September 11, 2019 11:36 AM EDT
Science increasingly underpins many of the global challenges the world is facing today. In turn, the ever-changing global political landscape also has a significant influence on our ability to pursue science needed to tackle these challenges. And in our interconnected 21st century, domestic policies set in one country inevitably have global repercussions. Read more >
August 29, 2019 9:54 AM EDT
Many societal challenges are rooted in structural inefficiencies and inequities that require government solutions informed by science. Women experience burden and harm from inaction in distinct ways, but our voices are underrepresented in both the advocacy and policy processes. We believe women scientists have untapped potential to leverage their expertise and perspective and to connect with their elected officials to lead discussions about policies that impact their communities. Read more >
May 29, 2019 9:50 AM EDT
Learning to be an effective science advocate isn’t just about developing advocacy skills and learning about science policy. It’s also learning about how you make advocacy a sustainable part of your life’s work. It’s easy to get frustrated, burnt out, and want to give up when change isn’t coming fast enough. Strategies for approaching advocacy in a thoughtful way can lead to more long-term gains and also make it feel less overwhelming. Read more >
May 28, 2019 2:17 PM EDT
In response to the increasing political attacks on science, in 2018 the Union of Concerned Scientists launched the Science and Democracy Fellowship to support scientists in becoming local advocacy leaders. We were selected for the inaugural six-month program to mobilize our local communities, in partnership with UCS, in confronting federal attacks on science.
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.
