Increasing the Impact of Public Engagement Within and Beyond the Ecological Society of America

Public engagement is the intentional interaction between scientists and members of the public that facilitates mutual learning to inform policy, management, education, and scientific research1 1 https://www.aaas.org/resources/communication-toolkit/what-public-engagement . Scientific societies increasingly value public engagement (Yuan et al. 2019) because it helps their members make their work more relevant to a more and more diverse society. Additionally, public engagement fosters civic engagement skills, helps scientists understand the relevance of their research to society, and recognizes the importance of multiple perspectives and domains of knowledge to scientific endeavors (Jefferson et al. 2018). Over the past several years, there has been an increase in Ecological Society of America (ESA) members' desire to engage with the public, as seen by recent editorials (Kenney et al. 2016, Lubchenco 2017), growth of sessions during the annual meeting, and the establishment of the Communication and Engagement Section2 2 https://www.esa.org/communication-engagement/ as well as the existing Policy Section3 3 https://www.esa.org/policy/ and Public Affairs Committee4 4 https://www.esa.org/about/governance/committees/public-affairs-committee/ . There has also been encouragement from ESA leadership to include public engagement themes in plenary talks and to provide members with actionable information to engage policymakers (Marsh and Anderson 2018, Mize et al. 2018, Kumar et al. 2019). Professional societies have a special role in shaping the norms and expectations of a field as well as providing the resources and incentives to be successful in meeting them (Agre and Leshner 2010). This role means ESA should support the development and recognition of excellence in public engagement efforts for the field of ecology. Here, we describe a recently developed strategy (see Appendix S1 for a full report) for increasing the ESA's public engagement efforts and provide recommendations on how the Society can enact it. In 2017, a group of approximately 30 ESA members and leaders started to identify opportunities for ecologists to engage the public in science and for the Society to support their actions. This initial exploration expanded during a 2018 workshop (supported by an ESA long-range planning grant led by M.A. Kenney and F. Davis) with public engagement leaders within ESA. The recommendations below are a synthesis of key ideas from the workshop and related discussions (Appendix S1). The recommendations fall into four categories: (1) Training, (2) Recognition and Awards, (3) Networking, and (4) Increased Visibility in ESA. One of the most powerful ways that a professional society can demonstrate the importance it places on public engagement is through awards. This year, the ESA Communication and Engagement Section launched a Communication in Practice award and a Best Poster award, funded via an ESA long-range planning grant. Currently, however, there is not a society-level award for ESA members or teams who have made an impact as a result of their public engagement. Multiple types of new awards will be necessary to recognize ESA members at different career stages and doing different kinds of public engagement (Appendix S1). Many forms of public engagement involve working with partners and teams and co-producing knowledge (Meadow et al. 2015). ESA should ensure that awards recognize teams in addition to individuals, thereby expanding members' conceptions of science communication and engagement beyond traditional, individual-driven dissemination (like op-eds or science journalism) to activities that demonstrate public impact (e.g., change in a policy decision, expansion of public agency communications to include ecological science, or a broadening of public dialogue about science). Many scientists who conduct public engagement can feel isolated. As a result, providing multiple mechanisms for meeting other ESA members and allies who are interested in public engagement would be useful to support members, provide peer-mentoring, and advance the field of science communication and public engagement. The primary networking opportunities for ESA provides are at the annual meetings, and thus, it is important, at a minimum, to continue social events (e.g., multi-section mixers). Additionally, it would be worthwhile to develop online networking opportunities for all ESA members interested in communication and public engagement, and to make peer-mentoring a requirement of any proposed public engagement fellows. Further, ESA could facilitate the option for focusing on public engagement in mentorship opportunities offered at annual meetings (e.g., mentorship programs facilitated Early Career Section, Student Section, and SEEDS). Cultivating social norms around public engagement may increase participation in such activities (Poliakoff and Webb 2007). There are three main ways ESA can increase visibility. The first is by making public engagement one of the selection criteria for the annual meeting plenary speakers. Speakers would be expected to address their public engagement and societal impact as well as their research. Over the past several years, the ESA conference had several such plenary sessions that stimulated ESA members to think about how they communicate their science and its impact. Formalizing this expectation is a valuable next step. Additionally, all participants at the meeting should be encouraged to address their engagement-focused research, broader impacts and/or public engagement activities in their talks or posters at ESA meetings. Second, via journal articles and blogs, ESA should continue soliciting and including public engagement editorials. An important first step is The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America section "Communicating Science" edited by B.G. Merkle, launched in 2018 and the ongoing Human Dimensions series co-edited by S. Anderson, B.G. Merkle, and others (Hettinger et al. 2019). It would be ideal to elevate this type of discussion in a peer-reviewed ESA journal, too. For example, there could be a section in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (similar to the Exploring Ecological Careers section that ran from 2017 to 2020) which would profile effective public engagement experiences and advice to members. Third, webinars throughout the year can greatly increase conversation about science communication and public engagement beyond the annual meetings. For example, a recent webinar focused on collaborations between ecologists and national park interpreters drew nearly 300 attendees and recent online "water cooler" discussions of misinformation and storytelling5 5 www.esa.org/events/the-esa-weekly-water-cooler/water-cooler-chat-4/ and teaching science communication6 6 www.esa.org/events/the-esa-weekly-water-cooler/teaching-science-communication/ (descriptions of both and links to associated resources available online) have resulted in robust engagement including 50 + attendees. In all three of these channels, there is a need for expanded recognition of the work of ESA members who are not in traditional academic or ecological consulting roles, but are still working in ecology-allied spaces. ESA includes members doing multidisciplinary research including in environmental social sciences and/or working in policy, science journalism, science communication, land management, and other fields where public engagement is part of organizations' missions. Continued engagement of these members by ESA staff and leadership (e.g., by highlighting public engagement opportunities in communities, with organizational decision-makers, or on public lands like parks and refuges), is essential for membership retention and the ongoing relevance of our professional society. These suggestions are aimed at helping ESA be successful in supporting the society's professional development, networking, and incentives to increase the role of public engagement in the ecological community. We hope ESA and its members will set a goal to undertake public engagement as part of how we define ourselves as ecologists. Now more than ever it is critical that all scientists, including ecologists, acknowledge that science can be an exclusive field, lacking diverse perspectives; increased public engagement can play a key role in helping to broaden participation helping science become more inclusive (ESA Communication and Engagement Section 2020). Our intention is for public engagement to go beyond a set of policies or practices to follow and grow to become part of the way that we define our profession. Above all, ecology requires broadening outreach to and participation with society about topics that matter to our future. We thank the 30 ESA members and leaders, participants in the 2018 workshop, and authors of the public engagement strategy report to the ESA Board of Directors who contributed ideas to this paper or to the process. This work was supported in part by a 2018 Long Range Planning Grant from ESA to M.A. Kenney and F. Davis on the Public Affairs Committee. M.A. Kenney and K. Schwarz were partially supported as AAAS Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellows. S.M. Anderson co-authored this manuscript in her personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the United States Department of Agriculture or the United States Government. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.