In recent years, worrying signs of growing distrust in science have surfaced in public debate and political decision-making. In reality, however, the vast majority of people still stand with science and with researchers. In this blog post, Jussi Hakanen, Communications Specialist at the Nessling Foundation, highlights some of the societal actors who most sincerely wish for researchers to succeed in their work.
Text: Jussi Hakanen
Photo: Annukka Pakarinen
Researchers’ work is often downplayed when new knowledge challenges existing beliefs or interests. Understandably this can be discouraging: research is slow, methodical, and often invisible, and its methods are not always easy for the public to grasp. According to the 2024 Science Barometer, however, an overwhelming majority of Finns – 86 percent – trust science and research.
That’s why we at the Nessling Foundation want to remind our grantees and the wider research community: even if it sometimes feels like it, you are not alone. Your work has more silent supporters than you might imagine. The loudest critics may gain disproportionate visibility amplified by social media algorithms, but in truth, a wide range of people from all walks of life are rooting for you to succeed.
Let’s look at a few examples.
A journalist hopes you can distill your profound research into something clear and engaging. They want to do justice to your work and share your findings with a wide audience. It also benefits them and their media outlet, as stories that offer new, research-based perspectives are a rare competitive advantage in today’s media landscape.
A policymaker urgently needs research-based knowledge to guide their decisions. No single politician can be an expert in every field; their daily work involves digesting concise summaries of relevant research so they can make wiser decisions. They want you to succeed in bringing the analytical voice of science into public decision-making. And if your message doesn’t reach them the first time, it might just be a matter of timing. So don’t be discouraged and just try again later.
A business leader seeks fresh insights and solutions from research for ways to advance their company’s goals sustainably while standing out from competitors. They also rely on credible research to strengthen the authenticity of their communications. You can win over a wise leader by presenting realistic figures that show the tangible economic impact of putting the sustainability transformation at the core of their operations.
An activist depends on research to build stronger arguments and, through that, a better world. They don’t want to get stuck in endless debates on the streets or in comment threads. Instead, they aim to calmly ground their views in research and share links to reliable sources.
A teacher wants to lean on your research as they educate the next generation — one that will face the ecological crisis even more acutely than we do. Every young person who leaves their classroom inspired to advance the sustainability transformation is proof that the research you’re doing today is shaping the future.
An ordinary citizen, listening to podcasts on the way to work or occasionally diving into a thought-provoking article, hopes to gain ideas for living more sustainably. As they encounter growing signs of ecological crisis in their daily life, they understand that these issues can no longer be ignored — and that research-based knowledge matters, even for the conversations we have at home.
So remember: while criticism often leaves a memorable mark, you are surrounded by a wide community of people who wish you nothing but the best.
Jussi Hakanen works as a Communications Specialist at the Nessling Foundation. He never became a researcher himself, but he proudly calls himself the number one fan of the foundation’s grantees – and of the research community as a whole.