Focus on Bridging Research to Policy Locally
The Civic SciTech Traineeship is designed to help early career scientists and technologists develop and hone the necessary skills required for careers in policy while also building foundational knowledge of how governments and non-profits work. Civic SciTech Trainees conduct research, analyze data, and provide recommendations for their host organizations working alongside faculty and host mentors.
Experiential Learning
Trainees engage in practical, hands-on experiential learning supported through ongoing mentoring and skill development. Teams of up to four trainees are partnered with host offices from city, municipal, county or other local government or non-profits to focus on a project of the host office’s choosing over a period of six months.
Mentorship
In addition to completing a project, participants are partnered with science and technology policy practitioners who have worked in local, state, or federal government to help participants learn more about and navigate alternative career pathways.
Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Growing Program
We launched our pilot Civic SciTech project with the City of Allentown in October 2024. Trainees researched urban citizen science efforts in comparable cities around the country and conducted interviews to learn how to enhance climate resilience through urban greening and public engagement. Our host's Laura Ballek Cole, the Manager of Civic Innovation, and Veronika Vostinak, Sustainability Coordinator, mentored Trainees in their work alongside Patricia Gruver-Barr, COPA-STEP Director.
Our next cohort of Trainees is working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation conducting research and analyzing data on the Environmental Stewardship Fund and its impacts on Pennsylvania's waters alongside our host mentors, Dr. Christine Kirchhoff, LPE Director and Patricia Gruver-Barr. The goal of this project is to develop insights from analysis of past ESF investments to inform recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the ESF.
Featured in the News
“Students are looking for ways to bolster soft skills and competencies to get more experience in science policy, and, currently, there are not a ton of ways for them to do that within their degree programs,” Kirchhoff said. “The Civic SciTech Traineeship can fill a void for students across all colleges seeking more experience in government and policymaking.”
View the article
City of Allentown Study
Participants in the inaugural cohort of the Civic SciTech Traineeship shared findings from their project with the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in a report titled “Building Climate Resilience Through Urban Greening and Public Engagement in Allentown.”
View the reportInterest Form
Are you interested in participating in the Civic Sci Tech Traineeship program as a student, faculty mentor or host organization? If so, please complete the form: