☀️ The CSPO Team is diving into a bright and busy summer filled with energizing events, workshops, and research adventures. Stay cool and stay tuned!
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On May 21–22, CSPO hosted the workshop “Disciplinary, Interdisciplinary, and Boundary-Spanning Identities in Science, Engineering, and Science Policy,” convening academic researchers, think-tank leaders, and S&T policy professionals. Organized and led by Arthur Daemmrich and Brice Bowrey, participants examined the evolution of scientific and engineering disciplines, the rise of interdisciplinarity, and the changing nature of the S&T policy profession. A central theme was the breakdown of the post–World War II social contract for science—rooted in Vannevar Bush’s vision of federal science funding as a driver of economic growth, national security, and improved health. With that framework now eroding, participants explored the need for a new foundation for science and technology policy. They highlighted the potential of a model grounded in phronesis—an integration of practical wisdom and ethical judgment—and advanced by boundary-spanners: professionals who can translate high-level policy goals into programs that integrate research, technology development, and meaningful community engagement.
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CSPO Director Arthur Daemmrich presenting
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Over the past year, Arthur and Brice have been conducting research for a book-length project examining the evolution of science and technology (S&T) policy as both a profession and a career path. Their goal is to produce a work that not only traces the development of the field—beginning with the rise of federally sponsored scientific research during World War II—but also encourages practitioners to reflect on the current strengths, limitations, and future directions of S&T policy in the United States. While the project is still in its early stages, Arthur and Brice have already established a preliminary outline. The book opens with a chapter on the formative policy initiatives of the National Science Foundation (NSF), focusing on how its early leaders sought to translate scattered national interest in science into a coherent, sustainable research funding system. The concluding chapter will reflect on recent transformations in the science policy workforce, as exemplified by the workforce hired to staff the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations in 2021. Although grounded in scholarly research and methods, the authors are writing with accessibility in mind—intending to reach a wide audience that includes policymakers, researchers, and leaders from across disciplines.
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Bob Cook-Deegan co-authored an editorial in Science on”AI drug development’s data problem,” or how insufficient open data on molecular structure will impede drug discovery and development, with E. Richard Gold of McGill Law School, and an article on how the protocol inviting the original volunteers who gave rise to the human DNA reference sequence were justified with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He also gave a talk on data governance at the European Society for Human Genetics in Milan in May and on mixed methods for conducting policy-oriented research at Charité Hospital and the German Alliance for Global Health Research in Berlin.
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Chanel Okosun, Communications Coordinator at CSPO, is a Spring 2025 graduate of Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, where she earned a Master of Legal Studies with a dual emphasis in health care law and administration and corporate compliance. She is deeply passionate about the intersection of law, policy, and health outcomes. Through her studies, she explored how legal frameworks influence access, ethics, and innovation in health care. Read here: ASU Law graduate champions health care reform
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At a recent event in Washington, D.C., hosted by CSPO, national experts gathered to discuss the implications of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indirect cost cap on research institutions. Speaker Bhaven Sampat discussed how the cap impacts university research infrastructure and the ability to support federally funded projects. ASU leaders emphasized the need for a more sustainable funding model that aligns with the real costs of conducting high-impact research. Read here: NIH’s indirect cost cap
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Participatory Technology Assessment (pTA) Activities
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2025 AAAS Annual Meeting, February 12-15, 2025, Boston, MA
Mahmud Farooque joined ASTC CEO Christofer Nelson at the ISSUES in Science and Technology Expo for a Talk Session, Rethinking Engagement in S&T in a Shifting S&T Landscape. Moderated by Lisa Margonelli, the discussion was joined by science policy and engagement scholars and practitioners attending the conference. Amanda Borth led a scientific session featuring Nicholas Weller (ASU), Jared Owens (Michigan), and Alexa Panati (Georgetown) titled Open Framing Case Studies in Public Participation Design featuring recent experiments in public engagement design that flips the script: starting with the “socio” instead of the “technical.” Presenters focused on the application of “open-frame” pre-deliberative engagement in the case of self-driving cars, nuclear waste storage, and fusion technology development in the design of deliberative public forums followed by a panel discussion moderated by David Tomblin (Maryland).
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SDU-SciStarter-CSPO Workshops, May 12-17, Odense, Denmark
Darlene Cavalier and Mahmud Farooque were featured in a series of workshops and collaborative discussions hosted by Thomas Kaarsted and Anne Kathrine Overgaard at the University of Southern Denmark exploring how Citizen Science and Public Deliberation can connect with University Research and Education in Environmental and Planetary Health.The sessions were attended by a wide cross-section of SDU faculty from the health, climate, and digital innovation clusters, joined by others, including Bjorn Bedsted (DemocracyX) and Pietro Michelucci (Human Computation Institute).
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AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows Training, May19, Washington, DC
Darlene Cavalier, Emma Giles, Mara Karageozian, and Mahmud Farooque conducted a training workshop titled “Crowd-sourced Science: Citizen Science in FederalAgencies,” at the AGU Conference Center. It was hosted by the professional development unit at AAAS for the current cohort of Science and Technology Policy Fellows working in the executive and legislative branches.The day-long program featured presentations, hands-on activities led by Rusty Low (Globe), and a panel discussion with Alison Parker (formerlyOSTP), John McLaughlin (NOAA), Jennifer Couch (NIH), and Amy Kaminski (NASA).
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Forums on Collaborative-Based Siting of Interim Nuclear Waste
ASU’s pTA team launched a series of public forums across Arizona to develop a participatory framework for collaboratively siting an interim nuclear waste facility. These events, hosted with local partners, aim to gather community input and values. The first two forums in May showed strong engagement and thoughtful discussion.
Parker, AZ – May 17, 2025
Seventeen residents joined at the Parker Public Library, where librarians were overwhelmingly chosen as trusted community representatives. Discussions focused on environmental protection, especially water, and the need for meaningful public involvement.
Flagstaff, AZ – May 31, 2025
At the Historic Murdock Center, 27 participants emphasized independence from for-profit groups, cultural land protection, and transparency. Calls for community benefits and access to unbiased information were central themes.
Next Steps:
Upcoming forums are scheduled in Yuma (June 7), Phoenix (June 21), and Tucson (June 28), with youth events in Phoenix on June 14–15. Visit 3c.cspo.org for updates and forum highlights throughout the summer.
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CSPO goes to Vancouver!
This March, CPSO team members Amanda Borth, Mahmud Farooque, and Mara Karageozian travelled cross-country and up to Vancouver, BC, Canada to support two ongoing projects, an NSF-funded Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Workshop Series and our Alfred P. Sloan Foundation-funded Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Technology Public Forums and Application to Governance Frameworks. While in town, the trio also attended the Ocean Visions Biennial Summit to engage with the broader ocean science and ocean climate community.
Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Breakfast Workshop
After a week of thoughtful presentations, rich dialogues, and welcoming engagement at the Ocean Visions Biennial Summit, the CSPO team hosted a breakfast workshop to continue our ongoing conversations about marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR). We held the breakfast at the Bill Reid Gallery for Northwest Coast Art; a great place to foster engaging and open discussions.
We took this breakfast opportunity to outline and discuss our mCDR Workshop Series, and to create a dialogue about what the broader community would like to see in the workshops themselves and the outputs of the work. The breakfast guests gave wonderful insights into their definitions of “community”, the challenges of community engagement work for mCDR, and highlighted potential topics for discussion at the first workshop. We’re looking forward to having many of the same faces join us for our first mCDR community capacity workshop in August.
Carbon Dioxide Removal Public Forum
After holding our first CDR public forum at the Museum of Science, Boston in September 2024, we convened our second forum in Vancouver at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey Campus on Saturday, March 29th. With the support of our local partners at Banyan Consulting, 56 people from diverse backgrounds gathered for a day-long, informed discussion about how and who should be involved in governing terrestrial and marine CDR projects from research and development through demonstration. Participants walked away with a deeper knowledge of climate change, its solutions, and CDR, and we walked away with a deeper sense of people’s values, perspectives, and priorities toward CDR governance.
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Poster board of sticky notes and ideas from the mCDR breakfast in Vancouver for our group question on defining “community”.
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