Building Back and Building Up: Strengthening Science in Federal Policy Decisions Post-2020

Abstract:

The last four years have seen unprecedented changes to how science is used and misused in federal policy decisions, including restrictions on scientific communication by political officials, interference in scientific document production and release, and reductions in the federal scientific workforce. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare vulnerabilities and gaps in our nation’s ability to protect science from politicization and mobilize it to meet urgent public health needs. These developments have had measurable consequences on the public, with greater adverse consequences for communities of color and low-income communities across the country. But we have a road map to move forward. The last few decades of experience--including federal scientist surveys, policy analysis, and case studies—guide what policy, cultural, and leadership changes are needed to build back public trust and government support for federal science and scientists, and build up to strengthen and protect the role that science plays in federal decisionmaking for the public good. Now is a pivotal moment for science policy.