UA Team Plans Science Advisory Program for State Lawmakers

Feb. 8, 2024
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A headshot of Shelley Littin.

Systems engineering master’s student Shelley Littin is part of an interdisciplinary team of University of Arizona faculty and students taking the first steps toward establishing a science and technology policy fellowship, or STPF.

The policy fellowship would provide the Arizona Legislature with nonpartisan counsel on the state’s most critical issues – water management, heat mitigation, transportation and industrial development, for example.

A 12-month grant of $100,000 from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is funding the planning phase. The NCSL provides bipartisan policy research, training resources and technical assistance to U.S. legislators and staff members.

Littin is working with the project’s principal investigator, Kevin Lansey; Caitlyn Hall, a biosystems engineering assistant professor of practice; and Sam Myers, a planetary sciences doctoral student.

Forming Consensus

STPFs have already been established in about 10 states; the UA team is among only five new groups in the nation funded in 2023 to begin planning for programs.

A 25-member advisory committee – including faculty from Arizona’s three state universities, community leaders, and representatives from industry and state agencies – is aiding in the planning.

Littin and the group have three goals by Oct. 31, 2024: determine program operation and integration within the Arizona Legislature; develop a process to select, retain, and educate fellows in science policy; and identify funding sources to support the STPF. 

A Fit With Systems

Littin became interested in policymaking when she attended a 2017 science policy conference at the UA.

“I think many systems engineers are drawn toward science policy because of this opportunity to apply design thinking to help make the policymaking process more robust, more communicative across disciplines, and more efficient for all,” she said. “I’m especially interested in social systems, in understanding how humans work together in different capacities to design our society, our laws and our policies.”

Statewide Benefits

Postgraduate fellows in the STPFs typically are trained in science policy procedures and practices prior to joining the program and throughout their tenure, said Lansey, a professor of civil and architectural engineering and mechanics.

“The STPF program is expected to attract and retain local scientific, engineering and public health talent within Arizona. Since this program aims to engage universities, industry and government stakeholders, we expect to foster collaboration that will lead to more public initiatives and knowledge transfer opportunities across sectors.”

The UA’s Science Policy and Diplomacy Initiative and the Arizona Institute for Resilience in the Office of Research, Innovation, and Impact are set to administer the program. For more information, contact azscipol@arizona.edu.

Originally published by the UArizona Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering.