The State of Equitable Science in Federal Agencies

Science plays a fundamental role in how agencies develop effective public health and safety protections, such as from toxic chemicals, climate change impacts, and pollution. Federal agencies have a responsibility to adhere to independent science to inform policy decisions not only for the public, but for the environment. However, the politicization of science and exclusion of federal scientists' voices can undermine science-based health protections and create a federal work environment that can impair scientists' abilities to fulfill their duties.

To examine the connection between science-based policy making and political interference, we administered a survey to tens of thousands of federal scientists, across seven federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), on issues related to workplace environment, political interference, and equity and justice. We compared these results to prior surveys conducted in 2015 and 2018. We also examined how federal scientists perceive their agencies incorporate impacts to underserved communities in scientific work. By assessing potential barriers to science-based and equitable decision-making at federal agencies across three presidential administrations, we found that there is a strong connection between scientific integrity and political leadership. We provide several recommendations on how science-based agencies can strengthen their scientific integrity policies to ensure that robust science-based decision-making underlines our public health and environmental policies.