Preparation & Practice: Science Policy

Through tailored lecture, case study, and a practical final project, academic and professional leaders will help you gain insight into the science policy industry and the skills necessary to succeed within the various positions and levels available within it. This course aims to demystify the U.S. science policy process and teach both how policy affects scientific funding and administration, and how science is used to create and influence the creation of law and policy in the U.S. This course will be taught in two parts. The first part outlines the basic structure of the US government, and fundamental issues in US political system, and refreshes students who haven't encountered basic civics since high school, this introductory material will cover the structure of the US government, the governance of key agencies, broad concepts of federalism and shared federal and power, the political party system, and a brief and general modern history of the role of science in policy making. The second part will review four key concepts: 1) who's who and how they work. 2) The policy making process and the role of science in creating policy. 3) Government funding science. 4) Issues, theories and trends in science and policy. This final section will review a variety of cross-cutting issues in science policy development, including innovation theory, the role of uncertainty, and a discussion of the government's role as a developer and repository of science data, and other current topics in the relationship between science and government.