A wealth of resources are available to help turn your energy and motivation into real actions that make a difference. The links below showcase the many ways you can take action, strengthen your advocacy skills, or organize a Science Rising event yourself in 2020.
QUICK LINKS:
- Participate in our democracy: Register to vote!
- Engage with policymakers
- Bring science to the public spotlight through local media
- Organize a training or event
- Bring your skills and resources to support local communities
- Support government scientists
- Team up with advocates on social media to spark a public dialogue
- Get creative
- Science Rising signs and visual resources
Resources are drawn from the many groups participating in Science Rising, along with a broader network of citizen advocacy groups. (This is a continually expanding list—email us at support@sciencerising.org with suggestions!)
Too many options? Try this quick round-up of actions based on your available time and resources.
Step one of democracy: Register to vote
Democracy depends on public participation. Encourage, motivate, and inspire your community to engage in the democratic process. Help get your friends, neighbors, and community members to local polling places and organize events and activities to support voter registration and turnout. Science Rising encourages everybody that is eligible to vote does so.
- Register to vote
- State-specific voting information
- Student voting guide
- Host your own event: voter registration toolkit
- Make a plan: know how to vote by mail, absentee ballot, or in person
Come together to engage with policymakers or candidates
From meeting with your elected officials to speaking up at town halls, coordinating call-in days to hosting a party that generates personal letters or public comments, teaming up with fellow scientist advocates and partners can significantly increase your influence on policymakers—and help to hold them accountable for how they act on science.
- Engage with a policymaker or candidate
- Host a letter-writing party
- Submit effective public comments
- Organize an in-district meeting
- Craft a killer one-pager for meetings
- Get candidates on the record: key questions to ask
- Webinar: how to get candidates on the record for science
Bring science to the public spotlight through local media
Whether it’s joining forces on a group op-ed, meeting with your local editorial board, or getting a group together to craft letters-to-the-editor, you can help make science accessible and set the record straight on misinformation.
- Elevate your voice: write an op-ed
- Getting media to cover your event: the basics
- Writing op-eds that make a difference
- Writing a letter to the editor
- Writing a brilliant press release
- Tips from journalists: how to build great connections with media
Organize a training or event
Support your peers and partners’ desire to learn and sharpen their skills in science advocacy, science policy, or other ways to elevate the role of science in our political process. Such events can be in-person or online.
- Organize an event or activity
- Webinar: how to organize an event that makes an impact
- Checklist: how to organize an event
- Planning an inclusive and accessible event
- Give a public talk
- Organize an on-campus event
- Host a debate watch party
Bring your skills and resources to support local communities
Engage in your communities and meet with local community group to offer technical support or scientific assistance. Listen to community needs and help connect them with the right scientific resources or expertise they need to advocate for themselves.
- Host a public education event with community groups
- Case study: partner with community groups for a local event
- Building strategic local action
Support government scientists
Organize a group to send them thank you letters or rally outside their building to show you stand with government science and scientists.
Team up with advocates on social media to spark a public dialogue
Come together with science advocates across the country to raise awareness about issues at the intersection of science and equity, and invite others to the dialogue.
- Organize a Twitter chat
- Suggestions from Science Rising for participating in our Twitter chats and organizing your own
- How to use Facebook Live effectively
Get creative
Need more ideas? Here are some more fun options to consider:
- Host a film screening or a lecture. Give people a way to take action at the end on the issue being discussed.
- Have a “science fair for policy makers.” Make a science prop or display with a group and then deliver it to your policymaker.
- Host a data-saving hack-a-thon to help protect data on federal web sites
- Get a group together to attend local appearances by candidates–and ask them questions that put science front and center in the discussion
Science Rising signs and visual resources
To help highlight participation in Science Rising, we offer the following visual resources.
A note on printing signs: To produce signs for rallies or other events where people will be holding up the sign, ask your local print shop for 100# (100-pound) cover stock, double-sided. For hanging up at an event, a more standard 20# paper weight, single-sided is generally sufficient.
