Repairing trust in science requires a more inclusive understanding of innovation

These are extraordinarily challenging times for university researchers across the United States. After decades of government largess based on the idea that a large and well-financed research ecosystem will produce social and economic progress, there have been huge cuts in federal funding. Those applying for remaining scraps face new restrictions designed to ensure their political alignment with the current presidential administration. These policies are destroying scores of careers, as government funding is an important marker of an investigator’s potential and pivotal for securing job offers, promotion, and tenure. It is also necessary to train the next generations of scientists and engineers. As a result, science and innovation may be suffering.

In response, faculty, staff, and students have taken to the streets and to the opinionpages of newspapers and magazines across the country, explaining the social value of their work, of federal grant funding, and of academic freedom. But it’s not clear that these strategies are effective, as they largely assume that the problem is one of scientific communication rather than one of public trust.

Although public trust in...