Scientists and Legislators Join Forces to Build Better Public Policy

Scientists and Legislators Join Forces to Build Better Public Policy

Policy fellowships bring scientists and tech experts into state legislatures and agencies to help the decision-makers who write laws and regulations.

State science and technology policy fellowships can help decision-makers deliver results while giving scientists a front-row seat to the legislative process.

"It really is a win-win," Puneet Bhullar, director of policy and engagement at the California Council on Science and Technology, told a session at the 2025 NCSL Legislative Summit.

For over a decade, nonpartisan state science and technology policy fellowships, known as S&T policy fellowships, have complemented the work of legislative offices and governmental agencies across the country. West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw says the fellowships are bringing together the science and policy sectors in a new way.

"These fellowships matter," he says. "There often seems to be an unbridgeable chasm between those at the frontiers of science and technology and those developing society's laws and regulations. But it is bridgeable, and science and technology fellowships are one of the ways that can help."

Diverse Programs, Same Vision

Joining the ranks of states with S&T policy fellowships, Colorado, Pennsylvania and West Virginia launched full-time programs to coincide with the 2026 legislative session. Programs vary in length or structure; however, each S&T policy fellowship brings science and technology experts-astrophysicists, marine biologists, psychologists, dietitians, civil engineers, cybersecurity specialists and social scientists-into state legislatures and agencies, offering a unique opportunity for decision-makers and fellows alike.

Like most S&T policy fellowships, providing nonpartisan scientific expertise is the guiding light of the Colorado Science and Technology Policy Program, says Kristan Uhlenbrock, executive director of The Institute for Science & Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. "We consider ourselves policy neutral," she says. "We're not up there advocating for specific policy. We will never do that. We truly are these knowledge brokers of information."

"We're actually bridging the gap between science and policy."

-Isabel Warner, former fellow and current program manager, MOST Policy Initiative, Missouri

Many states' S&T policy fellowships are designed to support the work of existing nonpartisan service offices. Hanshaw says fellows in West Virginia complement the work being done in the Legislative Services Division. "Answering a question like, 'What are the implications of 5 parts per billion nitrate aqueous concentrations in the stream versus 7?' That's not the kind of question that our lawyers and our accountants are typically trained to answer." The Legislative Services Division is the go-to for "calculating the budgetary implications of a policy proposal or an effective tax rate. Those are about 10-second calculations for our team," he says.

"We're actually bridging the gap between science and policy," says Isabel Warner, former fellow and current program manager of the MOST Policy Initiative in Missouri. As a fellow, "finding that sort of nexus was really important to me," she says.

For state leaders, "You get to decide what you want to bring to your state," Bhullar, with California's science council, says. "What brings us all together is our shared goal of helping science and policy work better together as decisions are being made."

Science and Technology in the Legislature

As states embark on their 2026 legislative sessions, science and technology issues will be top of mind for many. NCSL's 2026 Forecast special report projects heightened interest in topics such as AI, disaster preparedness and growing energy demands, among others. Across states, AI prompts new conversations about both innovation and regulation, making the need for technical expertise even more urgent. "We're not just looking at possibly regulating AI, but figuring out how to better use it to serve our constituents," says Connecticut Sen. James Maroney, who works closely with the CASE Science and Technology Fellowship. "So, we're going to get a fellow to help us."

MOST legislative policy fellows support Missouri legislators with research and nonpartisan science notes throughout the legislative session and beyond. At the lawmakers' request, MOST legislative policy fellows write science notes "on everything from Medicaid to foreign ownership of land-it's a real wide range of topics," Warner says, adding that fellows are also "attending committee hearings, talking with legislators about their priorities, what they need and when, what kind of testimony would be useful to them."

Panelists at the Summit session say S&T policy fellows are being integrated into state legislatures and agencies to complement existing work and expertise, and sometimes they bring new perspectives on highly technical or emerging issues. As more states launch or expand S&T policy fellowships, program leaders and legislators agree that fostering a strong, nonpartisan network of state-level fellows may prove to be a winning strategy for advancing evidence-based policymaking.

Arielle Beisel is a policy specialist in NCSL's Center for Results-Driven Governing.