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Bringing Science and Technology Policy Into Focus

November 4, 2024

Who does science and technology policy? Sometimes even the field’s practitioners aren’t so sure. John Andelin, once assistant director of the Office of Technology Assessment, tells a story about working on Capitol Hill as an unofficial science advisor to a congressman in the early 1970s: “I was asked to give a speech on ‘science policy.’ I mentioned it to a colleague, saying that I didn’t know anything about it. His response, after laughing, was that that’s what I did.”

Understanding who works in science and tech policy is important. Their day-to-day activities influence whether and how individuals and communities thrive in the modern world. The pace of biomedical innovation; society’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change; the development and regulation of cutting-edge technologies like nanotech and artificial intelligence—these issues and many more are shaped by people in this relatively unknown field.

So Issues conducted a survey. We wanted to explore how the community defines itself; the paths that lead to careers in science and tech policy; practitioners’ motivations, activities, and opinions on how the field is changing; and what the future holds for science and technology policymaking. The results, as written up by Josh Trapani and Katherine Santos Pavez, present a fascinating—and even surprising—snapshot of a large, diverse, and dynamic field.

Explore the findings of our science and technology policy survey.


Editor’s Journal

Lisa Margonelli discusses the results of the ISSUES science and technology policy survey in her Editor’s Journal

Science Policy: No Longer an “Exotic Nice-to-Have Thing”

“The community of people who do science policy has long been something of a cipher,” writes Lisa Margonelli. Comments on our survey reveal a profession that’s evolving.

Archives

Hildreth Meière’s Initial Drawing of "Air"

Hildreth Meière’s Initial Drawing of Air

A preliminary study for a design in the National Academy of Sciences building’s Great Hall is an early work by renowned American muralist Hildreth Meière.

Forum

Forum

Preparing the Next Generation of Nuclear Engineers

How can engineering education keep pace with the rapidly evolving nuclear power industry? Olivia M. BlackmonNobuo Tanaka, and Todd Allen weigh in on preparing the next generation of nuclear engineers.

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Who Does Science and Technology Policy?