Introduction
Abstract
In this webtext, we emphasize the importance of deliberative approaches to science communication, especially in contexts where science provides evidence to support decisions. Public engagement in the context of environmental decision making, we argue, is one such context. While scholars in technical communication and related fields have explored public engagement, communication in these spaces is increasingly mediated by emerging digital technologies that warrant further attention.
Toward that end, we provide a brief tour of the ecology of emerging digital tools and artifacts in two recent cases of public engagement. In so doing, we shed light on how these emerging digital technologies are being used to facilitate 1) collaboration among scientists and other technical experts and 2) engagement with citizen stakeholders.
As our examination of emerging technologies in this context illustrates, while technical communication and science communication are each their own interdisciplinary areas of inquiry, technical communication skills and expertise are increasingly relevant to the practice of science communication. We conclude by providing resources and recommendations from the field of technical communication for supporting effective science communication and public engagement.
Section Overview
This Webtext
The webtext was built using Quarto, an open–source scientific and technical publishing system in combination with RStudio. While we don't have access to the proprietary tools featured in our two cases, Quarto allows us to approximate some of the strategies these tools support.