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Never has it been more important that geoscience research feeds into political decisions and policymaking. What is more, today many policymakers and institutions are increasingly receptive to scientific evidence. Yet, whilst researchers are increasingly keen to influence policy and policymaking, for many the mechanisms for engagement and impact seem unclear and inaccessible.

This course will demystify policymaking and give researchers the tools to be able to engage with policy through their research.

In this Short Course, participants will learn about how national and supranational parliaments use evidence in their policy shaping processes, including legislation, scrutiny and debating. They will learn about how legislative science advice or technology assessment mechanisms draw on research evidence to provide advice to parliaments – and how they can get involved. The course will be presented by experts working with the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), the Austrian Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) and the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment panel (STOA).

Researchers will have the opportunity to ask questions and develop their skills in writing for a policy audience with the support of the course leaders.