Science policy


Photo: Gage Skidmore

6 Ways to Make Your Science Advocacy Effective at the State and Local Levels

Cassandra Barrett, Ph.D., , UCS

April 5, 2019 9:12 AM EDT

I’m a huge believer in the idea that to make a difference, you should start where you’re already at. For me, that’s a graduate student studying bioengineering in Arizona. Many of us start graduate school with grand plans that inevitably are cut to size by our advisor. It takes time to learn the tools to make an impact, so we start small by learning to be the best scientists and community members we can be in our own labs. Ultimately these small steps help us to leave graduate school with the skills and confidence to make that big impact we wanted to when we first started.

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Photo: Gage Skidmore
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The Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG): Engaging early career researchers in science policy

Adriana Bankston and Shalin R. Jyotishi, , UCS

February 13, 2019 3:22 PM EDT

The Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG) was established nearly ten years ago by a small cadre of students and science policy leaders who sought to create an open access, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed platform for early career researchers (ECRs) of all disciplines to publish well-developed policy assessments addressing the widest range of science, technology and innovation policy topics worldwide. Today, JSPG is a non-profit organization that has produced 15 volumes addressing a myriad of policy topics including health, the environment, space, energy, technology, STEM education, and defense, as well as science communications and diplomacy. Read more >

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Photo: Tim Evanson/Flickr

Organizing a Science Policy Workshop: What we learned in Bozeman, Montana

Dr. Emma Kate Loveday and Dr. Racheal Upton, , UCS

January 22, 2019 9:09 AM EDT

The Bozeman 500 Women Scientists pod held a science policy workshop in February 2018 for 30 female scientists from all career stages, undergraduate to professor and government-based scientists. Sound intimidating? Here’s how we got there.

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Tim Evanson
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The Science Policy Initiative at Notre Dame.

Supporting Science Policy Advocacy and Outreach through Microgrants

Michaela Rikard, Ph.D. candidate, , UCS

October 31, 2018 1:12 PM EDT

The National Science Policy Network (NSPN) unites groups of early career scientists and engineers nationwide who want to elevate the voice of scientific evidence in policy. We champion the value of science and evidence-based decision-making and believe it is critical for scientists and engineers to step outside of the research lab and communicate the importance diverse perspectives in the policy process to the rest of the scientific community, policy makers, and the general public. Read more >

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Photo: NCinDC/CC BY-ND 2.0 (Flickr)

DOI’s New Policy Restricts Science Under the Guise of Transparency

, researcher, Center for Science & Democracy

October 3, 2018 3:54 PM EDT

Last week, Interior Department Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt issued an order, “Promoting Open Science”, purportedly to increase transparency and public accessibility of the research used by the Department to make science-based decisions. This seems dubious coming from a person who spent much of his career lobbying for the oil and gas industry and who at his confirmation hearing professed, “Here’s the reality: We’re going to look at the science whatever it is, but … policy decisions are made — this president ran and he won on a particular perspective.” The order, effective immediately, is not unlike the EPA’s “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” proposed rule, in that it restricts the use of science in important decisions that affects the public and our environment. Read more >

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