Abstract
This chapter applies an overall communication constitutes organizations (CCO) perspective to explore the relationships between science communication and public relations. In the context of increasing institutional interest in public relations and science communication, the chapter asks whether public relations from research institutions should be seen as a subset of science communication or a discrete role. It argues that communication is essential to the constitution of organizations and challenges ideas of science communication as value free and neutral. In doing so, it considers the rise of institutional public relations and considers how these “new” players in science communication serve the interests of the scientific community. Finally, the chapter considers the implications of taking a CCO perspective on how we understand the relationships between scientific organizations, scientists and the public.
