Science policy for scientists: A simple task for great effect

Abstract

Many scientists have become increasingly concerned with the course and status of science-related policies in recent years, and these concerns have only grown in the past months as governments have had to face a global pandemic. As experts in our respective fields, scientists have an obligation and an opportunity to help to inform science policy. We are a group of early-career scientists, four UC Irvine graduate students and one postdoc, who have seen great value in getting involved with political discourse and science policy. Each of us has been drawn to science policy for different reasons. For some, the decision to get involved has been deeply personal; Evelyn Valdez-Ward, for example, advocates for undocumented and marginalized scientists like herself. Some of us are concerned that, although we are only now beginning our research careers, our research could quite literally disappear with the onset of climate change if political action is not taken. Those of us who work in public health have seen the need to be engaged politically so that we can communicate with our communities, politicians, and funding agencies about how critical research is for our country's future health and safety. The current pandemic has likely altered the course of research in this Researchers eager to inform policy with science should seek out the pathways that are available for engaging with lawmakers at the state, local, or national level-while making sure to understand the nuances of political discourse.

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

“…Another common goal of scientific advocacy is to increase research funding, though this form of advocacy comes with the risk of conflict amongst colleagues who are applying for similar funding within limited public budgets (Schmidt and Donner, 2017). Nevertheless, advocating for additional funding can increase the attention and resources given to research projects (Schmidt and Donner, 2017;Gaieck et al, 2020;Hetherington and Phillips, 2020). Researchers may feel they do not have the adequate background to broach this subject with policymakers, however (Gaieck et al, 2020).…”

Science Informed Policies for Managing Water

“…Those working in the policy making environment, e.g., in The Institute of Water and Hydropower Research (IWHR) within The Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) in China, or in the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), or the Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), to mention a few US federal agencies dealing with water, are mainly influenced by their agency's policy agenda, its mission and authority, with perhaps some room for exploratory research. These agencies employ scientists who perform science, and recommend or make policy decisions as well [30]. Science topics in these agencies are typically determined by existing or proposed regulatory requirements or by the needs to have estimates of social, ecological, economic, and environmental impacts of proposed infrastructure design and operating decisions.…”

“…Scientists contributing to policy making debates have convictions and values just like everyone else. However, there is a difference between presenting scientific results along with the assumptions and their uncertainties that those results are based on and offering advice based on those results and personal values [30]. Scientists cannot hide from the fact that they have opinions, but professional ethics requires that they make clear where their science ends and their normative opinions begin.…”

Transdisciplinary soil hydrology

“…When teaching, many of us note the student's heightened level of engagement. I like to reference a recent opinion paper by a group of early‐career scientists (Gaieck, Lawrence, Montchal, Pandon, & Valdez‐Ward, 2020), expressing their concerns about political decisions regarding environmental research funding, and strongly advocating for increased participation in science policy. They make the case that scientists have a civic responsibility to advocate for science and offer ways to improve science communication with policymakers.…”