Scientists tend to remove themselves from the policy issues that plague the world and retreat to the ivory tower of research and literature. Little do they know that policy decisions made every day directly affect their research. Every year a federal budget is created. Every year science funding through the NSF and NIH waits patiently in the gallows as non-scientists make science funding decisions. Some grants will make it, some will not. Scientists are under the impression that everyone, the public and policy-makers, appreciate the research because science is awesome All scientists are awesome, but the public and policy-makers don’t necessarily appreciate the research. As scientists it is time to step up and advocate for science to the public and policy-makers!
Over the past 50 or so years there have been many examples of increased science funding because a high-level policy maker thought certain research was important at the time. Americans wanted to be the first to the moon – NASA received increased funding. Vice President Joe Biden lost his son to cancer – NIH increased funding especially for cancer research. Fortunately, scientists don’t have to directly convince the Vice President of the United States that Mars biology or brain cancer are the most important areas of research. Groups of scientists and members of the public form coalitions to yell collectively at policy-makers that certain things are important to them. A collective voice is louder than a single voice. Policy-makers will hear it!
The first step then is to seek out and form groups with people that share a passion for an area of research or disease cure. Yes, scientists, that means leaving the lab for a few hours to connect with people that share your interests. Convince fellow scientists to come with you. Not a group that you can find? Start one! Change can be made, and it can start with you.
Once you have joined or formed a group, develop a message. What are you asking for? What are you trying to say? This can be challenging at first. Scientists communicate with each other by giving background information (introduction) first, then what was done (results), and finally the main finding (conclusions). This structure of communication may not work with all audiences. Non-scientists want to hear the main point and why it matters to them first. Rope them in. Then they want to be convinced with what you did. Your message should be both concise and memorable. It is also important to think about your audience when developing a message. Policy-makers at the national level will have a different set of priorities than a state level policy-maker. Before you and your fellow scientists bust into the offices of your State Capitol or the offices in DC, do a little background reading to get to know who you are speaking with first. Know that person’s values and past voting records. By no means do you need to be an expert in legislation 3.5.12 presented to the floor in 2015. Just know enough about the policy-makers’ past decisions to formulate an “ask” that will resonate with them. From there, it will be easier to generate a message that will be memorable to that policy-maker. With your message, it’s time to go talk to policy-makers. First, it is critical to know that policy-makers don’t bite, are people just like you, and want to listen to you (especially if you are a constituent of theirs). As a scientist, you are an expert in a certain field but not an expert in everything.
Next, building relationships with policy-makers is extremely valuable. If a policy-maker trusts your expertise and your opinion, they are more likely to come to you for advice on policy decisions in the future. Being an “advisor” of sorts to a policy-maker is extremely valuable and will advance your science agenda!
These are not easy tasks to accomplish and will take some time to do so. The point is that if you want to make a change, it is up to you! Science is important. It brought us to the moon, it is helping us fight and cure diseases, and it will continue to advance society. Scientists know and understand the importance of science. Now it is time to propagate that importance to the public and policy-makers. The future of science depends on their continual support and your passion for science advocacy.
