IGCC and UCDC Experts Share Lessons on Bridging Policy and Academia
On May 19–23, the University of California Washington Center (UCDC) hosted the inaugural class of the Presidential Faculty Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind program bringing UC faculty to the nation’s capital for in-depth training on how to influence the policy community and effectively communicate research beyond academia. The seven fellows, who lecture at four UC campuses in California and at UCDC, are experts across diverse disciplines including health, labor, nutrition, crime, education, and immigration policy. As part of the training, the fellows attended workshops hosted by the Scholars Strategy Network, met with members of Congress, and presented their work to stakeholders at UCDC.
On May 21, the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)—which maintains an office at UCDC that hosts researchers and staff in its Postdoctoral Fellowship in Technology and International Security—presented a special session on research and policy engagement as part of the faculty fellowship program. The half-day conference brought together IGCC and UCDC leadership, researchers, and staff from the UC Office of Federal Governmental Relations (UC FGR) to discuss their experiences and insights on how to excel in the research-to-policy space.
In opening remarks, UCDC executive director and professor of sociology at UC Merced, Tanya Golash-Boza, laid out the purpose of the fellowship and how it fits with the overall mission of the UC’s presence in Washington. “The UC is measured by its impact on the world,” said Golash-Boza, “and this fellowship aims to give UC faculty the tools to translate the cutting-edge research they’re doing in California into a powerful and positive impact on policy, here in Washington, D.C. and beyond.”
IGCC associate director and moderator of the session, Lindsay Shingler, highlighted IGCC’s involvement with the fellowship and how it syncs with the institute’s founding objective to produce and use research to help build a more peaceful and prosperous world. “IGCC has always sought to hone researchers’ skills in engaging with decisionmakers,” said Shingler, “and this fellowship offers a unique opportunity for UC faculty to learn these skills on the ground in Washington and take the lessons back to their campuses in California.”
Shingler then kicked off the first panel on building influence beyond academia, which featured a discussion with three IGCC affiliates whose careers have bridged the academia-policy divide: Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, head of the North American Observatory at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime; Juljan Krause, IGCC postdoctoral fellow in technology and international security; and Lauren Prather, associate professor of international relations at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. Shingler opened the conversation with initial questions to the affiliates before the faculty fellows joined in on a free-flowing dialogue about the promises and pitfalls of policy engagement for academics.
Prather began by discussing the crucial role of networks for translating academic research into policy impact. Highlighting that ideas flow from “people to people,” Prather reflected on the importance throughout her career—which has spanned the fields of international development and democratization to the governance of U.S. elections—of conferences as opportunities for initiating partnerships with decisionmakers. “Meet policymakers where they are,” advised Prather. “Offer to study their problems and bring them into your work to form lasting relationships where they come to rely on your expertise.”
Krause, reflecting on his experiences on both sides of the academia-policy divide as a former member of the British civil service, suggested that academics should recognize the incentivizes of political appointees within governments, who must consider the political ramifications of proposed initiatives, in addition to their impact and cost. Moreover, Krause noted, “knowledge is a two-way street”—in other words, academics should acknowledge the expertise that civil servants have in understanding how government works. “There are many different types of expertise,” Krause said, “and sometimes, academics need to talk less and listen more.”
Farfán-Méndez discussed the tradeoffs between committing time to policy engagement versus traditional metrics of academic success such as journal publications. “Not every area is geared toward policy engagement” she said, “but for me, studying U.S.-Mexico border issues and transnational organized crime, it’s hard to escape the feeling that engagement is very important—after all, what else is all this research for?”
Farfán-Méndez’s comments elicited agreement from faculty fellow Irene Vega, UC Irvine assistant professor of sociology, who reflected on the dilemmas in pursuing public-facing work while keeping avenues open in her own research on U.S.-Mexico border policy. “Sometimes, our research conclusions can burn bridges with partners,” suggested Vega. “There can be other risks in putting our work into the public space, but it is an important endeavor.” There was widespread concurrence with this sentiment, with other fellows highlighting the need for more opportunities like the UCDC fellowship program, both in Washington and on the UC campuses themselves.
In a second panel on navigating research and policy in a shifting political landscape, Shingler spoke with leadership from the University’s federal relations team, who work on behalf of the UC system in the nation’s capital. Phillip Harman, director of research, and Nicole Carlotto, deputy director of UC FGR, spoke about the challenges that higher education has faced under the new presidential administration, including terminations of federal contracts and grants and pauses on funding. Despite recent changes in federal politics, Harman and Carlotto underscored that UC FGR’s five fundamental objectives in Washington remain unchanged: to tell the University of California’s story, protect and advance its mission, protect and increase its budget and appropriations priorities, grow federal agency engagement, and build relationships, all in an effort to help enable the UC to continue to educate students, advance research across a vast array of fields, and provide medical training and patient care.
Amid a greatly uncertain political moment, Harman and Carlotto stressed that academics should always highlight to stakeholders the importance of their work to the nation and the economy, which cuts across the aisle in Washington. “Everything we do is of value,” Harman reminded the fellows. “Don’t ever stop making the case for your research and the positive impact that the UC has made for California, the United States, and the world.”
Following the success of this first class of UCDC Presidential Faculty Fellows, UCDC will welcome a new cohort to Washington at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. IGCC, from its second home at UCDC, is excited to continue this exciting partnership on the fellowship for many years to come.