Kessler, Elisabeth

Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

distinguished lecturesCONTRIBUTIONS to SCIENCE, 4 (1): 93-96 (2008)Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona
DOI: 10.2436/20.7010.01.40  ISSN: 1575-6343 
www.cat-science.cat
What is science? Science is all about the things we would like 
to know more about, the whys and wherefores, and about pre-
senting theories and hypothesis to peers, decision makers and 
others. The science of communication is no exception. As new 
scientific ground is broken and knowledge of the world we live 
in increases, complex moral and ethical issues arise that soci-
ety and government do not always have the know how to ad-
dress. Where can and should scholarly societies position them-
selves on these issues, and what role can schorarly publishing 
play? The answers are neither obvious nor simple.
There is a growing need in society to ensure that the best 
scientific knowledge available is effectively communicated to 
as many people as possible. However, the research findings 
are not always easy to explain or to understand, even among 
scientists themselves. Academies of Science are among the 
most important contributors to scholarship and scholarly publi-
cation—The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences itself pub-
lishes seven scholarly journals. This gives academies a unique 
position from which they could guide change in current publi-
cation strategies.
Have we become better at communicating science than 
previously? Who can guarantee that important research is 
comunicated effectively; the researcher, the research institu-
tion, learned societies? The questions are numerous and are 
growing in number as the options open to researchers in-
crease.
Only a very brief examination of the current situation in schol-
arly communication/publishing will show that the positions of 
commercial publishers and scholarly societies are changing. 
The dynamics involved in this change can occasionally take a 
form resembling a very dramatic sports match with the players 
vying for the best positions in order to make the best score for 
the team. In the prevailing situation, several of the large com-
mercial publishing houses are offering “deals” that could be ad-
vantageous to learned society publishers, and many learned 
societies have opted for these offers in order to avoid invest-
ments in the new technologies and to ensure adequate mar-
keting of their journals. Most learned publishers lack the man-
power and know-how to market effectively, which is something 
commercial publishers have long experience in.
However, is the scenario that has been created by the new 
technologies, providing a situation whereby future scholarly 
communication systems can be built solely around the research 
itself and the institutions, organizations, corporations and soci-
eties in which the research is carried out? Are we witnessing a 
situation where scientists and scholars are determined to rein-
Communicating science: the role of Academies*
Elisabeth Kessler**
Ambio, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden
Elisabeth Kessler has been in science editing for the past 28 years; the latter 20 years as editor of Am-
bio–A Journal of the Human Environment published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Prior 
to her Academy position she worked as an editor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska 
Institute, Stockholm. She has a honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Stockholm 
University and she is a Guest Professor at Renmin University, Beijing, China. Her other positions in-
clude: associate member of the Environmental Committee, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, mem-
ber of the organizing committee for His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Royal Colloquium se-
ries, and President of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE).
* Based on the Lecture given by the author at the Institute for Cata-
lan Studies, Barcelona, on 10 May 2006.
** Author for correspondece: Elisabeth Kessler, Ambio, Royal 
Swedish Academy of Sciences, SE-104 05, PO Box 50005, Stock-
holm (Sweden). Tel. +46 86739551. Fax +46 8166251.
Email: Elisabe@ambio.kva.se
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Figure 1.  What Europeans see as scientific. Average view of the Euro-
peans (EU-25) on a five-point scale, including both Astrology and Hor-
oscopes. The latter is alone in failing to obtain 50%. Anything that ex-
ceeds four points is considered to be “highly scientific”.
001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   93 14/04/09   08:56:53
94  Contrib. Sci. 4 (1), 2008 Kessler
state themselves as the main players, not “payers”, in the com-
munication of science? Hopefully, the answers to this question 
will be supplied by the writers and readers of research them-
selves as they continue to make demands on rapid publication 
and broad dissemination.
Research Communication for What, by Whom, and 
to Whom?
Science communication is something academia has always in-
vested in, but the investments are becoming increasingly ex-
pensive for the researcher and the academic community as a 
whole. What is being done to halt these trends? Quite a lot, and 
across a broad range of organiztions.
The social lives of everyone are being influenced by the rapid 
increase in scientific and technological development and by the 
enormous quantity of information being produced in the proc-
ess. If, as estimates have shown, our knowledge base doubles 
every 5-10 years, who should be trusted with the dissemina-
tion of this knowledge and to whom? There is more or less 
consensus within the scientific community itself on the issue of 
the dissemination of knowledge and on the means of  dissemi-
nation. Most scientists insist that research findings should be 
made readily available to the science comunity across all scien-
tific borders. They would probably also agree that the informa-
tion also needs to filter down in understandable form to deci-
sion makers and the general public in order to increase in value. 
However, most scientists are engaged 100% in research and 
have seldom the time or economic means to become com-
pletely active in exploring new publication strategies.
It can be argued that in this relatively new communication 
landscape, many learned societies have become increasingly 
aware of the importance of their role in creating common 
ground between the research itself and how the results of this 
research are communicated rapidly, efficiently, and at as low 
cost as possible. There is a growing understanding of the new 
means that have become available with the advent of the Inter-
net. The same is true for universities, institutions and their re-
searchers, and even involved governments. What is also true, 
however, is that the changing dynamic landscape of opportuni-
ties provided by the web can both complicate and simplify the 
roles of all the players. A landscape is now available where sci-
entists can interact directly and in real time, wherever they are 
World Seience Forum - Budapest, 2005
Final Recommendations
Due to the complexity of science today, the relationship between 
academia, government, the business sector, and other actors in society 
needs to be recast. This process in turn demands new models for science 
funding, education and communication;
To fully benefit from the opportunities of capacity building, experiences  
and good practices should be exchanged and should be shared worldwide;
It is essential to foster mutual understanding to bridge the cultural 
gap between science and business, with particular attention paid to  
interconnectedness, interdependence, ethics and human values;
The rapidly widening gap in capacity, scientific knowledge and  
achievements in science and technology among different countries and  
regions should be eliminated by strengthening South-South and South- 
North cooperation;
Intrinsic ecological values should be recognized, including the greater  
community of life with which we share the planet, and need to maintain  
the evolutionary potential of life itself,
It is never too early to interest children in science-and once enthused  
they will become a new generation with a crucially improved  
understanding of science.
Figure 2. Final recommenda- 
tions of the World Science 
Forum, Budapest, 2005.
001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   94 14/04/09   08:56:53
Communicating science: the role of Academies Contrib. Sci. 4 (1), 2008  95
in the world. It is obvious that the scientific community in in-
creasingly availing itself of this opportunity and will continue to 
do so at gathering speed. Is this forwarded movement too 
fast?
Commercial publishers have long been well aware of the im-
plications of this new publishing landscape and see that their 
role as the major disseminators of research findings is being 
challenged, if not yet threatened. Many commercial publishing 
houses are seeking new ways to attract both the writer and 
reader of science by developing and providing new publication 
strategies and economic incentives to among others, libraries, 
and learned society publishers. Journals published by learned 
societies are increasingly attractive to the commercial publisher 
because they often, by the very existence of an established 
and trusted brand name, continue to be seen as non-profit 
publications by the market.
Learned Societies as Communicators of Science
Interdisciplinary research is of increasing importance in knowl-
edge-based societies. Learned societies constitute unique 
meeting places for scientists, often cutting across broad disci-
plinary borders. Some of the world’s most brilliant minds are 
grouped together within academies at national and internation-
al levels. These groups of scientists are in a position to link to-
gether historical and current scientific findings and to form new 
hypotheses and theories based on the knowledge generated. 
The question today, however is whether or not academies have 
or should have obligations and responsibilities to academia as 
a whole on the issue of scholarly publishing, and what these 
responsibilities and obligations should be. As new communica-
tion technologies develop, including new alternatives to current 
forms of communicating science, such as online commentary, 
reader reviews, threaded discussions, blogs even, should 
academies become new actors in the communication of sci-
ence field or should they simply wait and see what direction 
current deliberations take?
As mentioned previously, many academies of science al-
ready publish scientific documents, books and/or journals ei-
ther independently or through commercial publishing houses. 
Scientists today would probably argue that scholarly publishing 
needs to be kept more tightly reined within academia, and that 
the authors of research and research results should control the 
dissemination of the information generated. Indeed, the web 
offers scholars and learned societies tremendous opportunities 
to “regain” control of the publishing of science. But, as men-
tioned previously, do learned societies want to become more 
involved and to add this “extra” burden to their other obliga-
tions or should this be something that is solved by the scien-
tists at the individual and institutional levels? There is no answer 
to this question, simply because other players are entering the 
field and continually changing the landscape. Google Science 
is one example.
For many years, scientists have been “mistrustful” of com-
mercial publishers. They see the publisher making huge eco-
nomic gains that do not directly benefit the scientific communi-
ty. However, as research findings must be documented and 
made available in the academic and public arena, the research-
er is looking for new ways to achieve this goal at as low cost as 
Academies could take a more proactive role in:
providing guidance to ensure that science is free to explore and to  
challenge accepted views and concepts;
forwarding development in education, research and technological  
innovation relating to communication;
providing help to strengthen effective data sharing across scientific  
borders;
helping pinpoint ongoing changes in the scientific arena, and effective 
dissemination of these findings;
helping to establish trust in the scientific information communicated;
having elder scientists act as mentors with the requisite skills to provide 
advice to younger colleagues on publication issues;
building up writing and publication confidence among young  
scientists.
Figure 3. Some of the issues 
academies of science could 
address.
001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   95 14/04/09   08:56:53
96  Contrib. Sci. 4 (1), 2008 Kessler
possible. New partnerhips are being formed between those 
who have information that needs to be disseminated and those 
who are interested in conveying this information at low cost.
What appears to be changing the scenario today is that new 
IT and printing products are actively being marketed and used 
to guide researchers, learned societies, and commercial pub-
lishing houses along completely different routes; routes that 
seem to entail more direct publishing “power” to the individual 
researcher and the scientific community and less to the com-
mercial publisher. Is there a common ground for a development 
that is of mutual benefit to all parties?
In this rapidly changing science-publishing scene any “busi-
ness as usual” model is out of the question. In the new era of 
S&T publishing exciting new communication opportunites now 
exist for researchers and publishers alike. The science publish-
ing market is dynamic and extremely mobile, and develop-
ments within this market need to reflect the interests of all of 
those involved in its development including learned societies. 
In the process of change ahead, tolerance, patience and flexi-
bility will be needed to allow space for the many divergent ap-
proaches to best practices in science communication.
The challenges to science and to scientists are complex, but 
because mankind is facing a future that will require effective 
and sometimes drastic steps to ensure sustainable internation-
al development, our own well-being, as well as that of future 
generations, the right to an effective and economically viable 
dissemination of knowledge must not be jeopardized or sacri-
ficed on the alter of economic gain.
The goal of science is to provide reliable information about 
developments in research for the benefit of all mankind. We 
should be guided by this knowledge, whatever our individual 
roles in the future of its dissemination.
001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   96 14/04/09   08:56:53


Communicating science: the role of Academies

Hemeroteca Cientifica Catalana

distinguished lecturesCONTRIBUTIONS to SCIENCE, 4 (1): 93-96 (2008)Institut d’Estudis Catalans, BarcelonaDOI: 10.2436/20.7010.01.40  ISSN: 1575-6343 www.cat-science.catWhat is science? Science is all about the things we would like to know more about, the whys and wherefores, and about pre-senting theories and hypothesis to peers, decision makers and others. The science of communication is no exception. As new scientific ground is broken and knowledge of the world we live in increases, complex moral and ethical issues arise that soci-ety and government do not always have the know how to ad-dress. Where can and should scholarly societies position them-selves on these issues, and what role can schorarly publishing play? The answers are neither obvious nor simple.There is a growing need in society to ensure that the best scientific knowledge available is effectively communicated to as many people as possible. However, the research findings are not always easy to explain or to understand, even among scientists themselves. Academies of Science are among the most important contributors to scholarship and scholarly publi-cation—The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences itself pub-lishes seven scholarly journals. This gives academies a unique position from which they could guide change in current publi-cation strategies.Have we become better at communicating science than previously? Who can guarantee that important research is comunicated effectively; the researcher, the research institu-tion, learned societies? The questions are numerous and are growing in number as the options open to researchers in-crease.Only a very brief examination of the current situation in schol-arly communication/publishing will show that the positions of commercial publishers and scholarly societies are changing. The dynamics involved in this change can occasionally take a form resembling a very dramatic sports match with the players vying for the best positions in order to make the best score for the team. In the prevailing situation, several of the large com-mercial publishing houses are offering “deals” that could be ad-vantageous to learned society publishers, and many learned societies have opted for these offers in order to avoid invest-ments in the new technologies and to ensure adequate mar-keting of their journals. Most learned publishers lack the man-power and know-how to market effectively, which is something commercial publishers have long experience in.However, is the scenario that has been created by the new technologies, providing a situation whereby future scholarly communication systems can be built solely around the research itself and the institutions, organizations, corporations and soci-eties in which the research is carried out? Are we witnessing a situation where scientists and scholars are determined to rein-Communicating science: the role of Academies*Elisabeth Kessler**Ambio, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, SwedenElisabeth Kessler has been in science editing for the past 28 years; the latter 20 years as editor of Am-bio–A Journal of the Human Environment published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Prior to her Academy position she worked as an editor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. She has a honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Stockholm University and she is a Guest Professor at Renmin University, Beijing, China. Her other positions in-clude: associate member of the Environmental Committee, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, mem-ber of the organizing committee for His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Royal Colloquium se-ries, and President of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE).* Based on the Lecture given by the author at the Institute for Cata-lan Studies, Barcelona, on 10 May 2006.** Author for correspondece: Elisabeth Kessler, Ambio, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, SE-104 05, PO Box 50005, Stock-holm (Sweden). Tel. +46 86739551. Fax +46 8166251.Email: Elisabe@ambio.kva.se00,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5 5Medicine PhysicsBiologyAstronomyMathematicsPsychologyEconomicsAstrologyHomeopathyHistoryHoroscopesFigure 1.  What Europeans see as scientific. Average view of the Euro-peans (EU-25) on a five-point scale, including both Astrology and Hor-oscopes. The latter is alone in failing to obtain 50%. Anything that ex-ceeds four points is considered to be “highly scientific”.001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   93 14/04/09   08:56:5394  Contrib. Sci. 4 (1), 2008 Kesslerstate themselves as the main players, not “payers”, in the com-munication of science? Hopefully, the answers to this question will be supplied by the writers and readers of research them-selves as they continue to make demands on rapid publication and broad dissemination.Research Communication for What, by Whom, and to Whom?Science communication is something academia has always in-vested in, but the investments are becoming increasingly ex-pensive for the researcher and the academic community as a whole. What is being done to halt these trends? Quite a lot, and across a broad range of organiztions.The social lives of everyone are being influenced by the rapid increase in scientific and technological development and by the enormous quantity of information being produced in the proc-ess. If, as estimates have shown, our knowledge base doubles every 5-10 years, who should be trusted with the dissemina-tion of this knowledge and to whom? There is more or less consensus within the scientific community itself on the issue of the dissemination of knowledge and on the means of  dissemi-nation. Most scientists insist that research findings should be made readily available to the science comunity across all scien-tific borders. They would probably also agree that the informa-tion also needs to filter down in understandable form to deci-sion makers and the general public in order to increase in value. However, most scientists are engaged 100% in research and have seldom the time or economic means to become com-pletely active in exploring new publication strategies.It can be argued that in this relatively new communication landscape, many learned societies have become increasingly aware of the importance of their role in creating common ground between the research itself and how the results of this research are communicated rapidly, efficiently, and at as low cost as possible. There is a growing understanding of the new means that have become available with the advent of the Inter-net. The same is true for universities, institutions and their re-searchers, and even involved governments. What is also true, however, is that the changing dynamic landscape of opportuni-ties provided by the web can both complicate and simplify the roles of all the players. A landscape is now available where sci-entists can interact directly and in real time, wherever they are World Seience Forum - Budapest, 2005Final RecommendationsDue to the complexity of science today, the relationship between academia, government, the business sector, and other actors in society needs to be recast. This process in turn demands new models for science funding, education and communication;To fully benefit from the opportunities of capacity building, experiences  and good practices should be exchanged and should be shared worldwide;It is essential to foster mutual understanding to bridge the cultural gap between science and business, with particular attention paid to  interconnectedness, interdependence, ethics and human values;The rapidly widening gap in capacity, scientific knowledge and  achievements in science and technology among different countries and  regions should be eliminated by strengthening South-South and South- North cooperation;Intrinsic ecological values should be recognized, including the greater  community of life with which we share the planet, and need to maintain  the evolutionary potential of life itself,It is never too early to interest children in science-and once enthused  they will become a new generation with a crucially improved  understanding of science.Figure 2. Final recommenda- tions of the World Science Forum, Budapest, 2005.001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   94 14/04/09   08:56:53Communicating science: the role of Academies Contrib. Sci. 4 (1), 2008  95in the world. It is obvious that the scientific community in in-creasingly availing itself of this opportunity and will continue to do so at gathering speed. Is this forwarded movement too fast?Commercial publishers have long been well aware of the im-plications of this new publishing landscape and see that their role as the major disseminators of research findings is being challenged, if not yet threatened. Many commercial publishing houses are seeking new ways to attract both the writer and reader of science by developing and providing new publication strategies and economic incentives to among others, libraries, and learned society publishers. Journals published by learned societies are increasingly attractive to the commercial publisher because they often, by the very existence of an established and trusted brand name, continue to be seen as non-profit publications by the market.Learned Societies as Communicators of ScienceInterdisciplinary research is of increasing importance in knowl-edge-based societies. Learned societies constitute unique meeting places for scientists, often cutting across broad disci-plinary borders. Some of the world’s most brilliant minds are grouped together within academies at national and internation-al levels. These groups of scientists are in a position to link to-gether historical and current scientific findings and to form new hypotheses and theories based on the knowledge generated. The question today, however is whether or not academies have or should have obligations and responsibilities to academia as a whole on the issue of scholarly publishing, and what these responsibilities and obligations should be. As new communica-tion technologies develop, including new alternatives to current forms of communicating science, such as online commentary, reader reviews, threaded discussions, blogs even, should academies become new actors in the communication of sci-ence field or should they simply wait and see what direction current deliberations take?As mentioned previously, many academies of science al-ready publish scientific documents, books and/or journals ei-ther independently or through commercial publishing houses. Scientists today would probably argue that scholarly publishing needs to be kept more tightly reined within academia, and that the authors of research and research results should control the dissemination of the information generated. Indeed, the web offers scholars and learned societies tremendous opportunities to “regain” control of the publishing of science. But, as men-tioned previously, do learned societies want to become more involved and to add this “extra” burden to their other obliga-tions or should this be something that is solved by the scien-tists at the individual and institutional levels? There is no answer to this question, simply because other players are entering the field and continually changing the landscape. Google Science is one example.For many years, scientists have been “mistrustful” of com-mercial publishers. They see the publisher making huge eco-nomic gains that do not directly benefit the scientific communi-ty. However, as research findings must be documented and made available in the academic and public arena, the research-er is looking for new ways to achieve this goal at as low cost as Academies could take a more proactive role in:providing guidance to ensure that science is free to explore and to  challenge accepted views and concepts;forwarding development in education, research and technological  innovation relating to communication;providing help to strengthen effective data sharing across scientific  borders;helping pinpoint ongoing changes in the scientific arena, and effective dissemination of these findings;helping to establish trust in the scientific information communicated;having elder scientists act as mentors with the requisite skills to provide advice to younger colleagues on publication issues;building up writing and publication confidence among young  scientists.Figure 3. Some of the issues academies of science could address.001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   95 14/04/09   08:56:5396  Contrib. Sci. 4 (1), 2008 Kesslerpossible. New partnerhips are being formed between those who have information that needs to be disseminated and those who are interested in conveying this information at low cost.What appears to be changing the scenario today is that new IT and printing products are actively being marketed and used to guide researchers, learned societies, and commercial pub-lishing houses along completely different routes; routes that seem to entail more direct publishing “power” to the individual researcher and the scientific community and less to the com-mercial publisher. Is there a common ground for a development that is of mutual benefit to all parties?In this rapidly changing science-publishing scene any “busi-ness as usual” model is out of the question. In the new era of S&T publishing exciting new communication opportunites now exist for researchers and publishers alike. The science publish-ing market is dynamic and extremely mobile, and develop-ments within this market need to reflect the interests of all of those involved in its development including learned societies. In the process of change ahead, tolerance, patience and flexi-bility will be needed to allow space for the many divergent ap-proaches to best practices in science communication.The challenges to science and to scientists are complex, but because mankind is facing a future that will require effective and sometimes drastic steps to ensure sustainable internation-al development, our own well-being, as well as that of future generations, the right to an effective and economically viable dissemination of knowledge must not be jeopardized or sacri-ficed on the alter of economic gain.The goal of science is to provide reliable information about developments in research for the benefit of all mankind. We should be guided by this knowledge, whatever our individual roles in the future of its dissemination.001-132 Contrib 4-1.indd   96 14/04/09   08:56:53

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Communicating science: the role of Academies

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Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

Hemeroteca Cientifica Catalana