Current U.S. predoctoral graduate education is not designed to train researchers how to communicate research results to nonacademic audiences. Population Reference Bureau (PRB) addresses this gap with its U.S. policy communication training program, preparing current Ph.D. students to present findings in ways that are understandable and accessible to policy audiences, including decisionmakers, advocates, and the media. The program's main goal is to expand the cadre of U.S. population research professionals committed to policy communication. The program's objectives are to: (1) Address barriers that researchers face in communicating population-related research results to policy audiences; (2) Engage a diverse group of predoctoral students (future population professionals) in policy communication over their careers; (3) Teach population scientists about: the process by which research informs the policy environment, how to identify and communicate the policy implications of their research, and various tools/skills for communicating findings to U.S. policy audiences. To achieve these objectives, PRB will select annually 12 U.S. predoctoral students who apply on a competitive basis to participate in a three-part training program consisting of: (1) virtual orientation and introduction to the U.S. policy process; (2) summer workshop; (3) virtual writing and social media instruction and writing assignments during the academic year. Only students with findings to use in the program's writing and presentation exercises will be selected to participate. The summer workshop includes exercises in writing and presenting, giving participants experience in using their own research findings as the basis for building communication skills. Participants also meet in small working groups led by PRB staff or accomplished training program graduates, where they discuss their research and develop a presentation for a policy audience. To increase diversity of the training cadre, PRB proposes revising participants' eligibility criteria to include U.S. predoctoral students studying in accredited departments that are not institutional members of the Association of Population Centers. This change will allow us to prepare a more diverse pool of trainees pursuing research relevant to the mission of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Population Dynamics Branch, to effectively translate research into understandable, policy- relevant messages. Based on program graduates' early outputs, we expect this R-25 application will contribute significantly to expanding access to and use of understandable and useful information on key demographic, reproductive health, and population health issues to inform U.S. and global social policy.
By training predoctoral students to translate research findings into policy-relevant messages, this project will expand access to scientific information on demographic processes, social and behavioral aspects of reproductive health, and population health. Increased access to such information contributes to the development of better social and health programs that ensure that every person is born healthy and wanted, that women suffer no harmful effects from reproductive processes, and that all children have the chance to achieve their full potential for healthy and productive lives.
