TLDR: Please join our webinar on July 22nd, “Engaging Policymakers Through Interactive Simulations!” Need money? Check out SNAPStart, the new sci pol student org mini-grant program! Want more events? See our community calendar. Looking to volunteer?Join Stance on Science! Readers, follow our Medium blog for the latest articles by SNAPpers.

FREE VIRTUAL WEBINAR on July 22nd - “Engaging Policymakers Through Interactive Simulations,” a webinar with Krystal Noiseux. Register here.

Please join us to learn about interactive simulations as a method of engaging policymakers. The webinar will be led by Krystal Noiseux (Katherine is sadly unable to facilitate at this time), from the MIT Climate Pathways Project. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves, this session will be interactive! This webinar is open to ALL who would like to attend!

Engaging Policymakers Through Interactive Simulations webinar flyer with speaker Krystal Noiseux

McClintock Letters: One Year Later

Visit the Innovations in Science website to learn more, support, or get involved with this new project in partnership with local newspapers developing a model for community-oriented science communication to carry on the mission of the McClintock Letters.

To further continue this work, we will be organizing training sessions and encouraging interested citizens to write locally-focused opinion pieces about the proposed changes to the OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule.

Congressional District Visits: One Year Later

Building on the success of the SNAP Congressional District Visits initiative that took place during the 2025 August recess, there will be a campaign of local district visits with Representatives organized during the 2026 August recess. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon!

SNAPStart: Mini-Grant Program for New SciPol Orgs

Does your university have a science policy club? If not, now’s your chance to start one! Applications are open through the rest of summer for our new program, SNAPStart, granting up to $1000 for newly formed or recently revived student science policy groups. Click here for more information, and here to apply!

SNAPStart seed grant program flyer, applications due August 31st, 2026

Science Policy in a SNAP - SNAP Blog

You can access our blog, Science Policy in a SNAP, on our website or give us a follow on Medium, where you’ll hear from a variety of SNAP member voices on diverse science and science-policy topics.

Earlier this month, SNAPper Zoe Filomeno published a thought-provoking piece on our right to repair in the era of proprietary software and AI titled “The Deus Ex Machina of Humans: Right to Repair in the Era of AI, Robotics, and Neural Implants,” which you can read here. Last week, Cael Dant and Casey Chan wrote about the use of plant genetics to conserve and improve vital crops, entitled “Wild relatives and living collections: How plant science uses genetics to better crops and conservation”, which you can read here.

Be sure to follow us on Medium to read the upcoming pieces!

Have an idea for a post? Contact us and let us know.

Stance on Science

Stance on Science participants are asking science policy-related questions of candidates running in local, state, and national races during the 2026 elections. State teams have started to develop their questionnaires, plan candidate outreach, and set up town halls in their communities. This is a great time to get involved and make sure science policy issues important to your community are included as teams begin to contact campaigns, especially with primaries approaching and underway in many states!

Check out responses we’ve already received from candidates across several states at the Stance on Science website.

We still need volunteers! If you’re interested in helping out as a state lead or a volunteer, fill out this sign-up form. Please forward this email to others you know in these states who might be interested:

  • Arkansas
  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Nevada
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming

Don’t see your state in the list above? That means you get to join a larger team! The more people we have from as many districts in as many states as possible, the broader the reach of the initiative, so please sign up! Reach out to snapscipolorg@gmail.com

SciPol Course

SNAP is wrapping up the development of a modular science policy curriculum covering topics such as What is Science Policy?, How Government Works, Writing for Policymakers, Science Communication & Public Speaking, and Science Diplomacy. Final curriculum expected August 2026! Need a module sooner for your science policy group? Reach out to snapscipolorg@gmail.com.

External Opportunities

Fellowships and Jobs

Events

  • “Engaging Policymakers through Interactive Simulations” webinar with Katherine Markova, Climate Interactive and MIT Climate Pathways Project on July 22nd, 5-6:30pm ET. Register here.
  • The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies is putting together a virtual summit on Energy on July 22 on Youtube. Topics include: green workforce development, the current state of the energy landscape, the future of climate action, building next generation businesses, mobility and transportation access, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence and data centers. Learn more here.
  • “AI in the Classroom: Opportunities and Risks, and State Policy Responses” webinar hosted by AAAS Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues on July 23rd, 3:00-4:00pm ET. Register here.
  • The Association of Science Communicators is starting a monthly speaker series and monthly virtual networking! Check out those events here.

Resources and Opportunities

  • New federal science impact tracker called The Cost of Cutting American Science
  • Registration is now open for the Writing for Impact & Influence course offered this fall by American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).
  • Postdoc talk submissions open for AAAS 2027 conference due August 4th
  • AAAS/Arizona State University Prize for Transformational Impact applications due August 15th
  • Call to papers for Ethics and Policy in Neurotech for JMIR
  • Celebrate public servants who protect our public lands: Happy National Parks and Recreation Month! Throughout July, the Partnership for Public Service is spotlighting the public servants who care for our nation’s parks and wildlands, illustrating the challenges they face as the Trump administration’s federal workforce and funding cuts take effect. If this is an issue close to your heart/mission, they invite you to help spread the word on why protecting public lands matters to our families, our economy and the beautiful vistas that make our country special. Use their toolkit which includes social media posts and graphic and additional resources.

DID YOU KNOW? SNAP hosts a community calendar where you can find these events and more!

Want to see your events shared with the SNAP community? Shoot us an email at snapscipolorg@gmail.com, and we will get it posted!

SNAPper Highlights and Achievements

Check out these recent works by SNAP members and works mentioning SNAP members or initiatives!

  • The Science Policy Group at UCSF, a SNAP member organization, was awarded the 2026 University of California President’s Award for Outstanding Student Leadership. Check out UCSF’s LinkedIn post here and learn more about SPG’s work here.
  • SNAPpers JP Flores and Kass Fernandez, along with others, published an article in Frontiers in Sociology about the importance of secure science funding for early-career researchers to continue America’s STEM workforce development. You can read it here.
  • Youssef El Gharably’s Op-Ed on Stance on Science was published in Bay to Bay News

Know someone who’d like to receive this newsletter? Have them join our Google Group Listserv. Email snapscipolorg@gmail.com with questions about SNAP or if you’d like to join our Slack.