35. Strategic Science Communication: Prof John C. Besley on designing communication that actually changes behaviour

Strategic commsBehaviour changeStrategyStakeholder/audience mappingUser profiles/personas/archetypes
Written By Chris Pahlow

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Episode show notes

Passionate about sharing your research and want to ensure your comms efforts deliver meaningful results? Professor John C. Besley shares insights from his book Strategic Science Communication, and the SCREE framework, to help you move beyond hoping for impact to designing for it. In this conversation, he reveals why many research communication efforts fall short – not because researchers aren't trying, but because they haven't been asked the fundamental question: what specific behaviour do you want to change? John and I discuss how to identify clear goals, understand the beliefs that drive behaviours, and align your communication activities accordingly. Whether you’re the director of research org, working in comms/operations, or an individual researcher, John shares practical tips that can help you start improving the outcomes of your comms and engagement today.

John is a Professor at Michigan State University's College of Communication, Arts, and Sciences, where he's spent more than 20 years researching public views about science and scientists' views about the public. His mission is to help science communicators be more effective by encouraging evidence-based and strategic communication choices.

"Often the scientists I'm talking about, if they have research that maybe they think somebody could use, they want people to use it. They want people to consider that science when making decisions. And if you want that to happen, you can just hope that it happens. Just hope for it. Or you can start making the choices that increase the likelihood that people will consider that research." — John C. Besley

The SCRREE framework emerged from John and his colleagues' recognition that while many researchers are committed to communication, few have ever been asked what they hope to achieve from their efforts. SCRREE stands for Strategic, Cumulative, Reflexive, Reciprocal, Equitable, and Evidence-based — principles that transform ad-hoc outreach into sustained impact. Through their consulting work with research organisations, they've developed a practical process that helps teams move from vague aspirations like "increasing awe and wonder" to specific behavioural goals like "getting policymakers to consider evidence in environmental decisions."

Our conversation covers:

  • Why strategic communication matters for researchers in today's funding and impact landscape

  • How to identify “audience-specific behavioural goals” that actually matter for your research

  • The practical process of asset mapping: aligning your existing activities with your goals

  • Why "engagement" really means giving people time to stop, think, and form beliefs

  • Common mistakes like focusing only on risks while ignoring benefits, norms, and efficacy

  • Building trust through demonstrating expertise, caring, integrity, shared values, and openness

  • The importance of cumulative thinking: why one-off activities rarely create lasting change

  • Practical tips for researchers at any level to start being more strategic today

  • How organisations can better support strategic communication through hiring and infrastructure

Practical tips from this episode:

  • Start with audience-specific behavioural goals, not vague aspirations:

    • Push yourself beyond "increasing awareness" or "fostering awe and wonder" to identify what specific behaviour you want from a specific audience

    • "If my goal is to get policymakers to consider evidence, maybe I need to get this group of landowners engaged... my goal maybe is create a partnership and then that partnership is used." — John C. Besley

  • Map your beliefs to behaviours using evidence-based categories:

    • Risk/benefit beliefs: Do they think the behaviour is more beneficial than risky?

    • Efficacy beliefs: Do they believe they have the ability to do it?

    • Normative beliefs: Do they think it's normal or expected for people like them?

    • Trust-related beliefs: Do they see you as competent, caring, honest, and sharing their values?

    • "You can look at any message and say, am I communicating risks? Am I communicating benefits? Am I communicating norms? Am I communicating something that makes people feel like a behavior is feasible?" — John C. Besley

  • Audit your existing activities before creating new ones:

    • List all your current communication activities (lectures, social media, partnerships)

    • Match each activity to your behavioural goals

    • Identify gaps where you have goals but no aligned activities

    • Question activities that don't connect to any priority goals

    • "Rarely do we go into an organization where they don't have things already happening... can we match these activities to these goals?" — John C. Besley

  • Think cumulatively, not episodically:

    • Communication impact is slow and builds over time

    • Don't overreact to single data points or individual negative feedback

    • Plan for sustained engagement rather than one-off activities

    • "The impacts we're having are slow and cumulative... We don't want people looking at their stocks every day." — John C. Besley

  • Make your values and motivations explicit:

    • Don't assume people know why you care about your research

    • Explicitly communicate your integrity measures and quality controls

    • Share what motivated you to do the research

    • "If you don't actually say that, there's no reason to expect people to believe that... It's a danger to think, 'Oh, they're gonna see the benefits.' No, you gotta take steps." — John C. Besley

  • Be reflexive without being paralysed:

    • Schedule regular check-ins (annually or during funding renewal cycles)

    • Do lightweight post-event reflections with your team

    • Ask: "What are we trying to achieve? Are we doing everything we can?"

    • "We should be asking scientists to think about like, is that working for you?... three scientists being reflexive together is probably going to be better than one scientist being reflexive." — John C. Besley

  • Seek strategic support, not just tactical help:

    • Look for communications support that pushes you on the "why"

    • Don't just hire someone who does what you ask — find someone who asks hard questions

    • Consider sharing strategic resources across teams or units

    • "You do not want a communication person who just does whatever you ask them to do... if you can find those people, buy them a coffee, buy them a beer, make a goal of making those people your friends." — John C. Besley

Credits:

  • Host & Producer: Chris Pahlow

  • Edited by: Laura Carolina Corrigan

  • Music by: La Boucle and Blue Steel, courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Chris Pahlow
Chris Pahlow is an independent writer/director currently in post-production on his debut feature film PLAY IT SAFE. Chris has been fascinated with storytelling since he first earned his pen license and he’s spent the last ten years bringing stories to life through music videos, documentaries, and short films.
http://www.chrispahlow.com
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34. Reimagining Impact: Professor Lisa Grocott on hosting Tomorrow Parties to bring future impact to life