From 6-8 September, 2017, GYA member Roberta D’Alessandro attended a Summer School on Evidence and Policy, co-organised by the EU Joint Research Council (JRC) and the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) and the Slovac Academy of Sciences (SAS).
The topic of the summer school was Migration and Demographic Change. Roberta took masterclasses on how to read and interpret migration data; modeling and forecasting demographic phenomena; understanding and communicating uncertainty; demography; and interdisciplinary approaches to policy issues. Overall, the summer school was a very formative experience.
The take-home message is: Good scientific advice must be timely, realistic, reliable, simple, and concise: max 2-3 page long. Pawel Busiakiewicz, a keynote speaker from the Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission, emphasised: “Scientists should not discredit the problems posed by society and policy makers”.
