Category: Science Policy

RCP8.5 and the Politics of Plausible Catastrophe I have been thinking about the recent RCP8.5-related conversation not as a climate denial story or an argument against climate action, but as a case study in how science can sometimes get lost.…

For nearly eighty years, American science policy has lived under the shadow of a single idea: that scientific progress depends on insulating scientists from politics. In 1945, Vannevar Bush’s report Science, the Endless Frontier argued that if government funded basic…

One year in, I still can’t shake off this WSJ headline: “What’s Wrong With the Economy? It’s You, Not the Data.” Back then, many Americans believed that the economy and their finances were worse than they really were. Now that…

Scientists are often wary of engaging with the messy business of politics for a variety of reasons. But their understanding of and participation in the policy-making—and hence political—process is necessary if they wish to provide their important perspectives on some…

I’m here to give an update on my first eight months as a Presidential Management Fellow in Washington, DC. Check out the eight tips below: 1. Be thoughtful about building your network. If you dread networking events as much as…

Know your enemy, Sun Tzu reminds us in The Art of War. Science is in a war, but not the one many think. To avoid costly mistakes, scientists and those who support them need to know and understand the forces…

The Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes hosted a workshop in Washington, DC in the spring of 2016 devoted to the political aspects of science and innovation policy.  This workshop developed a research agenda for better understanding “The Politics of…

In tandem with the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21)* in Paris, explore insight shared by CSPO faculty and affiliates regarding climate change and social impacts. *(Refers to countries that signed up to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on…