Launched in 2019, the Science & Society Program (SSP) was established to address critical gaps in public trust in, and understanding of, advances in science, as well as the potential impact of those advances on America’s diverse society. Through its various activities, SSP will seek to raise awareness and inform targeted audiences about present-day challenges at the intersection of science and our national community. SSP will endeavor to explain, connect, and maximize the many benefits of science, technology, and innovation, while striving to expand the audience of individuals who embrace the value and contribution of science to improving the human condition for all.

The Science & Society Program is housed within the Heath, Medicine and Society Program of the Aspen Institute. In addition to its focus on the biomedical sciences, SSP will engage with several other scientific disciplines, including the natural sciences, data science, and technology, and will explore how these fields intersect with the population at large through areas—such education, economics, and the environment—that cut across all segments of American and global society.