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If you would like to receive a daily Science Policy News Alert in your in-box every weekday morning, you can sign up here. You have to be a member of SEA to receive them, but membership is free.
SEA launches Virtual Internship Program
Not sure what you are going to do with the mountains of free time you have? Have you always wanted to do an internship, in Washington, without living in Washington? Not fond of pants? Well, SEA is launching our new virtual internship program. Members of the first SEA virtual intern class can be located anywhere in the world and will work remotely on specific SEA projects. As an intern you will work closely with SEA staff and be tasked with researching the positions elected officials and candidates for office take on science policy issues…and yes, you can do it from home in your pajamas. Virtual Interns will be an integral part of the SEA staff, and will participate in weekly administrative and policy calls.
The internship is for between 10 to 20 hours per week and can be done anywhere, as long as you have a computer, internet connection, and telephone. The dates of the internship are flexible and we will accept virtual interns on a rolling basis. It is open to any SEA member. Please send an e-mail including a resume, cover letter, and a short paragraph on why you want to intern for SEA to contact@sefora.org. Sorry folks, this is an unpaid position.
Want to Blog for SEA?
We’d love to have your input. Simply review our basic guidelines and let us know what you would like to write about. You do not have to be an experienced blogger or a Nobel laureate to contribute. You just have to have the ability to express yourself. We are looking for a diverse group of people eager to contribute to the site, so if you want to get involved directly, now is the time to speak your mind.
SEA will train scientists to run for office
SEA is holding a workshop to train scientists to run for office on May 10th at Georgetown University. If you are a scientist or engineer and have been considering running for office or working on an election campaign, then join us for a crash course on how it’s done. Below is a video for the workshop featuring Congressman and former physicist Vern Ehlers.
We will be holding more campaign workshops in the future, but the lineup for this one is spectacular. So, if you share our belief that we need more people in congress who understand how important science is to the country, then join SEA and come to the workshop. Space is limited, so register today.
SEA’s Bill of Rights for Scientists!
Scientists and Engineers for America has posted a revised Bill of Rights for Scientists that sets out basic principles that all elected officials should support. Effective government depends on accurate, honest, and timely advice from scientists and engineers. But the ability of scientists to opening present the best evidence and analysis possible has been eroded over time through political interference and intimidation. We should all call on our elected representatives to support these basic principles to protect the rights of scientists and engineers and science integrity within government.
You can find your representative and ask them if they support the Bill of Rights for Scientists on the SHARP Network. Once they respond, post it to the SHARP Network for all to see.
Bill of Rights for Scientists and Engineers
- Public policy shall be made using the best available scientific, technical, and engineering knowledge.
- No government organization shall knowingly distribute false or misleading information.
- Government funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education shall only be used for evidence-based curricula.
- No one should fear reprisals or intimidation because of the results of his or her research.
- Scientists, technologists, and engineers conducting research or analysis with public funding shall be free of unreasonable restrictions in discussing and publishing their work, and the results of governmentally-funded research and analysis shall be made open to the public without unreasonable delay.
- A clear, public, and transparent process shall be used to make decisions about restricting public access to information for reasons of national security. There shall be a process for challenging decisions, and remedial measures to correct mistakes and abuses of the classification system.
- Employees exposing what they believe to be manipulation of research and analysis for political or ideological reasons shall be protected from intimidation, retribution, or adverse personnel action resulting from the decision to speak out.
- Appointments to publicly funded advisory committees shall be based on professional and academic qualifications, not political affiliation or ideology.
SEA’s Tools Engage Scientists and Engineers in Elections and Public Policy
By Brian Athey, Ph.D and Lesley Stone, J.D.
Science and engineering continues to be marginalized in the public discourse in the United States, even as these disciplines present solutions for societal needs and mounting global problems such as energy, climate change, ever-expanding healthcare costs and slow economic growth. SEA is working hard to turn this trend, and we believe progress is possible with an energized and active grassroots base guided by an informed and collaborative discussion with some of the nation’s leading experts. We are not narrowly focused on R&D budgets, though those are important as part of a broad investment in math and science education and economic competitiveness. We emphasize the essential contributions of science and engineering to the major societal challenges we face and to rational debate about how best to address those problems.
We plan to engage scientists, engineers and people who care about getting our country back on track through three main projects:
1. We launched the Science, Health and Related Policies (SHARP) Network just last week. Look up your representatives and learn where they stand on important science and health issues. We need your help filling in the gaps by editing each Presidential Candidate’s, Senator’s, and Representative’s wiki page.
2. Our Campaign Education and Training project will help prepare scientists, engineers, and physicians (or healthcare professionals) to run for office—from school boards to the federal government. By increasing the representation of scientists and engineers in our government, we will amplify the voice of reason in American policy. For example, scientists and engineers serving on school boards can help ensure that our science curriculum is accurate and that our students develop the science and math skills necessary to compete in a global economy. Scientists and engineers in office at the State and Federal level can help ensure that evidence-based science is the root of effective policy. Interested in running for office? We’re holding training workshops and producing materials that will help you.
3. A strong student base is essential for the success of any national movement. Through our University and College Chapters we will be able to tackle big issues on a local level. Students are the steam that runs our train and through SEA they will hone their political activism and advocacy skills, and have a forum for networking with others that care about the mission and goals of SEA. To date, SEA has chapters at New York University and Yale University, with students at several other major campuses beginning the process of becoming official chapters. It’s easy to start an SEA chapter on your campus. If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get active, now is your chance.
Politicians have said, “You must get engaged in our system to be heard and to gain influence”. We are mobilizing to build such grassroots involvement and to hold elected officials and candidates accountable for their views, their votes, and their commitments. With your help, we will build a community to successfully tackle the real grand challenges ahead. SEA is supplying the tools. The only question is when you’ll decide to use them. If you have not joined SEA yet, click here.
Dr. Brian Athey is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Professor in the Center for Computational Medicine and Biology at the University of Michigan.
Lesley Stone is the Executive Director of Scientists and Engineers for America.
SEA launches the SHARP Network
Scientists and Engineers for America has just launched the Science Health And Related Policies (SHARP) Network. The SHARP Network is a wiki-based system that will allow the public to track the positions their elected officials have taken on critical science and health issues. There are already over 500 web pages in the Network including one for every Senator, Congressman, and Presidential candidate. We have also launched pages with information on key science and health issues and for Senate and House committees. We will soon launch pages for candidates for office as well. Not sure what your congressman has said or done about global warming? Look it up on their SHARP page. If it’s not there, then you can help by adding it.
How to use the SHARP Network:
Enter the SHARP Network by clicking the map on the right. Then, simply type in your zip code or click on your state to find the views of your representatives. (You can also access the Presidential candidates with one click.) You can only edit the pages by registering for the SHARP. By helping us complete the entries you will play a vital role in informing the public about the stances the elected representatives and candidates have taken on the issues. You do not need to be a member of SEA to participate in the SHARP Network, but we hope you will consider joining (It’s free).
Like Wikipedia, we want the information to be factual, so if you see something that doesn’t belong, please help us edit the page. We want speeches, legislation they have supported, public statements and any other factual information that will clarify where elected representatives and candidates for office stand. If it isn’t clear where they stand, ask them and post their response. If you think someone is deliberately adding information that is incorrect, please edit their comments out and let us know. During the last election, Wikipedia had a lot of malicious entries for candidates. We are monitoring the site, but also rely on you to help keep the information accurate and up to date.
Need help editing the wiki? Click here for a few tips.
The SEA Action Fund Blog:
You will notice that this blog is run by SEA’s new partner organization, the SEA Action Fund. The blog will chronicle news and information on critical science and health issues as well as the opinions of SEA members and provide an opportunity for discussion and debate. We will also feature opinion pieces by leading authorities on the issues. We hope this will encourage scientists, engineers and concerned citizens to be more deeply involved in the political debate and will be a resource for candidates and policy makers.
We launched the SEA Action Fund to make sure that Scientists and Engineers for America’s activities are consistent with the tax code for nonprofit organizations whose donations are tax deductible (501(c)(3) for you tax nerds). There are strict limitations on what nonprofit organizations can do around elections including limitations on partisan statements and restrictions on endorsing candidates. While both SEA and SEA Action Fund are both strictly non-partisan, we recognize that you might not be. We made a decision early on that we do not want to restrict the free flow of opinions and views in our blog comments. To do this we had to set up the SEA Action Fund under a different tax code, which allows a wider range of activities (501(c)(4). Therefore, unlike SEA, contributions to the SEA Action fund are not tax deductible. (We still reserve the right not to publish inflammatory comments.) Enjoy the SHARP Network.
