and scientists are equipped to anticipate and engage around the civic context of their work. The program is supported by a growing community of leaders and organizations who recognize that a culture of civic science will be key to solving the grand challenges of today and tomorrow.
The program, designed as a civic science lab, was established in 2020, with initial support from the Rita Allen Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, The Kavli Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In 2021, a second cohort launched with support from 35 funding and host partners, and in 2024 a third cohort launched—with partners recognized below.
Practice and Science of Civic Science Advisory Committee
The Practice and Science of Civic Science Advisory Committee members are experts and practitioners across diverse fields and sectors. Drawing on their knowledge and relationships, they strengthen the work of the Fellows and link the program to other relevant efforts.
2026-28 Practice and Science of Civic Science Advisory Committee to be announced this fall.
2024-25 Committee
- Mariette DiChristina, College of Communication, Boston University
- Anthony Dudo, University of Texas at Austin
- Kirsten Ellenbogen, Great Lakes Science Center
- Ernest Koe, Proof+Geist
- Adam Seth Levine, Johns Hopkins University; research4impact
- Peter Levine, Tisch College, Tufts University
- Fanuel J. Muindi, Civic Science Media Lab
- Naledi Marie Saul, UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development
- Dietram A. Scheufele, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Committee Chair)
- Daniel Stid, Lyceum Labs
- Yamilée Toussaint, STEM From Dance
- Joyce Yen, University of Washington ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change (Advisor)
2021-23 Committee
- Frances Colón, Center for American Progress
- Mariette DiChristina, College of Communication, Boston University
- Kirsten Ellenbogen, Great Lakes Science Center
- Ágnes Horvát, Northwestern University
- Adam Seth Levine, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute and Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
- Peter Levine, Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University
- Percival Matthews, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Dietram A. Scheufele, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Committee Chair)
- Tiffany Taylor, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Nikhila Kalra, ORS Impact (Advisor)
- Joyce Yen, University of Washington ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change (Advisor)
2020-21 Resource Partners
- Ann Christiano, Center for Public Interest Communications
- Britt Lake, Feedback Labs
- Alondra Nelson, Institute for Advanced Study
- Kelley Gulley, Irvine Foundation
- Andrés Henríquez, New York Hall of Science
- Sarah Stachowiak, ORS Impact
- Nikhila Kalra, ORS Impact
- Adam Seth Levine, research4impact
- Christopher Volpe, Science Counts
- Linda Shaw, Solutions Journalism Network
- Jonathan Garlick, Tufts University
- Samantha Jo Fried, Tufts Tisch College of Civic Life
- Peter Levine, Tufts Tisch College of Civic Life
- Sunshine Menezes, University of Rhode Island
- Anthony Dudo, University of Texas at Austin
- Joyce Yen, University of Washington ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change
- Dietram A. Scheufele, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Emily Howell, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- E. Alfonso Romero-Sandoval, Wake Forest School of Medicine
Host Partners
Civic Science Fellows are embedded in networked organizations, typically for 18 months, to co-create and pilot cutting-edge civic science projects—forging connections between science, technology, and civic life. Hosts are innovative organizations with high potential for leverage across different spheres and disciplines. They may include media organizations, community organizations, scientific societies, academic institutions, philanthropic associations, and nonprofits, among others.
AcademyHealth
AI Research Institute on Interaction for AI Assistants – Brown University
Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science – Stony Brook University
American Brain Coalition
American Institute of Physics
American Museum of Natural History
American Physical Society and American Astronomical Society
Association of Science and Technology Centers
Baker Institute for Public Policy – Rice University
Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics – University of California, Berkeley
Center for Black Excellence and Culture and Center for Healthy Minds – University of Wisconsin–Madison
Center for Clinical and Translational Science – The Rockefeller University and Clinical Directors Network
Center for Conflict and Collaboration – New York University
Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation and Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Learning and Development Office – Virginia Tech
Center for Health Communication – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Center for Justice – Columbia University
Center for Media Innovation and Social Impact – Boston University
Climate Central, Inc.
Climate Communication Division – Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
Community Engaged Research and Impact Office – Office of Research, The University of Chicago
Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) Program – American Association for the Advancement of Science
Eagleton Science and Politics Program – Rutgers University
George Mason University and University of California, Riverside
Human Cell Atlas, Inc.
Institute for Advanced Study
International Science Council
Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public – University of California, Berkeley
Media Impact Funders
Morgridge Institute for Research
Open Environmental Data Project
Research!America
Rural Health Equity Hub – Duke University
Science Communication Initiative – School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University
Science, Engineering, and Technology Program – American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Science Philanthropy Alliance
Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program – Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
Scientific Advancement – The Pew Charitable Trusts
Seattle Children’s Research Institute – University of Washington and Public Health – Seattle and King County
The University of Alabama and The University of Utah
West Virginia Science and Technology Policy Initiative
World Resources Institute
2024-25 Host Partners
- Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York Graduate Center
- American Medical Student Association
- American Physical Society
- Annenberg Public Policy Center of the
- University of Pennsylvania
- Association of Health Care Journalists
- Association of Science and Technology Centers
- Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University
- UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, University of California, Berkeley
- Center for Clinical and Translational Science, The Rockefeller University; Stavros Niarchos Foundation Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research, The Rockefeller University; and Clinical Directors Network
- Center for Cooperative Media, Montclair State University
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
- Ciencia Puerto Rico
- Citizens and Technology Lab, Cornell University
- Climate Central
- College of Communication, Boston University
- Council of Medical Specialty Societies
- Data Innovation Lab, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
- Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University
- Evidence Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Transforming Evidence Funders Network
- Exploratorium
- The Franklin Institute
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- GradFUTURES Professional Development, Princeton University Graduate School
- Institute for Advanced Study
- Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public, University of California, Berkeley
- The Knowledge House
- Morgridge Institute for Research
- Neuromatch
- Open Environmental Data Project
- Science Communication Lab
- Science Philanthropy Alliance
- Universities Allied for Essential Medicines
2021-23 Host Partners
- Advanced Visualization Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- The Aspen Institute Science and Society Program
- Association of Public and Land-grant Universities/Center for Academic Innovation, University of Michigan
- Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University
- Ciencia Puerto Rico
- College of Communication, Boston University
- Environmental Data and Governance Initiative
- National Geographic Society
- National Informal STEM Education Network
- Open Environmental Data Project
- Open Research Funders Group
- ScienceCounts
- Science, Media, and the Public Research Group, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Science News
- Science Philanthropy Alliance
- Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
- Sigma Xi
- SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University
- Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- The US–UK Fulbright Commission/Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon
2020-21 Host Partners
- Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Stony Brook University
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
- Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
- Center for Media Engagement, University of Texas at Austin
- National Geographic Society
- Open Environmental Data Project
- Research!America
- Science in Society Funder Collaborative
- Science Philanthropy Alliance
- Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
- US–UK Fulbright Commission
- WGBH
Funding Partners
The partner funders of the Civic Science Fellows program provide financial and other support for Civic Science Fellows and their host institutions, including expertise and network resources to help make these partnerships and related future efforts a success. Funding partners engaged across cohorts include:
Feld Family Initiative for Civic Science Communication at the Boston University College of Communication
Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
