Follow the North Carolina STEM Policy Fellowship on Twitter

The North Carolina STEM Policy Fellowship recently debuted its new Twitter handle: @NCSTEMPolFellow

Led by Duke University graduate researchers Andrew George and Daniel Keeley, and convening partners like the Duke University Science & Society Initiative, Duke University Sanford School for Public Policy, Duke University Government Affairs Office, and North Carolina Sea Grant, the North Carolina team is one of nine recipients of the State Fellowships Planning Grant. The grant was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (#GBMF5943) and the Simons Foundation and administered by the California Council on Science and Technology.

State legislators and policymakers around the United States are encountering increasingly complicated science- and technology-related matters — pertaining to water, agriculture, energy, privacy, health, natural resources, food security, and other pressing issues.

Policy decisions on these topics have widespread and long-term impacts, so it is valuable for state government lawmakers to have rapid access to trusted, impartial experts who can provide advice on and help decipher these complex issues. Recruiting PhD scientists to train and serve directly in state legislative offices helps ensure that lawmakers have direct access to science-savvy analysts — ones who can review policy proposals under a scientific lens.

CCST has learned a great deal from offering its own CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship in service to the California State Legislature, and the State Fellowships Planning Grant was launched to help replicate this model across other U.S. states. Since the disbursement of the grant, a nationwide network of state teams has been formed, regularly convening and sharing their lessons and steps towards creating their own state-based, immersive science and technology policy fellowship.

The Missouri Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, an initiative that was launched independent of the State Fellowships Planning Grant, also debuted its Twitter handle this year. Follow them at @MOSTPolFellows.

The California Council on Science and Technology is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established via the California State Legislature in 1988. CCST engages leading experts in science and technology to advise state policymakers ― ensuring that California policy is strengthened and informed by scientific knowledge, research, and innovation. Find CCST on Facebook at facebook.com/ccstorg, on Twitter @CCSTorg, and on LinkedIn. Discover how CCST makes California’s policies stronger with science at www.ccst.us. Celebrate the 30th anniversary of CCST all year long by following #CCST30th on Twitter.