Engaging Scientists in Policy Discourse

Abstract

Today's science is largely funded by taxpayer dollars, and because of this, scientists have a responsibility to ensure that their research is being effectively communicated back to taxpayers and to the policy makers who determine the distribution of those funds. The importance and impact of effective science communication is compounded when research is used to inform legislative action. Science impacts policy, and policy can impact science. However, the formal education of scientists does not usually include specific training on interacting with science policy. This article describes strategies for engaging with science policy—starting with simple and easy policy actions, and delving into more complex event planning and group organizing tasks. Whether advocating for evidence‐based policies or policies that impact the scientific enterprise or STEM education, practicing skills pertinent to science policy can help you gain comfort in translating your experiences and experiments into lasting change. © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Challenging Carbon Lock-In: Insights From U.S. Governmental Energy Research and Development Expenditures With Advocacy Recommendations for the Energy Research Community

“…As a result of a power imbalance favoring carbon lock-in, this article has suggested actionable recommendations for scientific researchers to advocate for more renewable energy program funding and connect with the science policy interface. This can be done through personal, professional, and institutional strategies, such as communication training, policy-oriented and open access publications, and institutional support for researchers engaging in relevant policy topics (Evans and Cvitanovic, 2018;Bushana et al, 2019;Gaieck et al, 2020;Hetherington and Phillips, 2020). Researchers can engage stakeholders and policymakers in their project topics through the conduits of co-production and institutional boundary spanning (Morgan, 2017).…”

“…Scientists and researchers themselves can take action to decarbonize the nation through technological innovation and secure additional funding. While there is a stigma within the academic community for scientists participating in policy, there is an increased need for scientists' participation in policy discussions coupled with a dearth of public science funding to combat climate change (Bushana et al, 2019). Scientific advocacy will be assessed from the three lenses of personal, professional, and institutional potential pathways for increasing awareness and funding for renewable and zero-carbon energy research and development.…”

“…Yet, this potential can be difficult to tap into with disciplinary silos within universities and the lack of balance between societal demand for and research-generated supply of scientific information (Hart et al, 2015). To spur boundary spanning at their institution, researchers can form advocacy groups at the university or department level to discuss science policy and incorporate students and faculty in its scope (Bushana et al, 2019). Supporting specific legislation through these advocacy groups can be done by coordinating efforts with a policymaker to introduce new policy or to support policy already in deliberation, though this may not be feasible given individual researchers' time constraints (Gaieck et al, 2020;Cologna et al, 2021).…”