MIT Science Policy Initiative
A Proposal to the Public Service Center
and the Dean for Student Life
Albert Swiston
swiston@mit.edu
Alicia Jackson
jacksona@mit.edu
Ozge Halatci
akbulut@mit.edu
Gerard J. Ostheimer
ost@mit.edu
Introduction
We propose a Science Policy Initiative at MIT that aims to educate students in the public policy
of science, technology, research and innovation. The Initiative will foster communication and
cooperation amongst the existing science policy resources on campus, and will provide a venue
for practicing the knowledge acquired in class. Elements of the Initiative include the Science
Policy Bootcamp, encouraging MIT student participation in Congressional Visit Days, bringing
graduate and undergraduate students together to share policy-related experiences, establishing a
Graduate Student Policy Fellowship Program in Washington DC, and organizing an annual
Science Policy Conference at MIT.
Science Policy Initiative
The Science Policy Initiative and its cornerstone programs, Science Policy Bootcamp and
Congressional Visit Days, will be a powerful motivator for cross-campus communication
between the existing, but fragmented, science policy organizations and activities. Examples of
science policy organizations at MIT include the Student Pugwash, the Center for Energy and
Environmental Policy Research, the MIT Energy Club, the Sloan Energy and Environment Club,
the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, the MIT Washington Summer
Internships, and TPP program events. The Science Policy Initiative will seek to communicate
between all of these organizations and to excite CVD and Bootcamp participants in the many
opportunities at MIT to become involved in affecting science policy. Intrinsic to the Science
Policy Initiative is encouraging interactions between MIT graduate students with undergraduates,
which will only benefit both sets of students.
The most common feedback item from the 2007 IAP Bootcamp students was the mantra “How
can I get involved?” Apparently, the Bootcamp program is an efficient mechanism for fulfilling
students’ desire to understand the academic aspects of science policy. However, no clear route
has been paved to implement this knowledge. The Science Policy initiative seeks to remove this
bottleneck and replace it with the MIT Graduate Student Policy Fellowship Pipeline. The
Pipeline will consist of Bootcamp, Congressional Visit Days, and a Graduate Student Science
Policy Fellowship Program. In addition, as part of the Science Policy Initiative goal of reaching
the entire campus community we intend to create an annual conference, the MIT Science Policy
Forum, that will provide a venue for presenting contemporary science policy issues to the
campus and the wider community. All of these initiatives are means to bring into practice the
lessons learned in the Bootcamp class.
Congressional Visit Days
During the 2007 IAP we held a weeklong Science Policy Bootcamp. The last phase of our
bootcamp program, which has not yet been funded, is for a portion of the bootcamp students to
participate in Congressional Visits Days (CVD)—a program in which scientists and engineers
convene in Washington, D.C., to discuss science and technology policy issues with their
representatives in Congress. The program’s aim is to convey to our elected representatives the
importance of Science and Technology funding. Further, policy makers from organizations such
as the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, and the
Department of Energy participate by teaching participants about current organizational goals,
funding issues, and policy priorities. As such, CVD provides the perfect venue for cementing the
ideas learned during the bootcamp classes.
In 2007, CVD will take place on March 19-20 and Mary 1-2. The first CVD is for students of
materials science societies; this builds on the tremendous growth in materials science student
involvement in recent years. (By discipline, students in materials-related fields have been the
largest student group in CVD.) Already MIT has 7 students confirmed to participate in the
March CVD, 5 of whom were students in the IAP Bootcamp. The second CVD is open to all
students and professionals in any participating science or engineering society. There are 15
students from the IAP Bootcamp that have expressed strong interest in participating. Students
serve a unique role in meetings with representatives as they are direct examples of and can
articulate the need for government-funded undergraduate and graduate level research
opportunities. In years past, student involvement has garnered tremendously positive responses
from Congressional offices.
Congressional Visit Days is a complimentary program to the Science Policy Bootcamp class
activities – these two initiatives will build on and feed into one another through a “learning-topractice” model. The Bootcamp is an academic learning activity that students can bring to
practice through CVD. Furthermore, CVD is a powerful tool to recruit new leaders for the
broader campus science policy initiatives. Students will become versed in policy – from both an
academic and pragmatic perspective – and will be well poised to assume leadership roles in the
Energy Policy Initiative begun under President Hockfield, our Bootcamp program, student
PUGWASH, or many others.
We feel that MIT CVD participation requires a critical mass of students to be effective in the
short and long term. Fifteen (15) student participants per year will allow for effective continuity
of CVD leadership and a base of policy-versed students for future leadership positions elsewhere
on campus. Of these students, 2-4 of them should be undergraduates. This number also creates a
more effective group during the Congressional Visits themselves. For these reasons, we propose
the following budget.
Congressional Visit Days Proposed Budget
Item
Hotel (sharing room)
Airfare
Food
TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL (15 students)
Approximate Cost
$150/night
$150
$50
$350 / student
$5250 / year
Graduate-Undergraduate Dinners
We propose a Science Policy Dinners Series as an informal mechanism to bring together
graduate students from the Science Policy Bootcamp program and undergraduate students who
have already indicated interest in science policy to promote cross-campus communication.
Dedicated science policy groups already exist on campus, such as PUGWASH, Washington
Summer Internships, Technology and Policy Program (TPP), and the goal of the dinners would
be to promote synergistic efforts between those groups and build and campus-wide science
policy community. Dinners would be held every two months on campus for approximately 10
graduate students and 10 undergraduate students.
Science Policy Dinner Proposed Budget
20 dinners @ $15
GRAND TOTAL (6 months)
$300 / month
$1800 / year
Graduate Student Policy Fellowship Pipeline
A powerfully complementary program to the Science Policy Bootcamp would be a Graduate
Student Science Policy Fellowship Program, which will provide graduate students with the
opportunity to apply their scientific and technical training to public policy issues. Currently,
there are few programs that allow science and engineering graduate students the opportunity to
become practically involved in national science policy. Consistently, throughout the 2007 IAP
Bootcamp the participants asked, “How can I become involved? What can I do now?” This
fellowship provides a route towards involvement. We envision students working in the offices
of government agencies, the private sector, or advocacy groups, likely during the summer term,
to gain the experience and make the connections necessary to pursue a career in policy after the
completion of their degree. As a model for the program, the fellowship organization will be
based upon the existing Washington Summer Internship Program for undergraduates.
This program will serve to strengthen the ties between the federal government and MIT by
increasing the presence and activity of MIT scientists and engineers in Washington.
Additionally, this fellowship would begin opening a ‘policy-corridor’ between the two, allowing
for an increased presence of policy-versed students at MIT and more scientifically trained policy
makers in Washington DC.
We propose a three-year path to creating this program:
In year 1, we will research the logistics of creating this program: determining its overall
framework and scope, investigating possible placement options, and looking into funding
sources. We anticipate completing this phase by Dec. 2007.
In year 2, we will run a pilot of the program in which 1 to 2 graduate students, who have
participated in the Science and Technology Policy Bootcamp, will have a fellowship over the
summer of 2008. After the students’ return we will evaluate their experience and make the
changes necessary towards improving the program.
In year 3, we will fully implement the program—with up to 10 graduate students participating in
fellowships. Upon their return we will expect each student to take an increased role in policy
leadership here at MIT, either through leading the Bootcamp program, organizing Congressional
Visits Days, or other program such as our proposed Technology and Policy Conference.
Due to the significant financial commitment for such a program, we do not propose a budget at
this time. We see this element of the Science Policy Initiative as a long-term goal to be reached
upon successful completion of this year’s CVD program and at least one more Bootcamp class.
Science Policy Conference
A goal of the Science Policy Initiative is to organize an annual Science Policy Forum on the MIT
campus. We believe this conference will create opportunities for effective interaction between
the MIT community and other academic/industrial institutions, and will serve as a signature
event summarizing and solidifying the science policy exposure interested students receive
throughout the year. This conference will serve as the perfect mechanism for linking the
enthusiastic policy groups already present at the Institute and will highlight MIT’s leading role in
science policy.
Summary
In conclusion, we are proposing a Science Policy Initiative that will have many direct, positive
ramifications for both the graduate and undergraduate communities at the Institute. By creating
a student body aware of and educated in the importance of science policy MIT will be serving its
role of educating tomorrow’s leaders.