On January 11th on the UC Davis campus, Gabby Nepomuceno and Ben Young Landis of Creative Externalities taught an informative workshop on Helping Science Inform Policy, aiming to get scientists more engaged in the California legislative process.
Ben Young Landis discussing advocacy versus advice. (Photo by Gabby Nepomuceno)
A lot was covered during the workshop, including a crash-course on California’s state government, its unique legislative calendar, and how to utilize this knowledge to become more involved.
Also discussed was how to best approach a legislator, bill, or committee tackling science policy. Advocating for an outcome when one is supposed to be advising is an issue in the legislative world.
Participants engage in a collaborative team activity during the workshop. (Photo by Ben Young Landis)
Finally, small groups were tasked with coming up with a topic of interest and how to get involved.
Check out Creative Externalities and Capitol Science Communicators for more information on getting involved in your local and state government!
