Special Topics Call for Submissions — Science — The Endless Frontier: Shaping the Future of Science Policy

The deadline has passed. Read the issue here. 
Watch our special video made for the 2021 AAAS Annual Meeting, Empowering the Next Generation to Shape the Future of American Science Policy!
    We are at a critical juncture in history. This energetic and diverse next generation is already engaged in science and technology policymaking. Their leadership is urgently needed to ensure science is integrated into policymaking for the benefit of all.

— Sudip Parikh @sudipsparikh, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals
    “The Vannevar Bush report provided a transformative framework for our country’s investment in science, education, defense, health and economy. Vannevar Bush was visionary and thought long term about what the United States needs from science, and how we could best achieve that. Now, 75 years later, we need to take stock of what we need from science, and ask ourselves if our approach need to evolve or change. We look forward to hearing ideas and thoughts from emerging scientific leader, as we work to achieve a shared future vision.

— Brooke Smith @KavliFoundation, Director of Public Engagement of The Kavli Foundation
    As we celebrate The Endless Frontier’s 75-year anniversary, we are thrilled to launch this one-of-a-kind competition with AAAS and The Kavli Foundation as a means to substantively engage entrant voices around how American science should be structured for the next 75 years and beyond

— Shalin Jyotishi @ShalinJyotishi, Chief Executive Officer of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance

SPECIAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

With support from The Kavli Foundation, the Journal of Science Policy & Governance (JSPG) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) have joined forces to launch a new call for papers competition in honor of the 75th anniversary of Vannevar Bush’s signature book, Science: The Endless Frontier.  
 
The JSPG-AAAS policy position paper competition will empower the next generation to consider ways of building on the vision of Endless Frontier  with an eye towards the future. The competition will generate and uplift bold, innovative, and actionable ideas to reimagine American science and science policy. 

The competition builds off a signature event led by the National Academies of Science, The Kavli Foundation and the Sloan Foundation to celebrate the 75-year anniversary of Endless Frontier and discuss a future vision for science. It is also timely as 2021 and beyond present critical opportunities to rebuild science, and the United States, as we emerge from the pandemic and a new political chapter. 

Students, post-docs, policy fellows, early career researchers and young professionals that meet JSPG's author criteria guidelines are encouraged to generate new, innovative science policy proposals​. Policy position papers should be 2000-3500 words in length and read as a narrative. See example from JSPG Advisory Board member Neal Lane.

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DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS CLOSED

Three Best Papers Competition:

In addition to the publication opportunity, an expert committee composed of JSPG's Governing Board members and selected leaders from AAAS Section X, the AAAS member body for those at the intersection between science, policy, and society, and the Steering Committee of the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition, will select three competition winners who will be awarded cash prizes and given access to policy outreach and engagement funds to advance their policy prescriptions before relevant audiences.​ The criteria for selection will focus on the overall quality of the policy position paper, related analysis, and the actionability of the proposed ideas. 
  • First Prize: $2,000 USD 
  • Second prize: $1,750 USD
  • Third prize: $1,500 USD

All published authors will be supported through strategic communications and interviewed for episodes of JSPG's podcast SciPol SoundBites. Authors will also be invited to participate in outreach events and opportunities organized by JSPG, AAAS, and other partners once the issue is released. 

Guiding Events:

To help authors shape their writing, JSPG and AAAS will host a writing workshop on January 9 and 10, 2021 to provide guidance on writing effective policy position papers.
In addition, JSPG and AAAS will convene a series of expert webinars featuring thought leaders with deep knowledge on policy areas where Endless Frontier had lacked an emphasis or requires a greater emphasis. During these webinars, authors will learn about policy and governance issues that can build from the Endless Frontier framework and help inform writing for the call for papers:
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Finally, JSPG and AAAS in partnership with the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition will organize a joint session during the 2021 virtual AAAS Annual Meeting relating to this issue.

​Follow us on social media and join our mailing list to keep updated. Please register for the workshop and webinars below. More information will be emailed and posted here as they're made available. Questions regarding these events may be directed to JSPG Chief Outreach Officer Adriana Bankston.

Background, Guiding Questions, and Submission Guidelines:

Commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and prepared by electrical engineer Vannevar Bush, who directed US government research during the Second World War, The Endless Frontier was released in July 1945. The seminal report called for a centralized approach to government-sponsored science and led to the creation of the National Science Foundation in 1950, the American research university and much of the policy frameworks underlying the U.S. basic research enterprise in the United States.
​
Below are a few guiding questions and recommended readings to help spur creative thinking among authors. Authors may develop policy position papers covering any aspect of U.S. science policy, but these questions will help provoke ideas.

The Science: The Endless Frontier text can be found free online on the U.S. National Science Foundation website. You may also find the physical and audio text on Amazon.
  • How does the current response from the government and the scientific community to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic compare to the how science was employed during World War II and which led to the request from FDR to Vannevar Bush which resulted in “Science – The Endless Frontier”? What is different and what is similar and what changes should be made to current U.S. Science Policy in light of these considerations?
  • The Bush “Pipeline” Vision of Economic Gain through Basic Research - Eventual Technology Advance: How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century and a evolving view of how innovation actually occurs?
  • The Bush’s National Security Pillar (his Basic Research Model did not Fit the Needs of this Sector Well): How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century?
  • The Space Mission Gap: How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century?
  • Endless Frontier did not consider the environmental sciences, sustainability, or climate change in its original vision.
  • The Social Science Research Gap: Current Issues and Necessary Updates/Changes: Endless Frontier did not recommend support for the social and behavioral sciences.
  • Science education: How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century?
  • Incentive and reward systems for scientists: How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century?
  • Addressing diversity and inclusion in science: How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century?
  • Augmenting federal funding through other sources: Philanthropy, industry, state and local governments, and international cooperative organizations. How should U.S. science policy evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century?
Recommended readings:
- Public Face of Science: Priorities for the Future (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2020)
- A Federal Strategy for Science Engagement (Day One Project, Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS), LISTEN Network, 2020)
- Supporting Federal Decision Making through Participatory Technology Assessment (Nicholas Weller, Michelle Sullivan Govani, and Mahmud Farooque, DayOneProject, 2020)
- The Weekly Planet: The 5 Biggest Climate Stories of 2020 (Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 2020)
- NOAA's Community Resilience Education Theory of Change (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020)
- Learn, Prepare, Act: “Throwing Shade” on Climate Change (Jeremy Hoffman, Journal of Museum Education, 2019)
- Saving Science (Daniel Sarewitz, The New Atlantis, 2016)
- In which we say goodbye (David Goldston, on misconceptions about science and politics, Nature, 2009)
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS CLOSED
​For any additional questions about this special issue, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] with "Endless Frontiers Issue" in the subject line.
© 2022 Journal of Science Policy & Governance, Inc. All rights reserved. The opinions, findings and conclusions from JSPG publications, additional article commentaries and related events do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal.