The goals of the conference are:

• Raise awareness of the importance of STEM researchers communicating science to broader audiences in the context of the NSF Broader Impacts criterion, and the general health of the scientific enterprise
• Help scientists more effectively communicate research or general science directly to audiences outside their immediate community; and improve their ability to work with writers by helping researchers understand the constraints writers face and how those constraints affect the information and manner in which they communicate science
• Help writers understand researchers' concerns about how and what science reaches the public
• Develop a web-based resource that captures the essential conclusions and debates of the conference, and localizes resources that STEM researchers and journalists can use to improve science communication in multiple media
• Initiate a discussion between researchers and writers about the challenges involved in communicating science and scientific research to broader audiences, and how these challenges might be addressed within the undergraduate and graduate education of scientists and journalists