Daily Archives: December 23, 2021

Health and mental health providers, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, arewarningthat US children and adolescents are facing a mental health state of emergency. Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of many behavioral health conditions affecting children and youth hadbeen escalating. In 2018, suicide was thesecond leading cause of deathfor youth ages 1024. Theproportion of all emergency departmentvisits for kids related to mental health increased substantially in 2020.Use of servicesrelated to intentional self-harm, substance use disorders, and other mental health conditions also increased since the start of the pandemic. Too many youthmore than 48,000remain confined in facilities away from home because of juvenile justice or criminal justice involvement. Urgent action is clearly required to help Americas kids.

The pandemic has created additional financial stress, loss of loved ones, and educational and social disruptions for many children. For the more than 12 million US children who live in families with incomes below the poverty line, there are additional pressures that can reduce health and well-being, including homelessness and food insecurity. These forms of disadvantage have beendirectly tiedto child brain development and mental health. Children who have experienced mental health challenges are more likely to experience mental illness, addiction, and other chronic medical conditions as adults, so these rates of illness are not just having impact today but are likely to reverberate through US society when these children are adults.

We can act to help kids thrive now and grow into healthy adults. Doing right by kids requires simultaneously preventing as many of them as possible from experiencing mental health problems and providing services for those who do. Roughly half of US children with a mental health disorder did not receive mental health treatment in 2019, and the unmet need for mental health for children of color in theUS is higher thanthat of White children. Expanding access to mental health and addiction services, especially services that are available in communities, rather than in hospitals and residential facilities, is a national imperative.

Prevention and early intervention are also essential for taking care of kids mental health. Major advances in neuroscience and clinical medicine have yielded effective prevention and early intervention strategies that pay bothimmediate and long-term dividends. Early intervention for serious mental illnesses, which frequently emerge in late adolescence, can change the course of some illnesses and reduce their disabling effects. For other conditions, effective psychosocial interventions and pharmacotherapies exist that can help meet childrens needs and promote their health. Specific evidence-based interventions include family skills training, maternal depression screenings, and resiliency training for children. Screening young children for trauma and circumstances that can lead totoxic stress(including maternal depression, parental substance use disorder, poverty, and community violence) can be highly effective.

Behavioral models that integrate effective mental health expertise into pediatric practices includeHealthy Steps,Help Me Grow, andTeamUp. These offer ways to expand the reach of behavioral health prevention and treatment intervention. Some programs based in schools, including early intervention based on the Bounce Back intervention, a group-focused school-based intervention for children experiencing trauma, havedemonstrated positive impact. Similar evidence-based interventions that strengthen core capacities in childrencan benefit themin arange of ways, from lower risks of mental health and substance use problems to school dropout, social isolation, and self-harm.

These types of programs arerelatively low cost and high yield. With concerted effort across government, insurers, providers, and community leaders, we can make them part of everyday practice. Current conditions are ripe for progress. The nations mental health and addiction crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have created broad recognition that the nation must reform its approach to behavioral health services. Interest on the part of Congress and the executive branch is strong; many state and local leaders also recognize the urgent need for action. Various COVID-19 grant fundsincluding substantial increases in funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as well as general COVID-19 grant support to states and localitiescan and should be deployed to build prevention and early intervention systems, as well as community-based behavioral health treatment. These increase the impact ofrecent grant fundsprovided for youth suicide prevention and other mental health programs under the American Rescue Plan Act.

The greatest gains in access to effective treatments are likely to come from integrating them into the two primary systems that shape childrens health and well-being: the health care system and the education system. Wherever possible, health insurers should cover evidence-based interventions. Medicaid has a particularly important role to play, as insurer ofnearly halfof Americas children, whose low incomes make them particularly vulnerable to homelessness, food insecurity, and toxic stress. Medicaids mandatory, comprehensive pediatric benefit, the Early Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program, is designed to meet childrens health and developmental needs, and can support many preventive and early intervention approaches.

But Medicaid alone will not solve this crisis: Commercial insurers must recognize that promoting childrens health means meeting kids mental health needs. Stronger benefit packages that cover behavioral health services and interventions for children and families must be offered. Health care providers, especially pediatricians and primary care providers, including community health centers, should focus on prevention, integrate behavioral health into their practices, and adopt whole family approaches. It is also critical for the federal government to enforce the parity laws that require private insurers to cover behavioral health services. Grant funding through the agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SAMHSA, and the Health Resources and Services Administration is particularly important for funding aspects of prevention, treatment, and support for people with mental illnesses that do not fit comfortably into insurance programs and other broad-based programs.

Schoolsplay a major rolein delivering behavioral health care for children, especially children who are poor or children of color. Schools can and should useElementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fundingnot just to start up immediate programs but to build the staff, services, and infrastructure needed to provide Medicaid-covered services. Some schools arebuilding comprehensive school mental health systemsthat advance students skills and provide early intervention and treatment. Federal leaders can build on recent efforts to encourage schools to use American Rescue Plan Act grant funds for mental health by creating a technical assistance center between the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to support development of school-based behavioral health services. Addressing the needs of the schools with the lowest resources should be its first priority.

Spreading and scaling proven interventions throughout the health, public health, and educational systems is the necessary, if overdue, response to the current behavioral health crisis facing children and youth. All levels of government, industry, providers, advocates, and community organizations should commit themselves to working across sectors and silos to build delivery and public health systems that are needed to advance the health and well-being of kids. The stakes for millions of children, families, and our society are high and depend on taking comprehensive and immediate action.

Disclosures: Victoria Wachino is an advisory board member and consultant to Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative. Other than the aforementioned, the authors did not receive financial support from any firm or person for this article or from any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. Other than the aforementioned, the authors are not currently an officer, director, or board member of any organization with a financial or political interest in this article.

Read more:

The kids are not all right: The urgent need to expand effective behavioral health services for children and youth - Brookings Institution

How is the future being shaped today?

As any entrepreneur will tell you, hard moments can bring opportunity to improve, or change things up altogether. You can learn a lot from what you didnt plan for, and find new approaches along the way.

That has been evident in Baltimores community of technologists and entrepreneurs during 2021. After a year of pandemic, pivoting and a renewed push for racial justice in 2020, the following year has brought more sustained solutions, a wave of coalition-building, and focused efforts to build in a new way going forward.

Crises can be cyclical like that. They have a tendency to bring to a boil what was previously simmering just beneath the surface, and the focused work necessary to solve the immediate challenge can create more resolve to make lasting change. It can even present opportunities we didnt expect.

As Omicron reminds us, this tumultuous period isnt over. Yet, two years in, there has also been enough time to take stock of all thats emerged, and what weve learned. Its also a moment that can build the future, with a newly mobile knowledge workforce that can choose to live anywhere, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding set to arrive, a mayoral administration thats engaged like never before, and leaders who are jumping in and bringing folks together.

Its why Technical.lys December editorial theme is Lessons on Resilience. With that in mind, we reached out to Baltimore leaders with a question to help us gather thoughts on all thats changed, and what might help us push forward:

Whats the biggest learning or opportunity to emerge from the last two years that will help Baltimore move forward in the future?

Heres a look at their responses:

Ive run across a couple of quotes that rang true about the last two years. One is: We all went through the same storm, but we were not in the same boat.

Some of us had the resources to float through the pandemic. Many of us did not have that kind of a ship at our disposal, and were still bailing. Looking back, Baltimore has a long history of shipbuilding prowess, dating all the way back to the canoes crafted by the regions indigenous peoples. During the pandemic, the way the community came together, often virtually, to create new resources suggests how we can move forward in the future. The collaborations and the commitment to the city that emerged as a response to COVID-19 also demonstrate that Baltimore has what it takes to thrive. We must lash our vessels together. To extend the boat metaphor, the opportunity for Baltimore is to chart our own course using local skills and talent, not just wait on a lifeline we hope is coming from somewhere else.

The other quote is from Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, who said, Work is no longer a place you go. Its something you do. Thats liberating and suggestive of opportunities for Baltimores future if our creative and tech talent can stay in the enriching, supportive Baltimore ecosystem and find even more options to do the work they do, without having to relocate to find funding and new prospects.

The biggest learning to emerge from the last two years that will help Baltimore move forward in the future is this enduring and clear lesson: We are stronger when we reach out and partner together across industries and silos to solve the biggest crises in our lifetime.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced so many challenges. Ensuring healthcare delivery to take care of all of our sick patients, getting our population vaccinated and building trust with communities who have been treated unjustly historically, health inequities and access barriers and the digital divide.

At LifeBridge Health, we saw firsthand the value of partnerships to save lives and protect our healthcare providers and staff during the pandemic partnering with Under Armour to design and produce face masks and PPE through massive supply chain disruptions. We launched 1501 Health, a payvider partnership with Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, to incubate and invest in early-stage digital health startups, like Live Chair, that focuses on the barbershop setting to engage black men around prevention and treatment of chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and obesity by providing health assessments and education. We partnered with Higi, the nations leading smart health stations provider, and the American Heart Associationto develop clinical content around prevention, hypertension and heart health across 70 kiosks in supermarkets, community and fitness centers in the greater Baltimore area.

Everyones ability to adapt and persevere over the past two years has been tested to the extremes. This is particularly true for entrepreneurs. Weve seen those who have a strong foundation and a network of support have been able to pivot as needed, but we must learn from this experience to make sure entrepreneurs have the opportunities and access in the first place.

In the last two years, our regional cybersecurity ecosystem experienced remarkable growth, highlighted by landmark investment, acquisitions and exits. Of course, the roadmap for this growth was created long before Dragos became the first industrial cybersecurity unicorn, or three DataTribe companies were acquired in one month, or ZeroFox announced their intent to go public. Weve known for years that Baltimore has the ideas and the talent to lead the cybersecurity industry, and were attracting, while building, the other resources (e.g., funding, advisory, etc.). We need to realize that potential.

The last two years have made obvious that East and West Baltimores black neighborhoods suffer from digital redlining as much as they suffer from discrimination in other areas. The people of these communities know how to solve their problems, but resources designated to help still go in large part to organizations and institutions outside of these communities. We have an opportunity to change that in 2022 and beyond, which will in turn benefit all of Baltimore.

If theres one thing weve learned over the past two years, its that internet connectivity is crucial for providing access to job opportunities and creating wealth. Given Baltimores history of redlining and its treatment of marginalized citizens, Im excited to see investments at the city, state, and federal levels in broadband and Wi-FI; basic internet access is increasingly critical for participation in modern learning and work environments.

Beyond physical infrastructure, career connections and learning opportunities are necessary to help bridge the gap to high-paying tech jobs. Were looking forward to seeing the impact of new programs like the Baltimore Tracks City Schools internship as they hopefully grow and build pathways for Baltimores young people to join the local tech community.

The biggest lesson learned for me, especially during Black Lives Matter and the pandemic, not everyone is treated equally. I think we always have assumed this, but the combination of those two things really brings to light the inequity in the world. Baltimore has and continues to see this and experience it firsthand. What we cant do is see the problem and revert to the same old policies, procedures, and way of doing things. We need to lean into the uncomfortableness of it all every day.

One silver lining from the last two years is that the move to Zoom/remote has started to level the playing field and increase opportunities outside of traditional tech hubs like SF/NYC/LA. For a company like ours, this has made finding and collaborating with clients a bit easier than it used to be in the business-travel-centric days. Hopefully, this trend continues to help Baltimore-based companies work with more clients nationwide.

In the past two years, Baltimore has formed some importantand formidable coalitions with a laser focus on equity. Whether our end goal is buildingresources for small businesses, improving digitalequity, or investing in diverse founders, we will always achieve more when we work together. The city can only move forward by intentionally shifting resources to the people and places that have been historically underinvested. While weve known that for some time, the past two years have created a sense of urgency to take real action and to build strategies that leverage the collective knowledge of committed leaders from the grassroots to the grasstops.

Baltimore has so much to offer, with unlimited potential. It is a gem. Take a moment to close your eyes and dream with me, something a mentor does. Envision a Baltimore where everyone is walking in greatness. A city that has tapped into the highest peaks of its potential, positively impacting and enhancing the lives of residents and those that have an interaction here. A place that is pushing boundaries, a change agent for other cities. How do we get here? Empathy!

Leading with empathy has been the biggest takeaway from these last two years, from my perspective, that could help Baltimore move toward the city we just closed our eyes and dreamt of. The experience of an ongoing pandemic, social unrest that was broadcast for the world to see (in your face), amongst other things led to many individuals and organizations changing behavior. There was a need to take a step back and be intentional or considerate of the potential impact an interaction or action could have on another. For example, thinking about what someone could be going through at home (e.g., childcare, new virtual world, job, loneliness) was essential. If we can lead with empathy, voices would be uplifted and that diversity of thought and/or perspective will result in more informed decisions, interactions and solutions to challenges on the path to greatness.

The biggest learning opportunityfrom the last two years that I think would help Baltimore move forward is paying attention to the small fries. So often we are looking at the talent we considerheavy hitters but those that are working small and steady are also having a huge impact on our city.

During COVID, particularly for school-aged children and our underserved communities, we did not have the broadband infrastructure, computers and training in place to provide adequate education and work-from-home opportunities. These technologies should be ubiquitous like water, septic, and electric utilities. We know we can do better and several initiatives such as the Maryland Tech Councils T12 Committee, UpSurge and Baltimore Tracks have shown up this past year to help change that.

Manufacturing matters. As much as I love the port expansion and the tunnel heightening, it is all meaningless if we dont develop a manufacturing base that uses those assets for export. Its not just bad economic development practice to ignore manufacturing but, as is now very clear, a matter of basic survival.

What do we know? That we have heart, smarts, grit and ingenuity in every corner of our city, but not equal opportunities to prosper in a 21st century economy. That truly inclusive economic growth and stability for Baltimore families will require significant investment in an innovation economy that welcomes all who choose it. That Baltimore is home to a dynamic and determined ecosystem of founders, investors, accelerators, corporations and organizations like those who came together in UpSurge teams to craft Equitech 2030. That this is an ideal place to build a startup culture that grounds itself in a belief that diversity is a force-multiplier for company success.

Whats new? We are in the midst of an all-hands-on-deck moment to realize our potential in a way that is uniquely Baltimore. The untethering of startups and the tech workforce from traditional brain hubs changes the game. Amidst our challenges and imperfections, we sometimes forget how spectacular our city is. But weve been seeing Baltimore anew, through the eyes of the Techstars Equitech founders and other partners weve welcomed recently. Theyre shocked by the breadth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem. Surprised by how accessible and affordable Baltimore is. Impressed by how open Baltimoreans are to newcomers. And amazed at how connected we are to each other (Wait, you know her, too? Smalltimore, hon!). Most of all, they are in awe of what were trying to build, together.

This is lightning in a bottle. If we capture it, we can become a global model of a tech-for-all city, one that provides a launchpad for transformational companies and new pathways of opportunity for more Baltimoreans. We can do this.

Biggest learning to date:anything is possible. Before the pandemic, we may never have been able to imagine many things that are true today working from home, virtual school, eliminating travel, not eating out and yet, we did it. We found a way to persevere. And although it sometimes feels like we are taking steps backwards, I feel history will tell a different story. This pandemic is providing the perfect opportunity for us to use these conditions and constraints to re-think everything: how we work together, how we live together, and even how we love one another. Just as we have pivoted during the pandemic, we can now turn these learned skills into innovative ideas on how to continue to make our community good for us all.

I think the biggest learning opportunity was how to work remotely. Many companies, like my employer Think, had been doing it for years, but for other companies its been a real transition. The difficult side of this is that talent is now free to roam the country for jobs. This is going to make it even harder for places like Baltimore, Philly and Pittsburgh to retain talent. Tech folks are opting to move to cheaper, more climate freely or cooler geographies.

If youre a remote worker, Baltimore is a great destination. The cost of living is low, its on the East Coast and is a quick drive to/from other metropolitan areas. It scores high on a flexibility scale for remote workers. I believe more people will realize this and take advantage of all the positives Baltimore has to offer.

Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods, a phrase Ive heard from Baltimoreans and transplants alike ever since I moved here in 2007. Usually stated with pride or said as veiled acknowledgement to the unending impact of redlining, either way it is a reference to the diversity that divides us. I think that the last two years have taught us that this is the wrong thing about Baltimore to be proud of.

Baltimore is a city of teams. Baltimore Development Corporation worked with over300 businesses, community members, and organizations onBaltimore Together: A Platform for Inclusive Prosperity. With the launch of UpSurge Baltimore, over 150 team members produced theEquitech 2030report. B-360 united the States Attorneys Office, T. Rowe Price, Brown Advisoryand the Job Opportunities Task Force to launch theDirt Bike Offenses Diversion Program.

This is a tiny, yet far-reaching set of examples of teamefforts teams thatat times have played against each other, coming together to work for each other. If we could, in all aspects, take this mindset that we are a city of teams, working together in our efforts, wed find out that there is a massive opportunity to change the way that the future of this city plays out.

The life science industry in Baltimore stepped firmly into the spotlight in 2021. Demand for specific, well-designed bench and lab space has increased, and were perfectly positioned to help fill that need. At the UM BioPark, weve seen a number of our tenant companies large and small expand to not only meet the demands of the pandemic, but to pursue key discoveries in areas such as gene sequencing and gene therapy. Weve also welcomed several new, innovative device companies that are benefitting from our proximity and connection to the University of Maryland, Baltimore. We look to 2022 as a year for expansion and continuing growth.

How important partnerships are in order to accomplish big goals. Id love to see a place where true collaboration is valued, silos are dropped, and we come together, unselfishly.

Grace. Give yourself a little grace. We have all had to navigate challenges during this time. It is OK to say no, take your time, and pull back when necessary.

Sometimes you have to go alone. Working with others and group think is great until it comes time for execution and then silence. No one wants to lead, but someone has to go first. Get comfortable with being the unintended leader, even if you have to go first and alone.

A big lesson is that community holds more weight than weve previously considered. Julianna Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, put it perfectly when she said, What weve learned from COVID is that isolation is everyones problem. It doesnt just happen to older adults; it happens to us all. It took us being secluded to remember were all connected and that people matter. Over these last two years, everyone has fought some kind of battle and has had stark reminders about the fragility of life. I hope we remember how much we need each other. This is a cornerstone for how we move forward.

Baltimores economic future depends on inclusion: The more we can leverage the human assets we have and invest in a diverse workforce to fuel company growth, the more momentum we will build and the healthier our community will be.

More:

23 tech leaders on the opportunities that can shape Baltimore's future - Technical.ly

Guest Opinion. In 1492, Christopher Columbus set out, on behalf of the Spanish government, to find a nautical eastern passage to Asia. Much to the surprise of Spain and all of the European powers, Columbus instead found a land mass that had been inhabited since time immemorial. This was one of the first recorded contacts between the European and Tribal nations. Under the diplomatic norms of the 15thcentury, Columbus and Spain could have sought to establish diplomatic ties between the nations, which might have led to trade opportunities between the Tribes and Europe. However, the European powers had other ideas. Avoiding any pretense of diplomacy, the Catholic Church sought to legally justify settlement of the land mass, which they would later call America.

On May 4, 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued a Papal Bull called Inter Caetera, which provided justification for Christian nations to encroach upon the sovereignty of non-Christian nations by declaring, that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself. This document provided a legal justification for the colonization of the Americas by declaring that the sovereignty of Christian nations supersedes that of non-Christian nations. It also presented a theme that would permeate the relationship between Tribal nations and the European powers, as well as their successor sovereign, the United States of America. The document provided justification for the belief that being non-Christian (or non-civilized) made you less than human.

This philosophy persisted during the founding of the United States of America. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence of the merciless Indian savages. Furthermore, despite the United States Constitution specifically recognizing the sovereignty of Tribal nations, the United States Supreme Court incorporated the Doctrine of Discovery into U.S. law in 1824sJohnson v. McIntoshwhen they stated that discovery gave title to the government by whose subjects or by whose authority it was made against all other European governments, which title might be consummated by possession [t]he history of America from its discovery to the present day proves, we think, the universal recognition of these principles.

[NOTE: This article was originally published by the National Indian Health Board. Used with permission. All rights reserved.]

The declaration that barbarous nations be brought to the faith itself was also foundational in understanding the approach to education that the European countries and the U.S. would take with Native people. Even before the official establishment of federal Indian boarding schools in the late 19thcentury, there were schools designed to Christianize native people. A notable example was Moors Charity School in Lebanon, Connecticut, which was established by Rev. Eleazar Wheelock. Wheelock would use the success of Moors Charity School to raise money for the establishment of Dartmouth College in 1769. Dartmouths charter included that it was founded, in part, for the education and instruction of youth of the Indian Tribes in this land in reading, writing, and all parts of learning which shall appear necessary and expedient for civilizing and Christianizing children of pagans[.] Many of these early schools were founded by Christian groups, often missionaries, and often with the full support of European powers, and later the U.S. government. In 1819, Congress passed the Civilization Fund Act, which provided funding to these groups to establish and operate boarding schools.

In 1871, the U.S. ceased treaty making with Tribes and began moving towards a policy of complete eradication of Tribal nations. One of the primary means for achieving this policy goal involved the creation of boarding schools that would civilize native children and indoctrinate them into mainstream American society. It was to be the final phase of the call that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself that had been made almost 400 years prior and the end goal of the Doctrine of Discovery. Upon the founding of the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, General Richard Henry Pratt declared his mission was to kill the Indian and save the man.

The establishment of Carlisle Indian school marked a turning point. No longer was the U.S. government (and the states) content to issue charters and funding to private individuals like Wheelock, it was itself moving into the business of civilizing native people. The formal establishment of the boarding schools represented a more aggressive approach to fulfilling the call of Inter Caetera. The Carlisle Indian School was one of many boarding schools founded for this purpose, and was operated from 1879 to 1918. After Carlisles closure, boarding schools continued to operate throughout the 20thcentury. In those years, countless Native children were involuntarily removed from their homes and forced into a strange land, hundreds of miles from homelands. Many of them never returned. The decision to send children so far from home was intentional. The boarding schools were to remove the child far from their home, customs, and family ties to force them to become civilized.

The boarding school experiment was a failure in countless ways. Tribal nations are still here, and we persist despite repeated attempts at termination. It also never met General Pratts goal of saving the man. In fact, the boarding schools caused incalculable harm to native people. Generations of children were taken from their homes with many of them dying and being buried in mass graves. Those that survived the experience were left with trauma from the harsh conditions of the boarding schools. Entire generations of many Tribes were lost, to both death and despondency from the trauma caused by the experience.

Native people have had to reckon with the historical trauma caused by the boarding schools and their predecessors. The Doctrine of Discovery is directly to blame for the boarding school experience. The call that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself fed an insidious ideology that prioritized civilizing Native children over providing for their well-being. It provided justification for the disruption of native communities, in pursuit of the nebulous goal of civilization. It provided justification for the subjugation of tribal sovereignty that would even make such an undertaking possible. Understanding the boarding school experience requires understanding the ideology that led to its existence. The Doctrine of Discovery has caused untold amounts of damage to native communities and our people continue to reckon with its fallout.

It's still 2021. Before you go ...

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Doctrine of Discovery and Its Impact on American Indian and Alaska Native Health Care | Health - nativenewsonline.net

As weve seen with events like climate change and the continuing pandemic, people who are not scientists or medical doctors are also not at all shy about sharing scientific or medical opinions.

Its true even when people are basing their opinions on little more than a bit of TV and newspaper coverage, a Twitter thread or two, and emoji-laden text messages with other non-scientists. But in an age in which science and technology are so deeply ingrained in our world, and the outcomes of research affect us all, theres a clear need for informed and meaningful public engagement with science and scientists. Have we figured out how to do that?

Many science funders have been addressing the scientist-layperson disconnect. The John Templeton Foundation, for example, names public discourse about science in its core mission statement. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has long fielded a program in public understanding of science, technology and economics. The Rita Allen Foundation provides numerous grants for science communication, health-related topics and other areas. And many organizations award grants for science communication and outreach to diverse communities.

Now, the Kavli Foundation, one of philanthropys most committed funders of basic scientific research, has announced a new program that aims to bring non-scientistsa.k.a., the publicinto discussion with scientists on the ethical implications and risks of research. The foundation recently launched the first two of its Kavli Centers for Ethics, Science and the Public, based at UC Berkeley and the University of Cambridge, in the U.K.

The centers will develop what Kavli is calling an infrastructure for early and intentional public engagement with the ethical considerations born from scientific discoveries. The centers will also examine how transformative research may also present dangers to society along with any intended benefits.

Its important to note that these new Kavli centers are intended not just to help laypeople communicate or understand research after discoveries have been made, but to proactively engage with science professionals to guide research directions from the start. Its part of what Kavli calls the ongoing democratization of science. Thats a laudable goal, but so far, progress toward constructive communication between people who essentially speak different languages has been elusive. According to the foundation, the scientific community has long wanted some mechanism to better engage the public and scientists in discussion about ethics and potential negative fallout of research, but that none of the efforts along these lines have really taken root. As a result, the public has been left out of the process. The folks at Kavli hope the new centers will build the institutional commitment to ensure that happens.

At its heart, its meant to ensure that the public is involved in science earlier on, said Brooke Smith, director of public engagement at Kavli. Whats important for the foundation is that theres infrastructure within science to engage the public.

Kavlis new science ethics centers join the signature programs that have made the foundation into one of the more important philanthropic supporters of selected fields of basic research: the $1 million Kavli Prize and the 20 Kavli Institutes it has endowed at top institutions around the world.

According to Kavli, the new center at UC Berkeley will seek to reimagine how scientists are trained, beginning in the fields of neuroscience, genetics and artificial intelligence. Itll also involve some of the top researchers in those fields. The Kavli ethics center at the University of Cambridge will explore ethical questions in genomics, big data, health research and emerging technologies. Itll operate as a collaboration between the university and Wellcome Connecting Science. Its leaders will include experts with backgrounds in social sciences, genetics, bioethics and journalism, and it will draw upon experts from various countries beyond the U.K., including China, Russia, India and Japan.

Whats not yet known is how the centers will achieve their goals. The centers will need to try things outtheres not a recipe yet, Smith told me.

Still, the democratization of science has a nice ring to it, and in some areas, such as health and clinical research, efforts to boost public engagement in the research process are proving beneficial. The National Institutes of Health, the federal governments main instrument for health research funding, has driven community engagement programs at health research institutions across the country to bring long-underserved populations into clinical studies. This has helped clinical health research move beyond a decades-long white male bias and embrace efforts to better understand and address physiological and cultural factors affecting a more diverse array of patientsfactors that can have a big effect on medicine and medical care.

Obviously, the new centers at UC Berkeley and the University of Cambridge will bring a lot of smarts to bear on the challenge of scientist-layperson communication, but Im glad Im not the one in charge. I think the development of these public engagement programs is going to be a tall order: Scientists spend a long time learning to speak the specialized language of their fieldlanguages like statisticsand the rest of us layfolk frequently misunderstand their meaning and nuance. Just look at how frequently the public and scientists yell past each other on topics like the COVID-19 pandemic and global climate change. And lets also remember that these misunderstandings dont always happen by accidentdeliberate misinformation is a rampant problem online.

Still, this is one of those cases where philanthropic support can address a public challenge in ways that are not only interesting and potentially innovative, but also may never see the light of day without the application of philanthropic risk capital. As the new centers move toward a clearer picture of their strategy, well see if they make any progress against significant headwinds.

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Scientists and Laypeople Speak Different Languages. This Funder Wants to Bridge the Gap Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy