We’ve partnered with science communicator Anna Funk to bring you a new course in AAPS Connect: Strategic Communication for Participatory Science Practitioners.
Participatory science leaders sometimes try to communicate with everyone about everything — through social media, newsletters, blogs, media outreach, and direct participant engagement — and end up burned out with little to show for it. This course teaches a different approach: strategic communication that helps practitioners do less while achieving better results.
Course participants will learn to diagnose their project’s communication needs, define specific target audiences, and match their strategy to their actual capacity. Through recorded lectures, provided workbooks, and live workshopping and Q&A sessions, participants will develop skills like translating scientific results for non-experts, making smart decisions about which communication channels are worth their time, and knowing when and how to get help.
Participants will leave this 5-session course with a working communication plan tailored to their project’s stage, goals, and resources.
Upcoming Sessions
Our fall 2026 cohort launches September 14, 2026 and meets weekly for five weeks. Anna Funk will be the instructor. Live sessions will be Fridays, 1-3pm CT, Sep 18, Sep 25, Oct 2, Oct 16, Oct 23 (off Oct 9 – indigenous people’s day weekend). The first hour will be the main group meeting, followed by an optional second hour for participants who wish to continue workshopping their assignments. Enrollment now open. Registration closes September 9
About the Course
This course helps participatory science practitioners become strategic, effective communicators who can amplify their project’s reach and impact with limited resources.
By participating in this course, you will be able to:
- Diagnose your communication needs and prioritize efforts based on your project goals and available resources
- Communicate science effectively to different audiences (participants, funders, media, policymakers, public)
- Make smart decisions about which communication channels and tactics are worth your time
- Know when and how to seek help from volunteers, interns, contractors, institutional comms offices, media, and/or partner organizations
- Create a strategic communication plan tailored to your specific project, audience, and capacity
This course follows a “flipped classroom” model, meaning the informational content is delivered through recorded lectures and readings you complete on your own time during the week, reserving the live group meeting for workshopping and discussion.
About the Instructor
This course was developed by Anna Funk, founder of Ampliflora. She helps science and conservation organizations build their communications capacity — not just create content, but develop the strategic direction and sustainable systems that make effective communication possible. She started as a field ecologist studying prairie restoration, earned her Ph.D. in plant ecology, then shifted to science journalism, then marketing, and finally landed where she is today. Since 2021, she has worked at the intersection of science, storytelling, and strategy — helping those in her field not just communicate better, but build the systems and frameworks that make it all sustainable. She worked with AAPS to develop this new course specifically for participatory science practitioners.
Course Fees
This course is $175 for AAPS members and $325 for non-members.
As an optional add-on, participants can submit a portfolio of materials developed during the course, including a communication plan, to the instructor for review. Participants who chose this option will receive detailed feedback and a certificate of completion for the course. The certificate track is $75 AAPS members, $135 non-members.
Not a member of AAPS? Save up to $210 on your course enrollment and gain full member benefits when you become an AAPS member!
Course Sponsor
Ampliflora is a communications and consulting studio specializing in science, nature, and conservation. They help mission-driven organizations build communications capacity, clarify their strategy, and increase their impact through thoughtful, sustainable systems. They offer strategic leadership as well as hands-on communications support, so whether you need a strategic plan, a content calendar, or a science writer to tell your story, they’re here for you. Learn more at https://ampliflora.com.