Chesley Bonestell, “The Exploration of Mars” (1953), oil on board, 143/8 x 28 inches, gift of William Estler, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Reproduced courtesy of Bonestell LLC.

Events

How Can Scientists Become Players in the Long Game of Policy Change?

“Policy entrepreneurs” often fly under the radar, developing policy ideas to solve problems over decades and surfacing with solutions at just the right moment. Researchers, engineers, consumer advocates, clinicians, civil servants, or community organizers—policy entrepreneurs are innovators who pull together ideas and supporters to accomplish what they could not on their own: a system for constantly updating health guidelines with the latest evidence, requirements to register clinical trials, an accounting system to track pollutants along supply chains. These skills are rarely taught in science or policy curriculums. But, as Erica Goldman writes in Issues, “teaching them to a wider range of scientists could bring both new policy ideas and more diverse perspectives into the process of democratic decisionmaking.”

What motivates policy entrepreneurs to keep at it? And do we know enough about how policy entrepreneurs operate to teach their skillset? What would a curriculum for teaching this secret syllabus look like? On Thursday, April 11 at 4 p.m. ET, join Erica Goldman, Michael Mintrom, Kartikeya Singh, and Arti Garg, for a conversation moderated by David Malakoff about the study and practice of the policy entrepreneur.

Panelists

  • Erica Goldman, Director of Science Policy, Federation of American Scientists
  • Michael Mintrom, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Monash University
  • Kartikeya Singh, Director for Network Leadership, Growald Climate Fund.
  • Arti Garg, Founder & Chair, Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally
  • David Malakoff (moderator), International News Editor, Science

Watch the Recording

Chat Transcript

(This transcript has been edited to remove personal information and Zoom instructions that are no longer relevant.)

Kimberly Quach: Welcome everyone! We’ll get started in a couple minutes. While we wait, check out Erica Goldman’s piece, “Bring on the Policy Entrepreneurs,” for some background on the event.

Larry King: How can the collection of SMEs normally advising congress and others be broadened?

Ted Grasela: do you see a difference between policy entrepreneurs and systems entrepreneurs. Is there overlap between the two?

Kimberly Quach:  Erica’s piece that David is referencing: https://issues.org/policy-entrepreneurs-goldman/

Anne Pender:    This is a nice example of an Irish policy entrepreneur working inside government to bring about the world’s first ban on smoking in public places: https://tinyurl.com/j8dpzbca. Part of his strategy was to build alliances with academics and scientist to provide the evidence base for the ban.

Kimberly Quach:  Michael’s analysis of policy entrepreneurs: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2019.1675989

Larry King: What are better ways scientists can help politicians understand engineering & scientific systems?

Kimberly Quach: Visit Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL) to see these resources https://esal.us/

Lisa Margonelli: Here is Kartikeya Singh’s article about his work on climate in India. https://issues.org/india-energy-ministries-bureaucracy-singh/

Nicole Culos-Reed:  How do you build buy-in for the radical collaboration process? Key approaches to use?

Ahmed Elmi:     In my mixed methods research, using data from 1410 survey completions and 21 interviews, I am finding that the overwhelming majority of principal investigators leading biomedical research don’t understand the role of Congressional legislation in biomedical research. Therefore, a basic understanding of civics is badly needed.

Anne Pender:    Re Arti’s point about the risk of loss of “objectivity”, I have seen some academic colleagues who are very involved in policy entrepreneur work being viewed in this way by other academics and I think this is to do with the traditional – and frankly unrealistic – requirement of having to leave your values and purpose “at the door” when working in academia.

Ted Grasela:     There is also the risk of getting the policy wrong and the consequences of going down the wrong path.

Kara Morgan:    It seems to me the challenge is knowing how/when to engage with who for any particular issue. In my work, we encourage researchers to build relationships with policy makers before there are difficult decisions to be made. Any advice on how to start doing that?

John Alic: Seems to me it’s essential, if you want to be effective in policy, is to talk with established, hands-on policymakers. That is, listen to them, hear what they have to say.

Suzanne Sincavage: Which federal agency funds or supports policy entrepreneurs?

Meredith Jaxon:  Suppose I have a policy idea based on *other people’s* research–how does that change the dynamic?

John Alic:  Yes! Hear those stories.

John Alic: Nothing happens in policy unless you hammer & hammer & hammer. Ideas are a dime a dozen. It takes a coalition to get ideas, new or old, across.

Ahmed Elmi:  Plus John

Kartikeya Singh:  Mapping out “action forcing events” for policy is a key part of the strategy. Inserting ideas in the lead up to those can help deliver quickly.

John Alic:  This is very heartening. I’ve thought for decades now that scientists have to learn to fight, as did Blacks, women, & others trying to change the way things work in our society.

Ernie Ting: https://www.aspentechpolicyhub.org/fellowship/

Erica Goldman:  FAS Impact fellowship is supporting fellows as well, but we are newer in the fellowship world

Meredith Jaxon: Many thanks for the time!

Ahmed Elmi: Reading legislations and how congress operates are necessary.

Arti Garg:  AAAS STPF – https://www.aaas.org/programs/science-technology-policy-fellowships

Bandana Kar: AAAS STP Fellowship is also another avenue.

Erica Goldman: https://fas.org/talent-hub/impact-fellowship/

Anne Pender: Thank you!

Sharon Homer_Drummond: Thanks for the conversation!

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