Current and budding scientists, engineers, and experts from virtually all fields have much to offer public policy. This is especially true given the complex challenges we face, from climate change to energy security and water quality to broadly shared economic vitality. Furthermore, many of these experts are keen to contribute.
However, the conventional model of conducting solid research independently from decision-makers and other stakeholders and hoping or assuming that it will naturally fill information deficits and lead to better outcomes has proven largely insufficient. Decision-makers and other stakeholders do rely on technical information, but also take a myriad of other factors into account. Furthermore, the research process and how findings are presented can greatly shape the saliency, credibility, and legitimacy of data and experts in the eyes of decision-makers and other stakeholders (Cash & Belloy, 2020; Cash et al., 2003).
Virginia Tech’s Science, Technology & Engineering in Policy (STEP) program aims to enhance the capacities of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health care (STEM-H) students, practitioners, and scholars, broadly defined, to be effective participants and collaborators in policy processes. The program develops participants’ abilities to engage with complex public problems, recognizing that they are social and technical in nature. The program’s goal is to develop and enhance participants understanding of policy processes and capacities to integrate technical knowledge with public policy reasoning.
The STEP program’s primary offerings are a Graduate Certificate and set of four courses that may be taken à la carte or to fulfill the certificate requirements. The program also offers various events focused on engagement at the science-policy interface.
The STEP Graduate Certificate is open to current Virginia Tech (VT) students and others, including non-degree seeking students looking to enhance their capacities in this critical area. The certificate attracts a wide variety of participants, but the majority are current VT PhD students seeking to complement their domain expertise with policy skills and understanding. For some, this is because they aspire to work in policy settings (e.g., as experts within government agencies) while others see the value of being able to communicate with policymakers and other stakeholders, even if they plan on taking more traditional academic routes. The experiences of prominent VT faculty in the thick of COVID-19, water quality, and other significant policy issues in recent years bears out the importance of these skills.
The STEP program’s four courses are:
- Policy Gateway: Policy and Decision Making in STEM-H Domains – Key concepts in policy making, including policy analysis and decision-making in complex social and technical settings. Policy process theories and evaluation tools. Concepts of governance including public values, ethics, and variable impacts across communities. Relationships among public policy decision processes and science, technology, and engineering, including disciplinary norms.
- Decision Making, Reflective Practice, and Engagement in STEM-H Domains – In-depth, case-based exploration of roles of science, engineering and technology in policy-making. Application of theories, concepts and practices for policy decision-making, including stakeholder engagement, human behavior, and organizational development. Critical examination of ethics, and fostering of reflective practice. Implications of “big data”.
- Tools and Approaches for Policy-Making in STEM-H Domains – Techniques for translating theory-driven, qualitative concepts into quantitative data-focused modeling. Quantitative and computational tools including statistical inference and hypothesis testing, system dynamics, and economic analysis. Modern data analytic practices, including good collection, storage and visualization techniques. Understanding complexity. Critical examination of challenges and common pitfalls in quantitative modeling.
- Science, Technology, and Engineering in Policy Seminar – Presentation of research on STEM-H, public policy, and ethics. Professional development. Research resources and tools. Project management and funding opportunities. Publishing standards and processes across disciplines. STEM-H and policy practitioner engagement. Multidisciplinary communication.
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Students are also encouraged to take the Communicating Science course offered by our wonderful partners in VT’s Center for Communicating Science, and/or a domain-specific policy course of their choosing. The core STEP courses are all hybrid or fully online, making them and the certificate accessible to anyone anywhere.
In addition to the courses and Graduate Certificate, the STEP program is contributing to a community of faculty, students, and others focused on more effective engagement at the science-policy interface. This community includes VT’s +Policy Network, which is the parent of the STEP program, and the Science Policy Education and Advocacy student Club (SPEAC). STEP contributions include the aforementioned seminar series, which is open to non-students, our yearly keynote address, social events, and a newsletter.
Enhancing experts’ understanding of and ability to effectively engage with public policy processes is integral to tackling many of the complex challenges we face. A rich ecosystem of fellowship opportunities, support organizations, and other resources is essential to building these capacities. The STEP program contributes to this puzzle by offering academic programming on effective collaboration at the science-policy interface and supporting a community of people committed to this work at VT and beyond.
References
Cash, D., Clark, W. C., Alcock, F., Dickson, N. M., Eckley, N., Guston, D. H., Jäger, J., & Mitchell, R. B. (2003). Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(14), 8086–8091. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1231332100