Communicating with Policymakers: Raising Issues at Public Meetings

The document advises scientists to leverage their professional expertise during public meetings to hold policymakers accountable and demonstrate the urgency of specific issues. It recommends preparing concise questions, making specific requests for on-the-record positions, and following up with legislators' staff to establish personal connections.

• Public forums and town hall meetings allow citizens to establish direct personal contact with policymakers and can be used to force a legislator's position on a specific issue to be stated on the record in public.
• Scientists are uniquely positioned to influence these meetings because their societal status as recognized experts can demonstrate to both the legislator and the general audience the necessity of taking action on complex issues.
• Effective engagement requires specific preparation: identifying concise questions in advance, briefly noting expertise in five words or less, making specific requests for answers (such as on the need to reduce heat-trapping emissions), and following up with thank-you notes or additional information.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2008). Communicating with Policymakers: Raising Issues at Public Meetings. https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policymakers-raising-issues-public-meetings

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Communicating with Policymakers: Raising Issues at Public Meetings. 2008. https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policymakers-raising-issues-public-meetings.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Communicating with Policymakers: Raising Issues at Public Meetings |date=21 July 2008 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policymakers-raising-issues-public-meetings |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2008communicating, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Communicating with Policymakers: Raising Issues at Public Meetings}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2008}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policymakers-raising-issues-public-meetings}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }