Public Engagement Content Awards
Sparked by initial support from the Lasker Foundation, with additional funding from the Dana Foundation and science communicator Dennis Mangan, Research!America launched a new category of award in 2024 — Public Engagement Content Awards. The program offers stipends up to $5,000 each to fund open access curriculum development in science communication and other public engagement skills.
Apply for the 2025-2026 cohort
Have application questions? Sign up for the November 7 or November 12 information session.
BACKGROUND
Research!America welcomes novel ideas to develop and test public engagement training content for those in STEMM fields. It is our goal to support current practitioners engaged in public engagement training and to bring new practitioners into the field. Furthermore, the content created through these awards will be publicly available, which will help fill the gap in science communication and public engagement training in current graduate STEMM curriculum.
The content developed through these awards may include, but is not limited to, material that enables scientists to communicate more effectively with non-scientists in digital and in-person settings, the use of social media to reach non-scientists, and approaches to addressing mis/disinformation through a variety of formats. Training components may also include ways to most effectively engage key stakeholder groups that impact the scientific enterprise including patient groups, government agencies and policymakers, community groups and the media.
BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION
- Hone skills in curriculum design for science communication and other public engagement knowledge and skills
- Expand professional networks in public engagement with science
- Collaborative peer learning around curriculum development
- Opportunity to pilot and refine curriculum content
- Increased visibility for created curricula
EXAMPLES OF PAST AWARDEE PROJECTS
Learn more about previous years’ projects.
ELIGIBILITY
Each proposal is reviewed by Research!America. Highly competitive proposals will address the areas listed in the rubric (coming soon).
- Stipends will be open to PhD candidates, post-docs, professional degree candidates, and junior faculty in STEMM and STEMM-adjacent fields.
- This opportunity is available to US citizens and permanent residents.
- Applications are due by November 21, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the difference between the Civic Engagement Microgrant program and the Public Engagement Content Awards? The Public Engagement Content Award is a stipend, not a grant. This money is provided directly to the individual, not overseen through a fiscal sponsor the way the Civic Engagement Microgrant is. The Public Engagement Content Awards fund curriculum development, not outreach projects per se.
What are my reporting responsibilities to Research!America?
- Check-ins with the program manager via google form survey and/or one-on-one meetings about every 6 weeks
- Midterm report
- Virtual oral presentation of your curriculum project to program managers
- Final deliverables: final report (with link to your open access curriculum) and programmatic feedback survey
- Externally published article or interview about your curriculum project
Since the curriculum developed must be open access, what platform is recommended? There are many free platforms available. For video recordings, we recommend Youtube or Vimeo. For written and visual content, we recommend Google sites.
For other questions, please contact [email protected].
For 30 years, Research!America has been committed to advocacy for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all. Support for curricula development through awards is provided by the Lasker Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation. Additional support received from the Dana Foundation for awards related to neuroscience and from science communicator Dennis Mangan.