Translating Science into Policy

A returned Peace Corps Volunteer’s Perspective

This post was originally written on Medium

         My two years as a Peace Corps volunteer only cemented my belief that science has the potential to solve the world’s problems. However, I am not na?ve to think that science is perfect. For successful and sustainable solutions we need policies and scientific research that embraces both the perspectives of the scientists and the policy makers. Sustainable solutions will be the result of effective communication on every level from the policy makers to the scientists to the public.           In my 15 years as an agriculture molecular biologist, I grappled with the idea that my science should solve challenges of the world but in a thoughtful and sustainable way. My Peace Corps service instilled this idea that every thing I researched will ultimately have an impact. I continued this perspective in my 10 years at the United States Department of Agriculture.

          In late 2009, as scientists working for USDA we received the message that the Obama administration would like us to consider the impact of our work on everyone including the small farmer. Of course this made sense! Well to me anyway and perhaps to my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. I soon realized that this idea did not make sense to everyone. It was refreshing to see this change but there were several incidences that made me realize there was a divide between scientists and the policymakers. At first I could not necessarily pinpoint how and why this was happening but recently I found a great journal article: Can scientists and policy makers work together? (Choi et.al 2005)

          Though most of the assumptions made in article is generally true and often made me laugh because I recognized the characteristics in others and in myself, I also agree with the authors that these assumptions are not necessarily true for all scientists or Policy Makers. The purpose of this essay and the publication is to highlight the current challenges and what we can do to address them.

 Scientists

        The main goal for any scientist is to tackle a particular problem, research it for many years and publish as many papers as possible. We love the details and in general tend to be very detailed orientated and less likely to be big-picture people.

        For the record, my first science love is the Cherimoya fruit tree. If I had all the money in the world, I would research this tree until I died. (Though in reality, I do get bored easily) My work on the Cherimoya is my ‘baby’ and I will defend it as though it is really my child. It’s very possible I am one of the world experts on this tree. But has anyone heard of this tree? How important is it really? (I think its is!) How many scientists actually work on this tree? Not many, that is why it’s easy to be a world expert!

Policy Makers

            Policy makers can be the politicians, the policy/legislative staff to former scientists or engineers who have shifted into policy. They are just as diverse as the scientists.

            Not only was I working as a Scientist but I also had been actively involved in the Peace Corps alumni community. It was rare to find fellow scientists who were also RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) so I was surround by many ‘policy makers’. Many became my best friends and in this process I learned to explain what I do in a concise manner. My policy maker friends were certainly smart and thoughtful but science was a challenge for them. I began to understand the gap and it propelled me to enter my current Masters program in S &T Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology

 The Scientist vs. The Policy Maker

       Below is my interpretation and perspective of these two groups’ differences. Perhaps my perspective will change as I transition from being a scientist to a policy maker.

Research

Scientists: A lengthy process of studying a plant or animal from microscopic level to the ecological level. Often takes years to compile, test and report their results. Even when there is a specific problem to solve, research also includes all the related questions.

 Policy Maker: A few hours to a few days (if they are lucky 60-90 days) of compiling all the available information. Research consists of skimming multiple and lengthy documents and providing a one-page brief about the topic to their boss (i.e. a Member of Congress)

Focus

Scientist: Focus on particular aspect that has not been done yet. The least amount of available information, the better! Graduate students succeed by finding and studying original topics that has not been previously done.

Policy Maker: The more available information the better. What is different is how they interpret the combine data to solve a crucial problem. Policy Graduate students find a topic that has enough data and information and approach the policy question in a different way.

Time

Scientist: As long as necessary! Researching a particular subject should be researched thoroughly and every detail must be considered before being published or disseminated to ones peers. Graduate students often study many years before they are honored with a PhD.

 Policy Maker: Length of time is so important, they need answers particularly fast to deal with various crisis. They must submit their findings in a timely manner. Even if they are not sure they have interpreted the data correctly. Decisions need to be made quite quickly. (This may be why you often shake your head at some of the crazy policies implemented by our politicians!)

 Recognition

Scientists: The goal is to get recognized for their accomplishments. Publish and be accepted into the best journals. Being first author on any publication is a must. If they are well accomplished, being the last author is also important to them. They pride themselves on being the best and the most cited on a very narrow topic.

Policy Makers: They published multiple documents but rarely do you see their name. If their name appears on a document its among multiple contributors. For sure all the legislation being created are the result of multiple policy makers producing and editing. This does not mean Policy makers are all humble. Some may see it as a stepping-stone for future recognition.

Public

Scientists: Getting input from the public or from other non-scientists is something they avoid. After all, they studied for years and know their topic the best, why would a non-scientist know better?

Policy Makers: They try to get every ones perspective and treat scientists/experts equally to the public. They look for the majority opinion or if they are biased towards a particular view, they try to find experts who agree with them.

Bringing people together Peace Corps Style

         Not sure if it was because of my Peace Corps service or my general interest in making things work. I have this tendency of wanting to make everyone happy, and bring people together. When I was younger, I grappled with trying to please everyone! I now can live with pleasing each group some of the time. I do think we can bring Scientists and Policy makers together to ensure successful and sustainable policies. Here are a few suggestions from Choi et. al (2005) , I think could work!

Include Policy makers in all points in the research, not just at the end. I agree with Choi et al 2005, have policy makers contribute to reviewing scientific proposals.

Policy Makers should find ways to receive training on more technical and complex issues. In my work at USDA, occasionally we had the opportunity to train non-scientists on our diagnostics methods. It was rewarding to see them progress and develop a deeper understanding. Regardless they gained a perspective that certainly informs their efforts in creating policies

Scientists should make an effort to be informed of the policies and how it relates to their work. This could be tougher unless their supervisors make it a part of their performance review. As there is never enough time! (Perhaps this true for Policy makers too!)

Translational Scientists

     I think we need is a translational scientist. This ‘Scientist’ can be the ‘knowledge or cultural broker’ and act as a bridge between scientists and policy makers. In the Peace Corps, I used a cultural broker for my thesis project on the cherimoya tree. I am fluent in Spanish and could communicate effectively but having a Bolivian who lived and work in the community I was studying, helped me progress much farther than I would have.

      It takes years to integrate into a culture and truly understand beyond simply the words. Policy makers and Scientists on the surface speak the same language but if you dig further there are definitely cultural differences making it harder to create informed policies.

      Finally, with a combination of ‘cultural exchanges’; full participation of both groups from the beginning to the end and using a facilitator the translational scientists, we will certainly have not just better informed policies but perhaps more effective policies.