UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Research findings can often be underutilized in policymaking, leading to limited public benefit from taxpayer-funded research. A program at Penn State is offering scholars from across the country the opportunity to engage with policymakers to help research evidence and expertise inform policy decisions.
The Entrepreneurship Research-to-Policy Collaboration Ambassador Program brings scholars focused on entrepreneurship and related fields together with congressional staff to connect based on shared interests. Ambassadors support evidence-based policy making by providing relevant and timely research evidence in direct response to demonstrated requests as well as produce policy-oriented deliverables like fact sheets that synthesize complex research findings. The program is open to faculty-level scholars from academic institutions, non-profits, industry or other institutions conducting scientific research and features a rolling deadline.
The program provides participating ambassadors with $5,000 per academic semester to support travel to meet policymakers or other activities that advance the public benefit of research. Such activities may include supporting research personnel, course releases and the time and resources to translate their research.
“Ultimately, this program supports scholars’ time for activities that advance the public benefit of research, and the public investment in that research by translating it in partnership with public officials who seek relationships with credible information sources,” said Max Crowley, C. Eugene Bennett Endowed professor of human development, family studies and public policy.
Crowley directs the Penn State Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and co-directs the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC), which oversees the Entrepreneurship Research-to-Policy Collaboration Ambassador Program.
The RPC is a model implemented by the Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative (EIC), part of the Social Science Research Institute, that is focused on “increasing the societal benefit of science through improving the relevance, value and use of scientific insights by decision makers within government, industry and practice communities,” according to the website.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation funded the EIC at Penn State to implement the RPC model in an effort to remove the barriers that scholars typically face, such as lack of incentives and time for public engagement. With those barriers removed, the model can help facilitate intentional connections between ambassadors and policymakers.
“In the fall, I had the opportunity to provide direct, evidence-based feedback on a Senate bill,” said Abigail Akande, assistant professor of rehabilitation and human services at Penn State Abington. “This semester I’m addressing questions from a bipartisan congressional working group for their policy development process. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation funding and EIC have provided the platforms and the additional incentive for me to help close the research to policy gap.”
The RPC team conducts a needs assessment to procure information directly from congressional staff about their goals. That information is matched with ambassadors who share interests, and the RPC team trains the participants to serve as “honest brokers” to engage in policy activities as a nonpartisan partner — meaning as agenda-neutral technical support, not lobbying — and meet with staffers, offer relevant, credible and timely research evidence and expertise to inform policy decisions, and produce corresponding products such as fact sheets or briefings.
“By facilitating relationships with public offices, collaboratively developing scholarly briefs and providing related training, my hope is that university research will more readily serve local, national and international communities from this type of top-down approach and bring greater value and recognition to policy work in academia,” Akande said.
In addition to working with policymakers, the program also provides opportunities for scholars to share and collaborate with each other, as well as with the RPC team.
“The Entrepreneurship Research-to-Policy Collaboration Ambassador Program is a promising initiative to bridge the gap between research and policymaking,” said Taylor Scott, co-director of RPC and executive director of the Research Translation in the EIC. “It benefits scholars, policymakers and the public by facilitating the translation of research into impactful policy decisions.”
Please contact the Research to Policy Collaboration team for more information or assistance.