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An analysis is presented of actions taken by the Brazilian research institution Fiocruz for the communication and popularization of science, from two perspectives. The aim was to investigate how a system for the communication and popularization of science is organized at a large scientific institution and how it is articulated with the institutional discourse. A brief review is presented of how the topic has developed over the history of Fiocruz, followed by a discussion of the way it has been addressed in its official planning documents. The science communication/popularization actions undertaken in 2015 and 2016 were mapped out and classified according to how they interact with the public, giving a better understanding of this area.

While Robert Merton approached the issue form the perspective of "scientific ethos" and Thomas Kuhn, from the perspective of "paradigm/normal science," this comparative analysis of these two author's conceptions of the social nature of science suggests that their views merged particularly when they argued that taking values into account was essential to understanding scientific activities. Placing prime importance on the notion of scientific community, these authors both analyze science as a practice which is defined and developed out of a set of beliefs, principles, and norms shared by a given collectivity. While there were some substantive differences between Merton's and Kuhn's outlooks - each had his own unique way of defining 'social' in the context of science - a comparison of their work underlines the importance of seeing institutionalized beliefs and values as essential in guiding the concrete actions of scientists.