When you hear the phrase ‘science policy,’ you may picture people at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., interacting with members of Congress and other political officials. However, people that work in the science policy realm, according to Yvette Seger, Ph.D., extend beyond the federal government, including scientific societies and patient advocacy organizations. As she put it, “there are different flavors of science policy.” Science policy careers can be found in various workforce sectors that have an office of government relations or an office of sponsored research. They can also be found in industry or at a postdoctoral scholar’s academic research institution. Seger is a geneticist by training and has a breadth of experience in science policy, especially in genetics, and how to pursue a career in science policy. Currently, she is the director of science policy and strategic scientific programs at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), where she leads science policy research and development, coalition building, and advocacy activities. She shares her insights on preparing for and pursuing a science policy career here.
Transferable Skills for a Science Policy Career
Postdoctoral scholars acquire many skills during their training to become bench scientists, which can be applied to a science policy career. However, many may not be aware of how to frame these skills in a science policy context. Science policy has two interfaces – science for policy or policy for science. Science for policy uses science to develop and drive policy decisions, such as regulations detailed in the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act. On the other hand, policy for science involves government laws, regulations, and policies that affect scientists and the research development enterprise. For example, consider the limitations of using certain research materials or implementing funding opportunities to enhance research activities in a particular area.
Postdoctoral scholars acquire many skills during their training to become bench scientists, which can be applied to a science policy career. |
Seger is very familiar with policy for science in her current role at FASEB. According to her, postdocs have several skills they can transfer from their bench work as a scientist to a career in science policy. For one, postdocs gain skills in project management and organization during their predoctoral and postdoctoral training. They manage one or more research projects from start to finish and prioritize the tasks needed to complete the goals outlined for each research project within a realistic timeline while anticipating any potential challenges they may face. Secondly, postdocs acquire interpersonal and leadership skills. They coordinate research activities with multiple players, including a principal investigator (PI), internal and external collaborators, and other lab team members. These two skills can be used in science policy to serve as a “subject matter expert on a particular type of science policy that you are asked to work on,” said Seger. Furthermore, postdocs acquire written and oral communication skills. Postdocs know how to communicate ideas effectively to different public stakeholders, use logical arguments to convey a message to others, and debate issues in a collegial manner. Postdocs use these communication skills when they give a poster talk or update their research team on their progress on a specific research project.
Skills to Develop for a Science Policy Career
To transition from the bench to a career in science policy, there are several skills postdocs need to develop. First, postdocs must learn how to write in the active voice for diverse audiences in a multitude of writing formats, including white papers, letters, newsletters, and blog posts. Also, in academia, postdocs may be used to setting soft deadlines for completing experiments, data analyses, and writing manuscripts for research projects. However, in the science policy, deadlines are less flexible, and there is no extra time to revise assignments. This may be difficult for some postdocs since “perfection can cause postdocs to not to want to share products from their research activities until they are finished or polished. Getting over this is vital since science policy experts at times only have 30-40 percent of the information they need to do their work in a short time window when discussions on a particular science policy matter is most relevant,” said Seger. Also, each “day in science policy is not the same. There are many moving parts at different paces. Some topics you must revisit and reframe your position.”
Also, postdocs need to learn how to do consensus building. Consensus building involves strategies to settle conflicts and reach agreements between multiple parties or stakeholders. Postdocs may have participated in some consensus building when they worked in a research team, and there were disagreements between team members. Science policy is generally bipartisan. People have to find ways to seek a unanimous agreement among their competitors and be able to “compartmentalize that they are not supporting the person advocating for or against a policy, but they are supporting the mission of their organization,” said Seger.
Going Beyond Science Policy Fellowships
Shortly after completing her doctoral studies, Seger started her science policy career at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine as a fellow in the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship program. FASEB also has a science policy fellowship program that postdocs can pursue to gain the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful science policy career. Although completing one of these fellowships may be reassuring to postdocs in helping them to land a science policy job, postdocs can pursue a science policy career without a fellowship. “Postdocs can still make their way into a science policy career through other avenues, such as organizing a science policy group discussion or workshop at their universities,” said Seger. Fellowships that focus on training early career scientists in science and technology policy are not gatekeepers to working in science policy at the federal, state, or local level. “Postdocs can make something out of nothing. They can make their own opportunities, which is what science policy is all about,” said Seger.
As a postdoctoral scholar, if you believe that your future career niche is in science policy, it is likely that you already have all the tools at your disposal to launch and succeed as a science policy expert. Nevertheless, there is always room to learn more; you can still enhance some skills before pursuing a science policy career. Opportunities to learn new skills are all around you – at your institution, your community, and the NPA through its free SmartSkills program. Know that you have what it takes within YOU to succeed and thrive in science policy. So go for it.
Joyonna Gamble-George, Ph.D., M.H.A., is a postdoctoral scholar at New York University in the behavioral sciences training in drug abuse research program and an associate editor of The POSTDOCket.
*This article was published in the December Issue of the POSTDOCket (Issue: 3, Vol: 20, Month: December), the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) newsletter which covers news items and features of interest to the postdoctoral community.
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