Engaging in Science Policy can take the form of a full-time job or part-time hobby. The different levels of commitment make contributing to these field feasible and an important duty for any scientist. This module was designed to teach NSPN members about career paths, ways to prepare, and activities to get hands on experience.
Futures in science policy can take many different shapes and require different levels of commitment. Some of the most common areas where scientists can contribute to policymaking include advising, advocacy, and actuating (running for office or being appointed). Advising can be a low to high commitment opportunity that may include a scientist (in industry or academia) occasionally collaborating with policymakers or a full time career or contracted work where a scientist analyses policies. Advocacy is slightly different from advising in that the scientist is not neutral when advising. Advocacy occurs when a scientist is providing evidence for a policy to be made/changed/redacted. Lobbying is similar to advocacy but the lobbyists are registered and usually advocate on behalf of a set of policies or idea centered around an idea or company.
An important note here is the scientific evidence is only one factor in policymaking. Other aspects that a policymaker must consider include optics and politics. Optics and scientific evidence may differ, for example a policymaker may agree with the scientific evidence but have to make decisions that are in alignment with his constituents.
One concept that scientists should consider before proposing legislation in the “policy-readiness” of ideas.
Associated Activities
Level: Beginner
One way to get your opinion on the record is to write your elected official. Usually constituent letters or testimony are kept as official documents and retained by the receiving office. Some important tips for writing your letter: Be concise, try to keep your letter less than 400 words. Try to lead with your message or your ask then supply factual information to support your argument. Your ask should be specific, “will you support Bill X?” is much better than “What are you doing about this problem?”. Above all be courteous and constructive, staff have to sift through and be the target of some very tense and often rude public commentary, you will stand out if you are helpful and kind when you make an ask. Remember you catch more flies with honey. This is a low energy input activity can be done at anytime but asks should be coordinated with appropriate timing. A final tip: a handwritten letter will get much more attention than printed material.
Level: Experienced
A rewarding and necessary experience for any scientist is to make a visit/call to your local elected official’s office. Much like writing a letter remember “you come in peace”. Adversarial visits are not productive, enjoyable, or impactful. Be professional, have an elevator pitch and an ask prepared and make sure you can back up any statement with facts and sources. Many people are making asks of their elected officials, but you can stand out by working closely with staff before and after an ask to ensure that you time is worthwhile.
Level: Seasoned Veteran
Get a group of colleagues together from various constituent regions and coordinate a mass visit to your local capitol. Ideally this activity is a concerted effort to support one or two specific issuses coming up for vote/debate. Simlar to the other activities here, make sure you are curteous, factual, and concise – your ask should be specific “Will you support Bill X?”. While each capitol is different you may be able to learn from others’ experiences before you try to plan a hill day yourself.
Level: Pro
This activity can have major impact, payoff, and consequences. If you are interested in working in an elected offical’s office the first step is to find out where your strengths, abilities, or knowledge can be most helpful for the office. Make several visits with the office and get to know the staff and issues they face. If you are student at a University try to partner with your Government Relations office they often will have information and be able to help you build projects that are approved by the university. Before beginning write a project proposal and include a memorandum of understanding between you and the office. Projects should be clear, testable, and helpful to the office. You may be able to secure funding from an outside source like NSPN, but do not ask for funding from the office you are assisting. The project should have an output, report/presentation or something tangible to show how your time was spent. Projects timelines can run from weeks to years, so remember to set deadlines and have end goals in mind.
Harvard SciPol Careers Analysis Results
