PDF versionAGI’s Geoscience Policy and Critical Issues programs create opportunities for interaction and dialogue between geoscientists and decision makers.
On Capitol Hill
Communicating with your representatives is an important part of being an active and responsible citizen. Your Representative and Senators have been elected to serve you, and they need to know what you, their constituent, believe are the important issues. Visits to your member, either in Washington or within the state or district, are generally the most effective way to explain your position. Visits are not, however, always feasible and a well-reasoned personal letter is another practical way to get your message across. The following information is meant to serve as a resource for helping you better communicate with Congress.
Communicate with Congress
Congressional Visits Days
Take along a Geoscience in Your State factsheet to discuss with your representative.
State & Local Events
AGI Critical Issues Forums bring together leading experts from academia, government, industry, and other groups to discuss topics at the intersection of geoscience and public policy. The Forums highlight the essential role that geoscience information plays in policy decisions at all levels from the global to the local. These events, started in 2014, showcase the societal relevance of the geosciences to a broad audience while also providing opportunities for dialog and networking between geoscientists and decision makers at all levels.
See our past Forums here.
Online Events
We host regular free webinars on hot topics in geoscience research, policy, and communication. All of our webinars involve interactive Q&A sessions, and recordings of our webinars are available online. Sign up to our mailing list to hear about upcoming webinars.
Opportunities at AGI
AGI’s Geoscience Policy and Critical Issues programs offer paid internships and a congressional fellowship for geoscience students and recent graduates interested in promoting the use of geoscience in policymaking.
Interns gain a first-hand understanding of science policy at the federal and/or state and local level. They also hone their writing, research, and web publishing skills as they develop content for the Policy & Critical Issues website and for outreach efforts to federal, state and local policy makers.
The programs offer a congressional fellowship: the William L. Fisher Congressional Geoscience Fellow spends a year working in Washington D.C. as a staff member in the office of a member of Congress or on a congressional committee.