1. Abigail Abrash Walton, Ph.D.
ESEP Annual Meeting
Future ESEP Sub-Communities: Training Scientists on How to Effectively Engage in Science Policy?
Abigail Abrash Walton, Ph.D.
March 29, 2017

2. Because what you told me is absolutely correct but completely useless
Yes, how did you know?
You must be a researcher
Where am I?
Because you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going, and now you’re blaming me
You’re 30 yards above the ground in a balloon
The Challenge
(adapted from R Brownson)
Yes. How did you know?
You must be a policy maker 2 2 2

3. Factors affecting use of research by policy makers
Barriers
Facilitators
Absence of personal contact between scientists & policy makers
Lack of Timeliness & Relevance of research
Mutual mistrust
Power & Budget Struggles
Political instability/High turnover of policy making staff
based on Agnone (2007); Choi et al. (2005); Nisbet & Markowitz (2016)
Personal contact between scientists & policy makers
Trust
Timeliness/Relevance of research
Research that includes summary w/ clear recommendations
Public pressure for policy consistent with research

4. Table 1
Do you know who your senators and member of the U.S. House of Representatives are? Self- reported behavior as a percentage of the Sample.
_______________ ______
Year Yes No Maybe _____No/Maybe Combined_
____________________
Note (N = 117); 2014 (N = 87); 2015 (N = 108); 2016 (N = 68); (N = 380).

5. Written to a policymaker 55 52 53 49 53
Table 2
Engagement in the policy process: self-reported behavior as a percentage of the Sample.
______________________________________ ______________________
Behavior __
Written to a policymaker
Met with any of your elected officials
Met with a policymaker's staff
Testified before U.S. Congress,
state legislature or city council
Participated in an advocacy day
Participated in a committee
working on a science policy issue
_______________________
Note (N = 117); 2014 (N = 87); 2015 (N = 108); 2016 (N = 68); (N = 380).

6. “Democracy is not something we have. It is something we do.”
Doris “Granny D” Haddock

7. References:
Agnone, J. (2007). Amplifying public opinion: The policy impact of the U.S. environmental movement. Social Forces.
Blockstein, D.E. (2002) How to Lose Your Political Virginity while Keeping Your Scientific Credibility. BioScience. January, vol. 52, No. 1. 
Center for Research on Environmental Deci­sions. (2009). The Psychology of Climate Change Communica­tion: A Guide for Scientists, Journalists, Educators, Political Aides, and the Interested Public. New York.
Choi, B.C.K. et al. (2005). Evidence based public health policy and practice: Can scientists and policy makers work together? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
National Research Council (2010). Adapting to the impacts of climate change. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
Nisbet, M.C., & Markowitz, E. (2016). Science communication research: Bridging theory and practice. AAAS, Washington, D.C.