(Thread) Hey #AcademicTwitter 👋 As an academic-turned-public servant I have some tips to help your research inform policy. #scicomm #policy
Today's a typical day in government: I have 2 hours to finalize an important funding proposal in between 6 meetings. I need the most impactful, up-to-date and forward-thinking research findings at my fingertips and distilled into mere sentences.
Usually public servants who have a role in decision making have very limited time. We can rarely read academic papers.
And even when we have time, my unit doesn't have access to most scholarly journals😑This is not unusual in state and local gov't. So, here's what I look for:
1. Punchy policy briefs/articles/newsletters from respected orgs or journalists that directly cite the primary literature. I don't have time to skim through more than ~800 words per piece. Graphs and concrete numbers are gold.
2. My own notes from recent conversations with experts. Even better: When academics email me 3-bullet summaries of impactful new findings or review papers. Bottom line: Connect with policy makers in your space by emailing, calling them up, or via Twitter/LinkedIn.
3. One of the *most helpful* things is when academics concisely explain the implications of their findings for specific government programs (Your Homework: Peruse agency websites to understand programs; read statutes underpinning programs!), or propose feasible new programs.
Take-home message: If you publish impactful research, make sure the most important 1-2 points make their way into respected outlets or the media. Or follow a bunch of policy makers on Twitter and share your findings. That's great too. /End
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