Bridge Faculty Fellows(BFF) Program Description for Cohort 4: 2024-2025

 

WVU’s Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology Policy, Leadership, and Communications translates the work of WVU researchers to policymakers to fulfill WVU’s mission as West Virginia’s R1 Land Grant University. The Bridge program encompasses several activities including the development of policymaker guides, policy briefs, science and technology notes, a graduate student science & technology policy fellowship program, and the Bridge Faculty Fellows program.

The goal of the Bridge Faculty Fellows Program is to enhance the ability of WVU faculty to translate their research to West Virginia policymakers and the public.

The Bridge Faculty Fellows Program is offered under the Bridge Initiative with support from the Provost’s Office. Leadership for this program is provided by Dr. Joan Centrella, Director of the Bridge Initiative in S&T Policy, Leadership, and Communications, with support from the Bridge team.

Why Participate?

Participating in this program will help faculty to:

●       understand the science and technology policy arena and learn how their work can make a difference to policymakers, including the development of a policy brief,

●      increase the broader impacts of their work to benefit society,

●      work in an interdisciplinary group to stimulate and advance new ideas for research, innovation, and funding,

●      bring new perspectives into their teaching and mentoring roles, to develop and empower the next generation.

Education, training, and mentoring is provided by Dr. Deborah Stine, Founder of the Science & Technology Policy Academy, who has extensive experience in science and technology policy including at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the Congressional Research Service; the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy; and Carnegie Mellon University.

Testimonials from the first and second cohorts of Bridge Faculty Fellows are provided  here.

Research Areas

For the 2024-2025 cohort, the Bridge Faculty Fellows Program is open to all areas of faculty research in science and technology at WVU.

Eligibility

The program is open to WVU tenure- and non-tenure track faculty members on the Morgantown, Beckley, and Keyser campuses regardless of rank, including Teaching, Research, Extension and Clinical Professors.

Program Description

Interested faculty will fill out this simple application that will ask them to describe their research topic(s) that might be of interest to West Virginia policymakers, followed by some ideas to support this. 

Upon selection as a Fellow, they will work as an interdisciplinary team with the Bridge Initiative to refine their ideas and learn how to translate their work to policymakers, with the goal of developing a policy brief. 

Throughout the fellowship period, they will receive instruction and coaching from Dr. Deborah Stine as they develop their policy brief.

At the end of the fellowship program they will give a capstone presentation based on their brief and its relevance to and importance for policymakers.

Fellows will receive a certificate upon completing the program. 

Fellows will also become part of a community of current and past Fellows, meeting and interacting with interdisciplinary faculty from across WVU.

Important Note: Due to financial constraints, we are unable to provide a grant as in previous years.

Commitment:

Each Fellow will serve for one year, starting in June 2024.

The 2024-2025 cohort of Bridge Fellows will start working as a group during the summer of 2024; the dates for workshops and other meetings will be determined based on the schedules of the Fellows.

During the academic year the Fellows will generally meet as a cohort every two weeks, with meeting times and dates based on the Fellow’s availability.

All meetings will be held virtually.

Support: 

Each Fellow will receive support to connect their research to the science and technology policy sphere. This support includes:

○ workshops and other activities to help them gain a deeper understanding of the S&T policy arena

○ collaboration with Bridge team members in translating the results of their research and innovation into potential policy options

○ experience in communicating with policymakers

○ professional development opportunities, including private coaching

○ opportunities for their student(s) to work with the Bridge team on policy aspects relating to their research

Important Note: Due to financial constraints, we are unable to provide a grant as in previous years.  

Application Process

Interested faculty should fill out this application form by 11:59 pm on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Selection Process

The applications will be reviewed by the Bridge team leadership.  Top candidates will be invited to interview with members of the selection committee.

Selection Criteria

• Application’s alignment with the mission of the Bridge Initiative to link researchers and policymakers, including the potential for impacting S&T policy in West Virginia 

• Faculty member’s ability to work with the cohort, including participating in summer workshops and bi-monthly meetings throughout the academic year.

Applicants will be notified of their status by Friday, May 10, 2024.

Any questions?

Please contact Dr. Joan Centrella at Joan.Centrella@mail.wvu.edu.