Shaping a Stronger Connection Between Science and Society Through Civic Science

Neuroscience extends beyond laboratories and clinical settings—it appears in courtrooms and state houses, across social media platforms and online forums, in museums, in film and television, and in everyday conversations around the dinner table. As discussions about brain and mental health, neuroscience research, neurotechnology, and other related areas become increasingly embedded in our daily lives, we are collectively asking deeper questions about what neuroscience can offer, how it should be used, and whom it benefits. Civic science helps answer these questions by offering new ways to connect scientific work with the needs and priorities of society that are rooted in relationships, reciprocity, and shared purpose, supporting a future where all people can shape science and share in its benefits.

Through our neuroscience and society mission, the Dana Foundation is committed to the interdisciplinary study of how neuroscience informs and reflects society and to the practical work that puts these ideas into action. It is a way of doing neuroscience that connects research to real-world needs, values, and experiences, much like civic science. It brings together neuroscience with ethics, law, the humanities, medicine, the arts, social sciences, policy, education, journalism, public engagement and other fields. In practice, neuroscience and society serves as a paradigm for how we teach neuroscience, train people to do societally relevant, neuroscience-focused work, and engage diverse publics and communities to guide the development and application of neuroscience.

Our support for civic science is one of the ways we advance our mission. It offers a framework for making science more reflective of and accountable to society, bridging community, science, and policy to shape how knowledge is produced, shared, and used. We support civic science in multiple ways, including thought leadership, philanthropic partnerships, and grantmaking that supports the people, practices, and projects at the intersections of science and society.

A key aspect of our support is our contribution to the broader civic science discourse. Dana Foundation President and CEO Caroline Montojo and Rita Allen Foundation President and CEO Elizabeth Christopherson have highlighted the need for civic science—including civic neuroscience—to strengthen trust between the public and the science enterprise, deepen public participation, and ensure that scientific progress benefits all people.

Montojo and Christopherson have also engaged directly with civic science practitioners. A dialogue with stem cell biologist Paola Arlotta, for example, explored some of the societal implications of research involving neural organoids and why such research requires engagement with bioethicists and communities.

Dana Foundation Vice President Khara Ramos has likewise spoken to the role of civic science, reflecting on its importance for addressing both present and future challenges in science and society, such as the rapid growth of AI with limited federal regulatory oversight.

To catalyze and support a diverse network of individuals, institutions, and communities who are collectively shaping the future of civic science, we have partnered with the Rita Allen Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Doris Duke Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, and Kavli Foundation to form the Civic Science Funders Collaborative. The Collaborative aims to seed institutional and systemic change that will embed civic science into the norms, infrastructures, and incentives that shape how science is carried out.

We also join other philanthropic partners to support the Civic Science Fellows program, which provides training for emerging leaders whose work and expertise span scientific and civic contexts, connecting scientific progress with people-centered change. Through grants to civic science host partner institutions, where these fellows conduct their work, we have supported fellows whose work is grounded in civic approaches to neuroscience:

• Democratizing psychedelic research (Kuranda Morgan): Developing strategies to broaden access to emerging therapies and creating tools that allow more communities to shape research priorities.
• Civic science behaviors, attitudes, and motivations among scientists (Leanna Kalinowski): Conducting a cross-disciplinary, international survey to understand how scientists think about and approach civic engagement as well as what enables or prevents their participation.
• Formalizing engagement training for neuroscience researchers (Erin Purvis): Building academic and community partnerships to strengthen infrastructure for community-engaged neuroscience research, training, and education.
• Creating new approaches for public engagement with the ethical and societal impacts of neuroscience (Claire Weichselbaum): Designing interactive tools and museum-based programs to spark public reflection and dialogue on the ethical and societal implications of emerging neurotechnologies.

The work of Civic Science Fellows in the 2026–27 cohort will fall under three broad, cross-disciplinary streams—community, science, and policy—that reflect the multiple fronts where meaningful civic science can make an impact and where civic science leadership is emerging.

• Change rooted in communities: Fellows will work within community-centered organizations to explore new ways to listen and collaborate on locally defined priorities. They will examine how science can build trust, support community assets, and help communities use science and technology to advance their own goals.
• Change rooted in science: Fellows will develop approaches to integrate civic science practices into organizational culture and training. They will create new opportunities—such as collaborations, professional development, certificate programs, mentorship, and community-engaged research experiences—to bridge innovation, research, and community priorities.
• Change rooted in policy: Fellows will work to integrate community perspectives into science-informed policy. Across settings—from statehouses to newsrooms to medical associations—they will explore ways scientific knowledge, alongside listening and engagement, can shape policy design, public discourse, and professional practice.

As civic science continues to grow, so does the opportunity to shape a stronger connection between science and society. Questions about the impact and public value of science often cannot be answered by science alone. They require approaches that bring science into closer conversation with communities and policy, creating spaces where people can meaningfully shape how science moves forward. For the Dana Foundation, this work represents an opportunity to help build a future where neuroscience is in direct dialogue with society—where more people have the ability to shepherd its development and share in its power and promise.