Communicating with scientists
This refers to the audience you are trying to engage with and their previous knowledge or opinions on the topic you want to communicate with them about.
Understanding the information this audience wants to get from you as well as how your information might impact them.
To effectively communicate a message, it is key to make a connection between your information and the audience priorities and values. Communicating isn’t just about data and figures.
Considering the medium in which you transmit your message will help you identify strategies for them to effectively receive your information
As you move between the before and after version of Jack’s pitch, pay close attention on some of the characteristics of a pitch
- Start with a sentence that grabs your audience attention
- Avoid jargon. This might look different depending on the audience, but try to not use too many technicalities that might dilute the meaningfulness of your work, and lose your audience attention.
- Draw your audience in by highlighting the major problem you’re trying to solve and how your research addresses such problems.
- Keep it short!
I’m currently studying pancreatic cancer, specifically a mutation in the gene SMAD4, that happens late in tumor progression. This is the fourth driver mutation for pancreatic cancer, and about 50% of the patients with pancreatic cancer express such a mutation. Additionally, SMAD4 is part of a very important pathway: TGFB. TGFB controls many cellular processes, and in cancer, it is thought to play a dual role. In early stages, TGFB can protect from tumor progression and invasion functions, but later, in late-stages of the disease, tumors use TGFB to further proliferate and invade the immune system.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies in the world, with only a 9% 5-year survival rate. Lack of effectiveness of current therapies and cancer biomarkers makes the discovery of new targets extremely important. I’m studying the role of SMAD4, a prevalent driver mutation in pancreatic cancer, in a TGFB-dependent invasion of human pancreatic cancer organoids. We have observed that the presence of mutations in SMAD4 induces an invasive phenotype, promoting collective invasion. In this context, we aim to determine whether the presence of these two types of invasion based on mutations in SMAD4 is due to the activation of molecularly distinct pathways.
Communicating with policymakers
Policymakers lie somewhere in between scientists and the general public. It’s important to understand the amount of workload and pressure policymakers experience, and how their time is split between the legislative duties, attention to their constituents, and working on their re-election. In this context, stating your goals in a clear, brief, and concise manner is essential to effectively communicating with policymakers.
These are some of the suggestions and considerations you should take when communicating with policymakers
A first step to effectively communicate your message with policymakers is to know your audience. Identify who is the person that holds the power on the issue you’re interested in. In this case, Jack is headed to both Congress and Senate, but in your case, it could be someone in the state or local legislature. Once you have established that, understand who you are talking to: what is their background and history, what responsibilities they have in different committees, what values have they shown based on their votes on bills and released public statements. Think how all that information you’ve compiled might represent their views and the way they see the world. All of this information will allow you to meet your audience where they are and stand, and make you a more effective advocate.
Another logistical issue to consider is timing. This can be an opportunity to influence a policymaker based on their way of thinking, or based on the political environment (maybe yours is an important topic being discussed in Congress, by the media, and present in political conversation).
The way you deliver your message is also important, as messages that are brief, clear and to the point are more likely to gain traction with the right audience. This is particularly true for policymakers, who constantly have to juggle between multiple priorities, and might be more likely to abandon your cause if your message is not conveyed clearly and succinctly. Typically a one-page document is sufficient for making your points, and the document should be clear enough to read so that the policymaker can easily and quickly skim through it and understand your ask. Having recommendations that are clear and actionable for the policymaker to undertake from your message is also critical for further action taken on your ask.
Storytelling is also critical, as making a compelling case for a particular argument can strongly influence the decisions that policymakers make down the road. Presenting your ask into a compelling narrative will help contextualize its importance, and relevance, and, ultimately, make that encounter with the person you’re meeting, a memorable time.
After spending some days preparing his meeting, Jack attended the Early-Career Hill Day with other graduate students and advocated for sustained investment in federally funded research. Highlighting how being a graduate student shaped his perspective on academia, and the need to effectively train the next generation of scientists were compelling stories that he got to share during his meetings!
Activity: Take some time to draft two pitches, one for scientists and one for policymakers. Notice the differences based on the audience knowledge of the topic, and the purpose of your pitch (presenting new data or advocating for federal funding)
Writing Policy
Effective ways to communicate science policy
Communication in general is key to a successful career in science policy. Many elected officials are not experts in science, so they hire advisors to provide balanced scientific information about all sides of a particular issue, which can inform their future actions. Scientists are therefore in a perfect position to lend their expertise in the policymaking process. One thing to keep in mind is that policy moves at a very fast pace, which can be a challenge for scientists who are used to conducting thorough research and evaluating all options before forming an opinion. As a scientist, Jack needs to first establish legitimacy and build trust, while at the same time having the ability to communicate quickly in an evidence-based manner (ACS-Science Policy).
For effective communication, you have to know who you are talking to, how your audience operates, how they engage in policymaking process, so that you can understand and deliver what they need from you. Additionally, policymakers are busy people who are bombarded with a lot of information all the time. When you present them with evidence, it needs to be synthesised, framed and tailored to the ways in which they understand this information.
The timing of your communication is also critical in terms of what is going on federally at that time. But also don’t wait until the “ideal time” to engage them – much of this is a process, which needs to be started sooner than later, and you can continue building upon it as things develop in the federal landscape (How to communicate effectively with policymakers: combine insights from psychology and policy studies).
Considerations when writing policy pieces
Writing comprises the vast majority of your time as a science policy professional. Effective writing requires precision as well as the ability to weave a narrative together with enough data to make a compelling point (The skills you need for a career in science policy). While communicating science policy, ask yourself these questions:
- Who is my audience?
- What is my message for my audience?
- What medium will I use to communicate my message to my audience?
In order to effectively engage with policymakers, you need to know what issues they are currently discussing. Solutions that you propose to the problem which you want to solve should occur in the context of their constituency. Additionally, your message should be framed in ways that are accessible, relatable, and meaningful for your specific audience, and answer the question of “Why should I care?” (Brown University Science Center’s Quick Guide to Science Communication).
The only way you can develop your policy-writing skills is to practice. However, depending on the medium in which you are communicating, there are different considerations. A few key principles of effective policy writing are:
- Use active verbs, analogies and examples
- Avoid jargon, euphemisms, clichés, wordplays, and puns
- Only include details critical to your story
- Keep your story true to the facts
- Create an outline and prepared to be edited
- Revise, rewrite, and cite your sources
Writing for non-scientific audiences
In contrast to the academic style, writing for non-scientific audiences requires a different structure. Academic pieces typically start with the larger background, followed by supporting details, followed by results and conclusions. Writing for the public or policymakers starts with the bottom line, answers the question of “Why should I care?” and then adds supporting (Science Outreach & Communication Tool kits).
Types of policy pieces
Many types of policy pieces exist, which differ in purpose, style and lengths. The JSPG submission guidelines provide details on what many of these commonly written policy pieces are, what their purpose is, and provides examples of each of them, as shown below. Based on this guide, several types of science policy writing include: op-eds, policy memos, technology assessments, policy analyses, book reviews, workshop reports and white papers. Below is a brief description of a few of the most common policy write-ups.
Policy memos are straightforward documents written by policy advisors, advocates, or everyday citizens seeking to effect change in their community. They typically analyze an issue and offer recommendations to inform and guide a decision-maker, such as a policymaker. Policy memos are typically written for “uninformed but intelligent” readers, not policy wonks. Important considerations of policy memos are: brevity, clarity and objectivity, as well as considering multiple perspectives that address the strengths and weaknesses of all policy options, for an overall balanced and view of the issue (Guide to Writing an Effective Policy Memo).
Op-eds appear opposite the editorial page in most newspapers. They are unsolicited articles written by people not affiliated with the paper, and provide the opportunity to get your viewpoint out in a visible way to both policymakers and the public (Writing op-eds). They can promote discussion and learning about salient issues in the news, and have a strong impact on several audiences (Study shows newspaper op-eds change minds).
Uses of policy pieces
Memos are typically a more balanced type of write-up that weighs both sides of a policy and delivers an objective view, and are directed to a particular individual or an organization. In contrast, op-eds highlight a particular opinion, and may be more broadly applicable to the general public. Therefore, the uses of policy pieces will depend based on the audience being addressed and the purpose of the piece.
Additionally, policy memos can be helpful for interacting with policymakers who have little time to read long documents, or they may be internal to a particular organization (for example, writing a memo to your boss). Both memos and op-eds can be useful for you, like Jack, in getting your message across on Capitol Hill, especially if policymakers are able to read your pieces ahead of time. In any case, these pieces should be brief and easily readable and understood but those without scientific knowledge or background.
Publishing your policy piece
In addition to using policy pieces first hand on Capitol Hill, they are also useful as initial steps to engage policymakers before meeting them in person. Therefore, the publication avenues need to be carefully considered if they are to reach intended audiences. This includes large mainstream newspapers for op-eds, as well as discipline-specific journals (such as tech policy journals).
Reaching broader communities can also occur through more research-intensive publications. For example, white papers may be published in avenues such as Research Policy, which is a multi-disciplinary journal devoted to analyzing, understanding and effectively responding to the economic, policy, management, organizational, environmental and other challenges posed by innovation, technology, R&D and science. This is a broader-type journal which caters to policy researchers in several fields of science and technology policy who may be at different stages in their careers.
The Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG) is an excellent avenue for early career researchers from all over the world to publish their policy work. JSPG is an internationally recognized, open-access peer review publication, which serves specifically as a vehicle for students, post-docs, policy fellows, early career professionals, and young scholars of all academic backgrounds to publish their research and policy pieces. JSPG is geared towards addressing the widest range of issues at the intersection of science, technology, innovation, public policy and governance, providing a variety of publishing options both in terms of topics and formats.
As mentioned above, there are also discipline specific-journals which may be suitable for publishing certain pieces which early career researchers and other policy professionals can also consider depending on their goals and intended audiences
Example of a policy memo
Example of an op-ed