Idaho Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program Expands
February 09, 2022
MOSCOW, Idaho — Feb. 9, 2022 — The Idaho Science and Technology Policy Fellowship (ISTPF) is proud to announce a $482,888 multi-year grant award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The ISTPF is a nonpartisan program that places scientists, social scientists and engineers in state government to learn firsthand about policymaking while using their knowledge and skills to address pressing challenges facing Idaho. The program welcomed its first cohort of fellows in August 2020 and its second class of fellows in August 2021.
The ISTPF is a partnership among Idaho’s three public research universities — Boise State University, Idaho State University and University of Idaho — with the James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research serving as the lead partner.
Funding from the Moore Foundation will broaden the scope of the ISTPF, supporting ISTP fellow placements in the legislative branch. These ISTP fellows will spend their fellowship year under the guidance of Idaho’s Legislative Services Office (LSO), working with LSO to respond to legislator requests for in-depth research on public policy topics.
By providing scientists, social scientists and engineers with experience in policy research, the ISTPF cultivates future leaders who understand government and the policymaking process.
“Idaho is one of only a handful of states with a year-long science and technology policy fellowship program. The expansion of the ISTPF, made possible by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, will allow the Legislative Services Office to benefit from having additional research resources to respond to legislator requests on a number of important topics including infrastructure, water, workforce development, economics, and population growth, while providing the ISTP fellow with valuable insights to the policymaking process,” said Paul Headlee, deputy director of the Legislative Services Office.
Idaho is one of nine states that received planning grants from the California Council for Science and Technology, Moore Foundation and Simons Foundation, in 2017. Since then, the ISTPF has secured funding from businesses, foundations, governments, Idaho’s public research universities and private contributions.
For more information about the Moore Foundation, visit Moore.org and follow the foundation @MooreFound.
To learn more about the ISTPF, see uidaho.edu/istpf
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Media Contact:
Katherine Himes
Director, James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research
University of Idaho
208-364-4549
katherinehimes@uidaho.edu
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho, home of the Vandals, is Idaho’s land-grant, national research university. From its residential campus in Moscow, U of I serves the state of Idaho through educational centers in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Idaho Falls, nine research and Extension centers, plus Extension offices in 42 counties. Home to nearly 11,000 students statewide, U of I is a leader in student-centered learning and excels at interdisciplinary research, service to businesses and communities, and in advancing diversity, citizenship and global outreach. U of I competes in the Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences. Learn more at uidaho.edu.