1. Communicating Science to Policymakers Josh Trapani Bipartisan Policy Center

5. Challenges in Communicating Science 1. A clash of cultures? from Stephen D. Nelson, AAAS Understandable by many Personal Evocative/Narrative Precise Understandable by peers Impersonal Language, imagery: Generalists More breadth than depth Specialists More depth than breadth Cognitive demands: Absolute deadlines Late = useless Whenever it’s good enough Timeliness: Certainty Standing for something Skeptical Critical Philosophical stance: Advance public welfare Represent constituency Act/Make decisions Seek truth Understand Explain Primary Goal:

6. Challenges in Communicating Science 2. The ways policy makers learn about science. Staff Advocacy groups Think tanks Colleagues Congressional support agencies Government agencies Discussions with scientists Hearings?

7. Challenges in Communicating Science 3. The ways policy makers don’t learn about science. (And even if they wanted to…)

9. Some advising roles for scientists 1) “ Journalist ” (sorts through information) 2) “ Translator ” (from the science to its policy implications) 3) “ Fact-checker ” (information quality control) from Adam Kuiper. 2004. Science and Congress. The New Atlantis . What about advocacy?

10. “ Science advocacy is inevitable: deal with it” (Shannon et al., 1996) “ Political advocacy by scientists risks science credibility and may be unethical” (Mills, 2000) What about advocacy? No shortage of opinions… (My take? They’re both right.)

11. Politicization of science OR Scientization of politics? … the excess of objectivity “ Science is sufficiently rich, diverse, and Balkanized to provide comfort and support for a range of subjective, political positions on complex issues such as climate change, nuclear waste disposal, acid rain, or endangered species.” Be aware of… (Sarewitz, 2000) “… multiple political, legal, and institutional incentives to cloak policy judgments in the garb of science.” … the science charade (Wagner, 1995)

12. House Committee on Natural Resources Hearing on Energy Policy and Climate Change on Public Lands, March 20, 2007 Mr. PEARCE . “….Mr. Myers, on the whole concept of beneficial outcomes, is the human race going to be better or worse served by any cooling in the climate or any warming in the climate? I will say warming in the climate.” Mr. PEARCE . “…as far as with respect to the climate, can we get where we need to go without significant reductions in the coal or oil and gas uses for energy development? Can we get there without those decreases?” Mr. MYERS . “Certainly the human race will have to adapt to certain different conditions….as you go back into the geologic record, the planet has sustained significant changes over its history, and changes that exceed the current changes that we have seen, but that is before we were so prevalent on the planet.” Mr. MYERS . “ I don’t feel qualified really to answer that question. Again, it is a policy question rather than a science question . I think certainly technologies that are out there—” … Mr. PEARCE . “I don’t mean to be putting you in a position that obviously you are really uncomfortable because we are sitting up here trying to get the best that we can. I know one or two scientists in Congress . The rest of us are like me, just I have studied in science in the ninth, tenth, eleventh grade, I am not sure I did in the twelfth grade. We are trying to see our way through this, and that is a fairly simple question, and a direct answer would help….” Example 1 Mark Myers Director USGS Rep. Steve Pearce R-NM

13. President Obama Signs Executive Order on Stem Cells, March 9, 2009 “ But in recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values . In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. … This Order is an important step in advancing the cause of science in America.” “ We will develop strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse. And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.” “ Science has everything to say about what is possible. Science has nothing to say about what is permissible . Obama's pretense that he will `restore science to its rightful place’ and make science, not ideology, dispositive in moral debates is yet more rhetorical sleight of hand -- this time to abdicate decision-making and color his own ideological preferences as authentically `scientific .’” Example 2 Charles Krauthammer The Washington Post March 13, 2009

17. Science for Policy Project Products Interim Report March 10, 2009 Final Report August 5, 2009

26. http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/science-policy [email_address] That’s because I’m a scientist, Senator! You are by far the greatest staffer I have ever had, Josh.