How Does Research-Policy Collaboration Help Scientists and Science?

Despite frequent calls for more evidence-based policy, developing meaningful relationships and ongoing collaborations between scientific researchers and policymakers is difficult. Some of the hurdles include constraints on researchers’ time and a lack of institutional incentives to engage. But one surprising aspect of such relationships is the benefit that accrues to researchers who choose to engage with policymakers. A number of recent essays in Issues have highlighted innovative approaches, experiments, and data on developing researcher-policymaker relationships that provide benefits not only to policy and policymakers, but also to scientists and their work.

On Monday, February 27, at 4:00 PM ET, join D. Max Crowley and J. Taylor Scott (Penn State University’s Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative), Brittany N. Whitley (Missouri Science & Technology Policy Initiative), and Rush Holt (CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science) in a discussion moderated by Jeff Mervis of Science on what they’ve learned from their work and how more research-policy collaboration leads to more evidence-based policy and improves research.