How do we know what we know?

Where does the knowledge we rely on come from, and why do we trust it when others might not? As science communicators, we often work in messy and complicated systems – from climate change adaptation in agriculture to responses to AI. These arenas involve multiple different actors with their own lived experiences and areas of knowledge and expertise. What is our job in terms of recognising these different ways of knowing, while cultivating the same level of respect in others? How do we manage moments of discomfort – our own and that of other stakeholders - when we negotiate between different knowledge systems? This workshop builds on our 2023 workshop, exploring how we can operationalise the ‘third order’ science communication thinking proposed by Irwin (2021). We will draw on the examples of our organising team – and participants - to critically interrogate how we know what we know, how we show that we know it, and how we enable those we work with to do the same.