As part of their work, the Center for Public Interest Communications team members engage in a range of scholarship activities. They conduct research, publish science-driven frameworks for the social change sector, and regularly give talks and hold trainings for foundations, nonprofits, scientists and activists. They collaborate on projects with colleagues from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and other organizations, such as the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These efforts are designed to help practitioners apply findings from cognitive, behavioral and social science to create and implement effective strategic communications for social change.
Listed below, starting with the most recent, are examples of the work produced as part of the Center’s public scholarship and that have appeared in publications that include Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), Medium and The Conversation.
2019
How to Design for Diverse and Gender Inclusive Humanitarian Organizations
Outsmart Gender Bias through Design
Medium–December 2019
In these two articles, Center team members and their partners at the UN Refugee Agency’s Innovation Service describe how behavioral, social and psychological science can help humanitarian organizations create more inclusive workplaces.
As the authors note, findings from academic research can help overcome gender biases that stand in the way of progress toward achieving inclusivity.
Communicating Complexity in the Humanitarian Sector
SSIR–October 2019
In this article, Center team members and their partners at the UN Refugee Agency’s Innovation Service, describe how academic research can be used to help think through the complexity of innovation and provide a pathway to doing it better. As their own experience shows, complex doesn’t have to mean complicated.
How to Use Stories to Bring “Us” and “Them” Together
SSIR–June 2019
To build more inclusive movements, social advocacy organizations and activists need to create stories that can engage both familiar and new communities.
Changing Mindsets, Changing the Rules
YouTube–June 2019
A talk on communicating climate change in the anthropocene delivered in June 2019 at a conference hosted by Partners for a New Economy.
This podcast of a presentation made at the 2018 Nonprofit Management Institute addresses the question: What should strategic communication in the public and social change sectors look like in a time marked by extreme political polarization and false information? As explored in this podcast, featuring a presentation made at the 2018 Management Institute, science suggests the key may be playing offense, rather than defense.
CPIC partnered with the UN Refugee Agency’s Innovation Service (UNHCR) to produce a series of articles in Medium exploring ways science can help improve communication about refugees and humanitarian innovation. Below is the latest addition to the series:
Communicating the Complexity of Displacement in a Changing Climate
March 2019
Displacement is fiercely complex. So is climate change. Explaining how those factors intertwine requires an array of legal and scientific jargon that obscures the suffering experienced by people caught at their intersection. This actionable guide is designed to help those working in the humanitarian sector communicate the complexity of climate change and displacement to inspire action.
2018
“The Science of Belief” was produced as part of the CPIC/UNHCR partnership. All three articles below appeared in Medium and use academic research to answer some tough questions about why people believe what they do:
- Identify Perceptions of Harm
December 2018
Why do some people support policies that limit asylum seekers’ opportunity to seek refuge in another community? How is it that people can have such radically different perspectives on solutions for protecting refugees? How people think and act toward issues is influenced by their gut intuitions or emotional reactions. - Use Values and Worldviews to Build Bridges
December 2018
Why do people have such radically different responses to refugees? How is it that despite our best efforts to gain support for the protection of people whose lives are devastated by forces outside their control, we continue to face apathy and opposition? - Move Beyond “Us” and “Them” to “We”
October 2018
Why do people hold prejudiced beliefs toward refugees and people seeking asylum? How can we develop communication strategies to engender more positive feelings toward refugees?
The Secret to Better Storytelling for Social Change: Better Partnerships
SSIR–November 2018
No single organization or individual can pull off an effective storytelling campaign alone. Reaping the benefits of storytelling requires that we build better partnerships between three important players. This article was produced in partnership with Exposure Labs to bring together the best available knowledge from practice and academia.
The Science of What Makes People Care
SSIR–Fall 2018 Issue
Effective communication is not simply about getting your message out. It requires you to strategically tap into what shapes people’s feelings and values. This article contains five principles pulled from social science that will help you connect your work to what people care most about.
How We Are Making Sure the Science We Share Is Good
Medium–July 2018
Findings that have long adorned psychology textbooks and found their way into the popular press, like the Stanford prison experiment, have come under scrutiny when their findings were critically re-explored. Therefore, we must accept that not all research is created equal.
Things I learned from YouTube stars, ex-extremists, and storytellers about fighting hate
Medium–July 2018
In June 2018, 50 YouTube content creators from around the world gathered in London for YouTube’s Creators for Change camp. These ambassadors met to work on projects for their YouTube channels to fight hate speech, xenophobia and racism. With millions of followers among them, this incredible program supports these influencers as they use the platform for social good. This guide provides an actionable framework for practitioners to include quality research in their work.
The Science of Story Building
Medium–May 2018
This 7-part series explores what science and research tells us about why stories work. The collection of articles synthesizes scholarship from multiple disciplines to help inform journalism and public interest communications leaders and practitioners how to break through the noise and work toward the greater public good.
How to Tell Stories About Complex Issues
SSIR–May 2018
Stories are the most powerful tool we have for increasing understanding and building engagement with complex issues. Telling them well can drive belief and behavior change.
2017
Can #Metoo Have Lasting Influence
SSIR–December 2017
Advocates and organizers need to think strategically about how to ensure that women are supported as they continue to report sexual violence, and that their perpetrators are held accountable. To do so, they can look to the science on social norms.
The Science of Story Building
November 2017
In this webinar hosted by the Communications Network, CPIC team members describe:
- How to use the best of what we know from science to construct stories that are compelling, persuasive and memorable
- How to construct narratives that create space for audiences to see their own values reflected
- Where to find new insights that can inform effective story building
The Back-of-the-Envelope Guide to Communications Strategy
SSIR–September 2017
Communications strategy should be flexible, scrappy, and accessible to everyone on your team. This four-question framework, rooted in social science, can help organizations craft an effective strategy that drives real social change.
Building the Field of Public Interest Communications
Journal of Public Interest Communications–April 2017
This article describes the history and goals of the Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida and discusses the need for institutionalizing public interest communications by building a professional community, developing university curricula, and fostering scholarship.
Stop Raising Awareness Already
SSIR–Spring 2017 Issue
Too many organizations concentrate on raising awareness about an issue—such as the danger of eating disorders or loss of natural habitat—without knowing how to translate that awareness into action, by getting people to change their behavior or act on their beliefs. It’s time for activists and organizations to adopt a more strategic approach to public interest communications.
To Win Against False Information, We Must Play Offense
SSIR–-February 2017
What should strategic communication in the public and social change sectors look like in a time marked by extreme political polarization and false information? Science suggests the key may be playing offense, rather than defense.
Why each side of the partisan divide thinks the other is living in an alternate reality
The Conversation–January 2017
To some liberals, Donald Trump’s inauguration portends doom for the republic; to many conservatives, it’s a crowning moment for the nation that will usher in an era of growth and optimism. It’s as if each side is living in a different country – and a different reality.
Persuasion in a “Post-Truth” World
SSIR–January 2017
To make progress on ideologically or politically sticky issues, social sector organizations must reshape their messaging to do more than cite facts; they must use smart storytelling and craft solutions that don’t require those they want to reach to sacrifice their values.
2016
Most Americans believe we should have gun regulation. Here is why those who don’t are winning the debate
The Conversation–July 2016
People on both sides of the gun control issue agree the threat from violence is real, but support different responses to that threat – either regulate the sale of guns or make sure a gun is in the hand of every good guy. How could groups who hold disparate views ever agree?