35. Strategic Science Communication: Prof John C. Besley on designing communication that actually changes behaviour

2025-06-03

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/35-john-c-besley Passionate about sharing your research and want to ensure your comms efforts deliver meaningful results? Professor John C. Besley shares insights from his book Strategic Science Communication, and the SCREE framework, to help you move beyond hoping for impact to designing for it. In this conversation, he reveals why many research communication efforts fall short – not because r...

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/35-john-c-besley

Passionate about sharing your research and want to ensure your comms efforts deliver meaningful results? Professor John C. Besley shares insights from his book Strategic Science Communication, and the SCREE framework, to help you move beyond hoping for impact to designing for it. In this conversation, he reveals why many research communication efforts fall short – not because researchers aren't trying, but because they haven't been asked the fundamental question: what specific behaviour do you want to change? John and I discuss how to identify clear goals, understand the beliefs that drive behaviours, and align your communication activities accordingly. Whether you’re the director of research org, working in comms/operations, or an individual researcher, John shares practical tips that can help you start improving the outcomes of your comms and engagement today.

John is a Professor at Michigan State University's College of Communication, Arts, and Sciences, where he's spent more than 20 years researching public views about science and scientists' views about the public. His mission is to help science communicators be more effective by encouraging evidence-based and strategic communication choices.

"Often the scientists I'm talking about, if they have research that maybe they think somebody could use, they want people to use it. They want people to consider that science when making decisions. And if you want that to happen, you can just hope that it happens. Just hope for it. Or you can start making the choices that increase the likelihood that people will consider that research." — John C. Besley

The SCRREE framework emerged from John and his colleagues' recognition that while many researchers are committed to communication, few have ever been asked what they hope to achieve from their efforts. SCRREE stands for Strategic, Cumulative, Reflexive, Reciprocal, Equitable, and Evidence-based — principles that transform ad-hoc outreach into sustained impact. Through their consulting work with research organisations, they've developed a practical process that helps teams move from vague aspirations like "increasing awe and wonder" to specific behavioural goals like "getting policymakers to consider evidence in environmental decisions."

Our conversation covers:

Why strategic communication matters for researchers in today's funding and impact landscape
How to identify “audience-specific behavioural goals” that actually matter for your research
The practical process of asset mapping: aligning your existing activities with your goals
Why "engagement" really means giving people time to stop, think, and form beliefs
Common mistakes like focusing only on risks while ignoring benefits, norms, and efficacy
Building trust through demonstrating expertise, caring, integrity, shared values, and openness
The importance of cumulative thinking: why one-off activities rarely create lasting change
Practical tips for researchers at any level to start being more strategic today
How organisations can better support strategic communication through hiring and infrastructure