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Reporting on federal changes to science

Resources To Report on Federal Cuts in Your State

"Produced by the Partnership for Public Service, each guide documents executive-branch cuts that have directly impacted communities across five states. The guides are organized by sector, sourced to primary documents and existing reporting, and written to help you identify the stories that have not been told yet. To help you accurately assign responsibility for the changes taking place, all of this material focuses on actions taken independently by the executive branch. These resources are not exhaustive, and they are not a final verdict. Federal courts are still reviewing many of the actions documented here. Contested status and legally unsettled cases are noted explicitly, and we cite where dollar figures or jobs counts are confirmed. Use these guides to find the local hook, identify gaps in coverage and connect with sources who can tell you what these changes mean on the ground."
  • State guides include Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Washington.
  • See also the Solutions Journalism Network's companion resource, designed for journalists who want to report on these changes through a solutions journalism lens.
Reporting on federal changes to science

Reporting on Federal Cuts Through a Solutions Journalism Lens

"Historic federal funding cuts are affecting communities across the country, from disaster preparedness and veterans’ health care to biomedical research and environmental protection. Federal agencies have increasingly stopped publishing data so Resources to Report on Federal Cuts in Your State, published by Partnership for Public Service, are helping journalists identify what’s being cut and who is affected in your community. This companion resource is designed for journalists who want to report on these changes through a solutions journalism lens. ... This guide outlines two ways to report on federal cuts through a solutions lens, alongside two stories that apply that approach."
Reporting on federal changes to science

The U.S. Federal Research and Development (R&D) Budget 101

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

"This course is designed to build a foundational understanding of the U.S. federal research and development (R&D) budget process. Through a series of modules, participants will explore how the federal R&D budget is developed, the key factors that shape funding decisions, the history of federal R&D investments, and how to seek out budget data and trends. This course was prepared by Alessandra Zimmermann of the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program, a program that has been collecting and curating federal R&D funding data since 1976."
  • Note: AAAS membership is required; the course is a membership benefit.
Resource Database / Guide

Tip Sheet: What We No Longer Know — Reporting on Extreme Weather With Unreliable Federal Data

Climate change is creating conditions for extreme weather as well as disasters like fires and floods. At the same time, the federal databases – and even data archives – that inform understanding and predictions about such events are disappearing. On July 16, 2026, CASW Connector hosted a Chat with:

  • Christopher K. Wikle, the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Statistics at the University of Missouri. He specializes in spatio-temporal statistics, with primary applications to geophysical processes, weather, climate, complex biological processes and the environment.
  • Jason Samenow, the founder and chief meteorologist for Capital Weather, a company dedicated to providing trustworthy D.C. area weather coverage. He was previously The Washington Post‘s weather editor and also worked as a climate change analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  • Sarah Kaplan, a climate reporter at The Washington Post covering humanity’s response to a warming world.

The Chat was moderated by  Regina Nuzzo, a professor of mathematics and data science at Gallaudet University, co-host of the Normal Curves podcast, and a science journalist specializing in statistics and the scientific process.

Check out the tip sheet for advice and resources, as well as a recording of the Chat.

Reporting on federal changes to science

The Cost of Cutting American Science

"Every great solutions story starts with a problem, and a major problem in the U.S. right now is massive, abrupt funding cuts to established programs. The Partnership for Public Service has created a new tool to help uncover and understand those cuts, which could be of special interest to journalists. The Partnership for Public Service doesn’t just spotlight problems — it often celebrates the best of civic impact. In that spirit, this interactive database isn’t just useful for finding what’s wrong; it can also be a starting point for stories about how the affected communities are responding."
Resource Database / Guide

What Journalists Need To Know About a Proposal To Overhaul Federal Science Funding

SciLine offers a "look at how federal scientific research funding has worked for decades, how a proposed rule would increase political control over grantmaking, and how journalists can cover the potential impact on their own communities." Also includes a FAQ section for journalists.