Research in Reach is a non-profit organization dedicated to the idea that, “Science that is made publicly available, should be publicly accessible. “
What does that mean?
Federally funded research, which funds most of the biomedical research across the United States is required to be made available to the public by the Holdren Memo, Nelson Memo, and the NIH Public Access Policy mandated by the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009.
The issue with that is, previous reports have shown that less than 30% of American are scientifically literate. Meaning that even if everyone wanted to read and understand the latest research, most couldn’t.
You shouldn’t need decades of training and experience to understand science you care about.
More than half of Americans get their science from news outlets that cover a range of topics, such as major broadcast networks. These networks typically get their information from a press release from an institution, that got their information from a researcher. Like a game of telephone, information is lost with each step that it takes to get to you.
We want help bridge that gap and provide a platform for scientists to talk directly to public in a way that’s accessible to everyone, about the newest research in human health and disease
On the flip side, researchers are required to use dense jargon for meetings, grants, and papers to prove that they are experts and they deserve to continue doing their research to the other experts that review their submissions.
Previous studies have shown that using promoting language including dense jargon and highly technical language leads to increased success rates for grant funding.
This system creates a vicious cycle that alienates the very people researchers are trying to help. We want to include the public in science and have them understand why the work being done is so important and what it means.
