I can say without a doubt that the Metcalf workshop packed the highest quality, most useful information into a one-day session compared to anything else I've come across.

Alex Mansfield
Jones River Watershed Association

 

Career Development Program

Metcalf Institute offers training throughout the year for faculty, research staff, graduate students, post docs and senior level undergraduates in partnership with the Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment Innovation & Ecology (RI C-AIM). These programs are designed to help Rhode Island researchers obtain essential career development skills in topics ranging from mentorship and time management to communication with a variety of audiences.

 

Science Communication Training

SciComm Identities Project Fellowship

The University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute, Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and the URI Science and Story Lab launched the SciComm Identities Project (SCIP) to prepare the next generation of science communicators from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. The project, supported by a $2.8 million collaborative National Science Foundation grant, addresses a significant gap in science communication research and training by centering the motivations, experiences, and priorities of racial and ethnic minority scientists, and creates new fellowship designed to test a training curriculum based on intercultural communication theories. The SCIP Fellowship is a one-year professional development opportunity for pre-tenure faculty at U.S. institutions who identify as underrepresented racial or ethnic minorities.

Scicomm Exchange

Metcalf Institute launched the SciComm Exchange with support from Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR. Held in partnership with research institutions across the Rhode Island, SciComm Exchanges facilitate informal conversations about science communication topics with journalists, communication experts, and research peers.

Customized Science Communication Workshops

Metcalf Institute partners with a wide range of organizations to develop customized workshops for scientists, public affairs staff, and other science communicators. This approach is exemplified by Climate Change in Narragansett Bay: What’s the Story? a workshop created to help researchers, educators, journalists, and others gain new collaborators, skills, and ideas for developing compelling stories about the impacts of climate change to engage broader audiences. Metcalf also designs workshops for targeted audiences, such as non-profits, who seek specific types of communication training.

Training Programs at Conferences

Metcalf Institute works with partner institutions and organizations to develop customized workshops for journalists and researchers at scientific conferences and other gatherings. Metcalf has organized workshops for a wide variety of groups, including the Superfund Research Program, Society of American Foresters, and the National Adaptation Forum, among others.