Findings and Recommendations - Science For Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead - page 182

 Promote rotations through its laboratories and through the laboratories
of other federal agencies and scientific organizations as valuable training experi-
ences for new scientists in the areas of environmental health, science, and engi-
neering.
 Expand opportunities for internal networking, including opportunities
for scientists and engineers to work between programs and offices.
 Encourage scientists and engineers to work in interdisciplinary teams
and in new ways to provide expertise where it is needed in a timely fashion.
 Implement programs to help scientists and engineers to acquire new
skills and expertise throughout their careers, including educational opportunities,
sabbaticals, and other kinds of leave, and laboratory rotations.
 Provide opportunities for agency scientists to interact with colleagues
in other agencies, in universities, in nonprofit organizations, and in the private
sector; such opportunities could include workshops, roundtables, participation in
traditional research conferences, and long-term exchanges with or as visiting
scientists.
 Promote the visibility and recognition of scientific excellence across its
divisions, programs, and locations by enhancing and highlighting its featured
research and awards programs.
 Assess its current policies for retaining and hiring civil service employ-
ees. The agency must be nimble and must be able to easily hire or reassign em-
ployees to make sure it has specific expertise to understand emerging challenges
and make use of new tools, technologies, and approaches in the appropriate of-
fices, regions, and laboratories at the appropriate time.
Economic, social, behavioral, and decision sciences can make important
contributions to improving environmental policy decisions within the emerging
integrated systems-based approach to environmental management. They can
also make contributions to supporting innovative strategies for achieving envi-
ronmental goals efficiently, equitably, and cooperatively. Behavioral and deci-
sion sciences are particularly essential in dealing with such issues as “framing
effects”, cognitive heuristics, risk communication, and the design and assess-
ment of the likely effectiveness of alternative regulatory strategies.
Finding: EPA's economic, social, behavioral, and decision science staff consists
almost entirely of economists. The agency is without strong expertise in social,
behavioral, and decision sciences, though it does support some research in these
areas through outside grants, collaborations, and procurement.
Recommendation 3b: The committee recommends that EPA add staff who
have training in behavioral and decision sciences and find ways to enhance
the existing staff capabilities in these fields.
Options that EPA might explore to fulfill that recommendation include: