Science Policy Dialog

As the world faces increasingly complex challenges - such as the transition to a sustainable energy system - bridging the gap between scientific research and decision-making has never been more critical. To foster this connection, the Energy Symposium introduced a dedicated science-policy session for the first time, promoting dialogue among researchers, policymakers, and implementing agencies. The session aimed to provide participants with first-hand insights into the importance of science communication in political processes, as well as the expectations and needs of policymakers and public administrators. It also sought to inspire researchers at Helmholtz Energy to engage more actively in science-policy dialogue by deepening their understanding of knowledge exchange formats and structures.

Bernd Rech, Vice President of the Helmholtz Research Field Energy and Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, opened the session by emphasizing the importance of engaging in political communication to maximize the impact of energy research.

Our panel featured Constanze Scherz, Deputy Head of ITAS (Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis) at KIT, who emphasized the importance of establishing real and open dialogue with society. Robin Mesarosch, provided insights into the “real life” of a member of the German Bundestag (he was a member in the period 2021-2025) highlighted the need for direct communication with politicians to support evidence-based policymaking. And Franz Ecker, working at the Climate Protection and Energy Agency Baden-Württemberg GmbH (KEA-BW), offered a valuable perspective on the critical role of municipalities and local actors in driving the energy transition. The session was moderated by Andrea Meyn, an expert in Political Communication and member of the Scientific Expert Platform on Climate Protection (WPKS).

We received very positive feedback following the session, which encourages us to continue organizing similar events. Although this first session was conducted in German, we recognize the strong interest from our international community and are committed to hosting future events in English. These will focus on broader trends in science-policy communication. If you're interested in participating, please feel free to reach out to us.

Núria González & Andrea Meyn

Organizers of the Science Policy Session