Even before I went to Brussels I’ve been thinking a lot about how to bring more critical social science into the policymaking space. We often hear wishes for more science based policy, and that research needs to be societally relevant. It has been my experience, however, that this research needs to fit a certain mold and communicated in a certain way in order to be considered. Often meaning that it has to be quantifiable, easy to understand, and actionable. But what if you for example conduct interpretative research that can’t really be translated in this way? It is a difficult starting point as you in some ways fundamentally challenge how people view the world. I won’t claim that I now have found answers to this question, but I do think my experience with the fellowship exchange has led me further on this journey.

A role of think tanks is to translate research for policy. Collaborating with researchers from different backgrounds and talking to people directly involved in policy has given me opportunity to practice this translation process. I think there is a lot to learn both at a more conceptual level on how to adapt and explain your research, but also at a more practical level on how to structure and visually present texts in a more accessible way to the general public without compromising the results. This is a job that we as critical social scientists need to do if we are serious about making a difference, or even just making our research understood. And I find that interdisciplinary collaboration is one of the keys to this. It is in discussion with people from different backgrounds that you find ways to improve and develop your research. I think this is exactly what we try to do here at Mistra Environmental Communication, and something that I will bring with me as I continue my research within the programme.

Read more of Noras reflections about her time in Brussels in this blogpost at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) webpage.