ROADMAP FOR SCIENCE IN DECISIONMAKING

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that safeguards for independent government science in the US have broken down, particularly under the Trump administration, leading to the suppression of research and retaliation against scientists. The report recommends that Congress codify scientific integrity (SI) policies into law and that agencies appoint non-political SI officials, implement transparent peer review, and establish safe whistleblower protections.

• The report asserts that existing scientific integrity policies are insufficient because they are managed and enforced by individual agencies, leading to wide variations in protection and frequent failures in implementation.
• The Trump administration is cited as having significantly weakened scientific safeguards since 2017 by stalling research, rolling back science-based protections, retaliating against staff, and leaving critical scientific positions vacant.
• To ensure enforcement, the report recommends that agency heads appoint a full-time scientific integrity official who must be a career civil servant scientist rather than a political appointee, with the power to investigate misconduct and enforce penalties.
• The document advocates for the right of federal scientists to communicate their findings to the public and press without prior approval, provided they distinguish between personal and official views.
• The report recommends establishing transparent clearance and peer review procedures to prevent political officials from suppressing research or making substantive changes to scientific content.
• The report highlights the need to prevent the politicization of research funding and data collection, suggesting that only qualified career staff, not political appointees, should decide on the scientific merit of grant proposals.
• To combat conflicts of interest, the report suggests requiring the public disclosure of recusal statements for political officials and barring individuals with direct financial interests from decisionmaking authority.
• The report calls for the creation of safe, detailed procedures for reporting scientific integrity violations and the implementation of protections for whistleblowers to prevent retaliation.

APA

Anair, D., & Mahmassani, A. (2020). ROADMAP FOR SCIENCE IN DECISIONMAKING. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/si-report-roadmap-for-science.pdf

Chicago

Anair, Don, and Amine Mahmassani. ROADMAP FOR SCIENCE IN DECISIONMAKING. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2020. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/si-report-roadmap-for-science.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Anair |first1=Don |last2=Mahmassani |first2=Amine |title=ROADMAP FOR SCIENCE IN DECISIONMAKING |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=August 2020 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/si-report-roadmap-for-science.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{anair2020roadmap, author = {Anair, Don and Mahmassani, Amine}, title = {{ROADMAP FOR SCIENCE IN DECISIONMAKING}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/si-report-roadmap-for-science.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }