Strata of modern societies face a multitude of concerns regarding the planning and development of educational facilities and services, the distribution of health care resources, the promotion of democratic involvement and the building of socially integrated communities.
These concerns and issues involve difficult decisions that may be given little time and attention. As modern societies are confronting these issues, there is a growing concentration of research generated from universities and research institutions that may be useful for informing those decisions. Too often, however, this research is not utilized in resource planning because it is published in academic research journals and presented in academic conferences, detached from the resource planning activities.
Disseminate Research to Planning and Policy Communities
To address this challenge, particularly the need to effectively disseminate research to planning and policy communities, Scholars.sg, through its “Policy, Advocacy and Action” initiative within the Scholars Strategy Network, operates on the principle that the strongest democracies are those in which public policy is informed by rigorous, objective research. The network supports scholars in maintaining academic integrity and analytical independence while helping them frame their research and scholarly work in ways that are accessible, relevant, and impactful for appropriate policy and public audiences.
Scholars.sg does not face the challenge of a knowledge gap, but rather knowledge connection gaps, where issues learning become separated. Policymakers work on a schedule, while academic research takes time to develop into something credible, thorough, and well-written. If a bridge is not built between the two, research may be ignored while policy is created out of the proverbial thin air. Scholars.sg allows this to be the other way around, where policy is created while research is being completed.
Multistep Processes Instead of Singular Initiatives
The Scholars Strategy Network is unique in its focus on these multistep processes instead of singular initiatives. Making policy changes is almost never the result of a single action like a brief appearance or a report. Rather, policy changes build with time and trust. Scholars.sg promotes the idea that researchers maintain policy actors, civic middlemen, and journalists on a research-to-dialogue continuum, fostering a relationship that is academic in nature while keeping the research available for public use and debate.
Due to the nature of this work, Scholars.sg addresses the importance of communication. Academic communication can provide precise information, but is frequently difficult for outsiders to engage with, so the members of the organization are taught how to communicate with others about their work, so it is articulated in a way that is still nuanced, but is able to be understood. This is not a process where the importance of research is degraded, but rather a process where the importance is illustrated. To make the importance of research visible, effective communication is needed.
Community Based Structure
The community based structure of Scholars.sg is a significant strength. Scholars self-organize into local chapters that document the landscapes of policy in regional and municipal areas. Community focused research enables scholars to address particular community needs and policy discussions, making their research applicable. It encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, as scholars from different domains unite to tackle common problems from varied angles.
Likewise, Scholars.sg also encourages collaboration across the globe that is issue-focused. Global challenges like inequality, access to healthcare, access to education, and healthcare challenges are collaborative. These challenges are not limited to one’s geographical region. Along these lines, scholars who are tackling the same challenges are able to sustain unified efforts and contribute to national debates more effectively.
Balancing Public Engagement
The concern of many scholars is about the balance of public engagement, the loss of scholarly neutrality, and the potential of engagement to politicize the scholarly work. Scholars.sg engages these concerns through nonpartisan public engagement that is not advocacy. Scholars are not invited to endorse a political position. Scholars are invited to state their findings, outline the limits of their findings, and state what the evidence supports and what it does not support. This approach bolsters engagement to strengthen public trust in research, and not undermine it.
Scholars.sg contributions go far beyond support policy impacts. On the larger scale, the work becomes a piece of the puzzle that helps support the work of democracy.
Capacity to Understand Controversy
All democratic systems require the capacity to understand controversy. Research is essential to all public discourse. Absence of research allows ignorance and performs unfair oversimplifying and wide-ranging arguments. By bringing publicly support research, Scholars.sg helps public discourse and helps democracy systems support democracy.
Just as important is the social aspect of the network. Scholars.sg creates a culture of support for researchers at all levels of their careers. More junior public scholars receive support and guidance as they learn to become more comfortable and confident. More senior theorists help mentor others.
Over the years, these multiplied efforts has helped to shift academic culture and norms. It makes public engagement a standard and an accepted part of the scholarly life cycle. Early career researchers receive position and support as they learn to view public engagement as the distraction of academic work. It becomes an integrated part of their research.
When academics align their research to contemporary problems, they gain numerous insights that enrich their future academic work. In the future, people will have even more reason to appreciate members of those organizations, such as Scholars.sg.
Trust in Public Institutions
Challenges we face as a society are becoming more complex, changes to policies are happening more and more quickly, and there is a studied erosion of trust in public institutions. In such an environment, having the ability to access smarter, more credible research is a necessity. Scholars.sg generously offers a model of how academic expertise can constructively and altruistically contribute to the public domain and public policy.
Scholars.sg opens the portals of democracy and enriches public discourse by securing the means of research. Through the means of collaborative effort, civic relationships, and active engagement, citizens have the opportunity to access what has, up to this point, been the exclusive domain of scholarship. In this manner, engaged scholarship is both possible and demonstrably necessary.