Effective communication between the scientific community and policymakers is also essential as governments must make quick decisions to protect their citizens.

Taylor Scott, research assistant professor of human development and family studies, is addressing legislators’ needs for research that is related to social and behavioral policy responses to the coronavirus. Her seed-grant-funded project has three primary goals: (1) engage scholars who can respond to congressional needs with timely and scientific technical support; (2) identify scientific knowledge needs among federal legislators; and (3) respond to congressional needs through written and oral communications, review policy language, and create fact sheets for non-academic audiences.

“This work has the potential to significantly shorten the time horizon for translating research conducted at Penn State and elsewhere to decision-makers,” said Scott. “Getting research into the hands of decision-makers as quickly as possible has monumental implications for addressing this public health crisis.”

This story originally appeared in Penn State News.