Martin Pělucha: Science for Policy is a Bridge Between Academic Research and Political Decision-Making

Martin Pělucha from the Prague University of Economics and Business has long been exploring how to connect science with policymaking. As part of the Science for Policy initiative, he also engages in training researchers on how to effectively communicate scientific findings to the political sphere. But what exactly does the Science for Policy initiative entail and how does it function? What communication tips does it offer to researchers, and what does it mean to be a “pracademic”?

Science for Policy – Bridging Knowledge and Decision-Making

Science for Policy is originally an initiative of the European Commission, specifically its Joint Research Centre (JRC). “The aim of this initiative is to bridge a certain gap that exists between science and policy. In practice, it often becomes evident that while science has the potential to provide deep insights into the world around us, policymakers need relevant information, findings, and recommendations presented directly by scientists in an understandable manner and often very quickly. Only then can policymakers make effective and timely decisions, as we witnessed during last year’s floods,” says Martin Pělucha.

The different approaches and expectations of these two distinct spheres – science and policy – often lead to a situation where scientific knowledge is not fully utilized in practice. “While policymakers need quick and clear inputs for their decisions, scientists tend to focus more on thorough and robust data processing and analysis. This is, of course, highly valuable, but from the perspective of applying scientific findings to policy, this time misalignment is one of the key reasons why science and policy often do not understand each other. And this is what we aim to change within the Science for Policy initiative,” Pělucha adds.

What Hinders Better Collaboration Between Science and Policy?

According to Martin Pělucha, one of the main obstacles is a lack of understanding of each other’s needs. “I have encountered situations where, for example, the contractual research project requirements from ministries were very vague, and during the project, the expectations of the client changed multiple times. This often led to complications in the project’s progress and the need to revisit and adjust the original assignment,” he explains.

Although the situation has improved today thanks to better communication between policymakers and researchers, as well as more detailed project proposals and initial reports, he believes there is still room for improvement. Particularly in simplifying and making scientific outputs more comprehensible.

How to Present Scientific Findings Clearly?

The Science for Policy approach provides scientists with specific tools and a set of recommendations on how to effectively communicate with the political sphere. “One of the key steps in communicating scientific findings is the ability to formulate insights concisely, clearly, and with the necessary level of detail. Emphasis is also placed on visualization, storytelling, and clearly outlining solution options,” explains Martin Pělucha. A crucial part of Science for Policy training is also understanding the reality in which policymakers operate.

“To give a concrete example, scientific reports for the European Commission must not exceed 40 pages, which places a great emphasis on brevity and efficient structuring of findings. It is also worth noting that high-level policymakers can read at most one to two pages of an executive summary. We also had to deal with this limitation in one European project commissioned by the European Commission on the impacts of coal phase-out in the Czech Republic,” he adds.

“Pracademics” as a Catalyst for Science-Policy Collaboration

One of the topics that Pělucha actively promotes is the concept of “pracademics.” This term refers to academics who can bridge theoretical research with practical applications. “Pracademics are able to apply their scientific knowledge in practice while also bringing new insights from the real world into academic research,” he explains. This is not a movement or initiative, but rather active academic professionals working at universities who simultaneously engage in intensive collaboration with institutions or entities in practice.

An important aspect of this approach, which connects science with practice, is active networking and collaboration between academic professionals and both the public and private sectors. This is also reflected in the English term “pracademics,” a blend of “practice” and “academics.” “One of our successful projects in the context of pracademics was mapping the impacts of the European Green Deal strategy on Czech coal regions and analytically assessing their readiness for entirely new challenges related to their transformation. This involved identifying barriers among small businesses, municipalities, and non-profit organizations, revealing that they faced various difficulties in accessing new types of funding from the Just Transition Fund. We also created a handbook of best practices in different aspects of coal region transformation and identified effective institutional practices from regional development agencies in the Moravian-Silesian Region, facilitating their transfer to the Ústí and Karlovy Vary Regions. The results were positively received not only by representatives of Czech coal regions (i.e., Moravian-Silesian, Ústí, and Karlovy Vary Regions) but also by the Czech Ministry of Regional Development and the European Commission,” says Martin Pělucha, providing a concrete example of successfully linking scientific findings with practice.

The Key Lies in a Balanced Combination of Research and Networking

“In practice, it is sometimes beneficial to undertake additional activities that were not originally expected or explicitly planned. This way, the long-term credibility of academic representatives for further initiatives can be strengthened,” Pělucha adds as a recommendation. An example of such an approach was organizing a follow-up event after the completion and acceptance of all deliverables from the above-mentioned contractual research project. Academics from the Prague University of Economics and Business proactively organized an excursion for representatives of the Ústí and Karlovy Vary Regions (including regional development agencies, regional government offices, and representatives of regional associations) to the Moravian-Silesian Region, which has become an institutional leader in the functioning of leading regional development agencies over the past decade.

“During the excursion in specific locations of the Moravian-Silesian Region and selected development agency institutions, expert discussions were held, moderated and coordinated by representatives from the University of Economics in Prague. The main outcomes of these discussions were summarized and shared with the Ministry of Regional Development, which continues to work with the key insights this year,” Pělucha adds. In conclusion, he emphasizes that the main benefit of this approach is achieving a broader societal impact by fully utilizing the conditions, opportunities, and potential of the academic sphere for a deeper understanding of reality in specific issues. Integral to this is intensive networking with relevant stakeholders to accelerate the practical application of the obtained knowledge.

Martin Pělucha (*1980) is a professor in the field of economic policy at the Prague University of Economics and Business and an expert in the evaluation of regional development policies and rural development. Throughout his career, he has been a coordinator or member of numerous research projects related to program evaluation and evaluation methodology. He serves as the national ambassador of the RSA – Regional Studies Association in the Czech Republic and is also a member of the Czech Evaluation Society. In his scientific work, he has long focused on evaluating public expenditure programs funded by both national and European sources. He also acts as a reviewer for prestigious journals, such as Regional Studies.