FAQ

What are the goals of Innovations in Science? 👇

Innovations in Science (IS) is bringing scientific advances and ongoing research out from behind paywalls and closed laboratory doors and into the communities where these innovations are taking place. Many communities are surrounded by innovation but remain disconnected from the people, ideas, and discoveries changing the world around them. We are changing that by using conversations with local scientists to deliver the latest science happening in our neighborhood in an accessible, engaging format via local newspapers and community publications. We strive to use the model developed here in Ithaca, NY, to make local science more accessible in communities across the country.

We believe in the power and necessity of local newspapers, and our work will support their continued relevance and expand career opportunities for local journalists by training them in science journalism and supporting the publication of articles covering the latest innovations.

Equally important is the right people have to know about the incredible research conducted in their own neighborhoods. Local engagement is largely missing from the current structure of institutional and university communications programs, and we aim to fill that gap with community-oriented science journalism.

If this resonates with you and you would like to bring ideas or support to the table, please feel free to get involved or support our fundraising campaign.

What does Innovations in Science actually do? 👇

We currently publish articles about developing scientific research written from conversational interviews with local scientists as special features in the Ithaca Times, here in Ithaca, NY. You can check out the ones we've published so far here. We are working on a podcast and the capacity to film and upload video interviews to expand the audienc of the local newspaper.

Further, we are developing the infrastructure to:

  • Establish a network of scientists trained in public-facing science communication to be featured in IS content.
  • Expand IS to other regional hubs—local newspapers based near research institutions or universities—and train local journalists in science journalism.

If you would like to contribute to this, please get involved!

Our long-term vision is to support the establishment of a nationwide network of local science journalists and scientists eager to share their work with their communities.

How will you use the funds you raise? 👇

Donations from our crowdfunding campaign will first fund the hiring of a part-time project manager, who will coordinate:

  • Content creation timelines.
  • Development of training materials for local journalists and scientist sources alike.
  • Recruitment of specialists for podcast and video interview production.
  • Eventual expansion of IS to other regional hubs.

This position is essential for the project’s fulfillment of its goals as the co-founders and advisory board are all volunteers and employed full-time elsewhere. We will not have the capacity to bring IS to its full potential alone.

If funds remain, or through continuing fundraising efforts, we will use these to establish one of the tenets of a larger goal of IS: to support local science journalists directly. This would allow IS to support the employment of journalists specifically for local science reporting at regional hubs and support local newspapers.

Inception of Innovations

Innovations in Science began as an idea for a series of columns for the independent local newspaper, Ithaca Times that would shed light on the scientific advances being made right here in Ithaca and allow community members to better engage with their neighbors doing the research. When Roy Allen, the community publisher / managing editor behind *Ithaca Times*, wrote the first column, he was well aware of the excitement that local Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Paleontological Research Institution researchers had for the project, but he didn't know that it would become fodder for a movement.

At the same time, Emma Scales, a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell, was looking for a way to institutionalize the mission behind a nationwide science communication initiative she helped found and lead in 2025. That initiative was the McClintock Letters, which resulted in the publication of over 200 articles written by scientists for their hometown newspapers across at least 45 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico about what they do and why it matters.

In early 2025, major disruptions to the federal research infrastructure rocked the scientific world and brought progress to a screeching halt. Emma and her friends and colleagues in the Scientist Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP) and the Cornell Advancing Science and Policy Club recognized that widespread public outcry over the decimation of a research ecosystem that impacts every facet of all of our lives never came because the scientific community had long overlooked and undervalued something critical: community engagement. The McClintock Letters were then borne of this realization as a first step to begin addressing this huge problem right away. The initiative was widely applauded by scientists, community members, and major research institutions alike, but the praise felt empty without a way to grow and strengthen the ties between scientists and their communities that the initiative had formed.

So, in February 2026, in the midst of a flurry meetings with Cornell administrators, media professionals, and science advocates, when Emma happened to pick up a copy of the *Ithaca Times* at her local coffee shop one morning, you can imagine the utter serendipity of reading Roy's first Innovations in Science column. Emma and Roy quickly got in touch, and with the support and enthusiasm of a team of early career researchers from SNAP, imagined a new way forward that would lift up local newspapers and make science more accessible to the communities already enabling it.