Finding patterns in policy questions

To help advance exchanges between science and policy, a useful first step is to examine the questions which policymakers pose to scientists. The style of a question indicates what the asker is motivated to know, and how they might use that knowledge. Therefore, the aggregate pattern of typical policy inquires can help scientists anticipate what types of information policy audiences desire. A dataset (n = 2972) of questions from policymakers collected over 10 years (2011–2021)—by the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge—was classified into one of seven classes. In the main, the most popular questions posed by policymakers—within the public and private sectors—were those whose answers inform how to achieve specific outcomes—whether directly, or by providing a causal analysis which is instrumental to this process. Moreover, this seems to be a general aspect of policymakers’ inquiries, given that it is preserved regardless of the policy issue considered (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Economy, or Health). Thus, maximizing the usefulness of the information that policymakers receive when engaging with scientists requires informing how to achieve specific outcomes—directly, or by providing a useful causal analysis.