by Dr. Isabel Warner
Program Manager Dr. Isabel Warner traveled to St. Louis on September 3rd to lead a policy writing workshop hosted by Promoting Science Policy, Education, and Research (ProSPER), Washington University’s science policy group. MOST is proud to support the next generation of science policy practitioners and increase the availability of scientific expertise for the public interest.
In her presentation, Dr. Warner spoke about the importance of knowing the audience of a policy piece, including their time constraints and familiarity with a topic. She touched on the different avenues for communicating science to policymakers and the public, and the benefits, drawbacks, and considerations for writing with each.
Dr. Warner also emphasized the importance of relationships and trust in policy work. “A big part of MOST’s strength, especially in the age of AI chatbots, is our presence in the capitol,” she stated. “We get stopped in the hallway because legislators recognize us and know that we can help them with reliable, unbiased information. But that didn’t happen overnight; it required years of showing up, producing high-quality work, and building MOST’s credibility and their trust.” She also encouraged attendees that “most policy issues don’t get solved overnight, or in one legislative session, so you do have time to build these relationships if there’s something you want to work on.”
After the presentation and a brief discussion, attendees workshopped ideas for science policy pieces and possible places to publish with input from Dr. Warner, Executive Director Dr. Allison Davis, and ProSPER leadership. With support from the Gephart Institute for Civic and Community Engagmenet, ProSPER membership in collaboration with Washington University’s writing program will assist in the next phases of the editing process.
MOST would like to thank ProSPER for organizing the event, the Gephart Institute for its financial support, and the St. Louis Academy of Sciences and St. Louis Science Center for providing space. The workshop was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with partners and equip scientists with the tools to engage the public and policymakers in their work.