Public Relations and Science

The term public relations is associated in popular culture with spin and deception, as well as pithy [Page 610]efforts of promotion and publicity. If so, and lots of survey and anecdotal evidence features that perception, why then would we believe it has a role in science communication? The answer forms the theme of this discussion of public relations for science.

As an opening generalization, it is not easy to dismiss or dispel the perception of public relations previously mentioned, but public relations scholars can and do advocate for the view that public relations is a professional and academic discipline that works to help organizations plan, position themselves, achieve corporate social responsibility, build mutually beneficial relationships, and work toward a fully functioning society. Toward this end, public relations can advance the efforts of science to be accepted, seen as sound, and funded, as well as give voice to scientific discoveries and controversies. That claim can best be demonstrated by discussing risk management and communication.

Public relations can be defined as the management function that entails the planning, research, publicity, promotion, and collaborative decision making needed to help any organization's ability to listen to, appreciate, and respond appropriately to those people and groups with which the organization needs to foster mutually beneficial relationships as it strives to achieve its mission and vision. In unpacking this definition, keeping science in mind, we should focus on how and why an organization wants or needs to communicate with key markets, audiences, and publics on matters that are relevant to science and scientific findings.

A firm might market consumer products. Science is a vital part (directly or indirectly) of the integrity of products. Is the product hazardous in some way? Does it contain a harmful ingredient, such as lead, or have harmful side effects? Is it as effective as promotional messages claim? Whether the product is a pharmaceutical or a child's toy, science plays a role in understanding the risks consumers encounter that either attract them to or repel them from certain products. Science also plays a role in the public communication activities of activists who oppose current environmental policies and encourage dramatic changes. It is not just companies but also activist nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental agencies that engage in public relations using scientific processes and findings to enrich issue debates and to inform public and private policies. Organizations—nonprofit advocacy groups, governmental agencies, health care companies, and other businesses—also engage in science-based public health campaigns that utilize public relations strategies, tactics, and tools.

With that framework in mind, we can progress from discussing public relations in general to examine how it uses science and is used by scientists to communicate with key markets, audiences, and publics. The fundamental principle on which to launch this discussion is the compelling argument that societies organize themselves for the collective management of risk, creating and shaping institutions as well as engaging in dialogue to serve this purpose. Communication, culture, institutions, ethics, and science are all focal points for the discussion of the integrity of how each society manages risks. Relevant to this conceptualization and the growth of crisis and risk communication research and practice, several schools of thought have developed to form a complete and complex body of research and practice. Central to such discussions is the question of the scientific and cultural balance of risk, harm, and benefit framed in this daunting question: How safe is safe enough?

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