How-tos ScienTIST advocacy Toolkit

The document outlines the benefits of collaboration for scientific advocacy, such as widening reach, building credibility, and pursuing larger goals. It suggests scouting for strengths within personal networks, local communities, and academic institutions, while emphasizing the importance of ethical alignment with environmental justice and public health equity groups. The guide provides a framework for maintaining positive partnerships through clear agreements, inclusive decision-making, and fair distribution of credit.

• Collaboration enhances advocacy by increasing strength in numbers, influence, and resources, while enabling creative problem-solving through the combination of unique assets from multiple people.
• Strategic benefits of collaboration include the ability to widen reach, pursue more ambitious goals through diverse expertise and funding, build political clout and credibility, and create supportive communities during challenging political climates.
• The Union of Concerned Scientists emphasizes the ethical necessity of ensuring advocacy efforts support local communities most affected by attacks on science-based safeguards, specifically those facing disproportionate environmental and health hazards.
• Effective collaborations require clear agreements on the 'what, when, where, who, and how' of the partnership, a focus on unifying issues based on shared values, and a balanced respect for the internal processes and self-interests of each partner.
• Scientists can identify necessary resources and skills for collaboration across three primary areas: personal networks (e.g., technology, design, and media contacts), local communities (e.g., religious institutions, local businesses, and community websites), and academic institutions (e.g., faculty sponsors, campus media, and small grants).

APA

Cullen, K. (2018). How-tos ScienTIST advocacy Toolkit. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/05/ucs-SNTK-collaboration-5-18.pdf

Chicago

Cullen, Kate. How-tos ScienTIST advocacy Toolkit. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2018. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/05/ucs-SNTK-collaboration-5-18.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cullen |first1=Kate |title=How-tos ScienTIST advocacy Toolkit |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=May 2018 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/05/ucs-SNTK-collaboration-5-18.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cullen2018howtos, author = {Cullen, Kate}, title = {{How-tos ScienTIST advocacy Toolkit}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/05/ucs-SNTK-collaboration-5-18.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }