David M. Hart, Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, received funding for: "2024 Climate-Tech Innovation Policy 'Boot Camp' for Early Career Researchers."
Via this effort, Hart will build interpersonal bridges across the gap that separates the policy and research communities, sensitize researchers to the practical considerations that shape energy and climate innovation policy, and create new inter-disciplinary linkages among early-career researchers.
His long-term objective is to shape the research agendas of the participating scholars, so that they contribute as fully as possible to both the advancement of knowledge and the improvement of policy.
The primary activity will be an immersive weeklong boot camp that brings together a cohort of about 20 early-career researchers in Washington, D.C. in late spring 2024. Participants will engage directly with senior policymakers and other members of the policy community to gain firsthand insights into how public policy is made. They will also build new relationships with one another, provide mutual support, and receive detailed feedback on existing and planned research. The boot camp will be supplemented by a small grants program for participants to allow them to follow through more effectively on opportunities revealed by the boot camp.
Hart said, "The boot camp is a labor of love for me. Early-career researchers are under so much pressure to publish in academic venues, but in doing so, they develop habits that make it difficult for them to contribute to the policy process once they are more established. The boot camp seeks to advance their academic careers while also positioning them for future impact."
Hart received $159,488 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for this project. Funding began in Feb. 2024 and will end in late Jan. 2025.
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