Science, Technology & Engineering Policy Group
 
 

Science Policy Networking Event

 

White Paper Competition 2011

Congratulations to the winners of the STEP 2011 White Paper Competition!

First Place:  Using Demand Management to Address the Problem of Intermittent Water Supply: A Case Study of the Capellanía Water System in Panama, by John Erickson

Second Place:  Requirements for a Renewables Revolution, by Felix Mormann

Third Place & Travel Grant Recipient:  Power for Water: Safe Water Access through Inline Micro Hydropower for Mountain Development, by Marc Muller & Michele Müller‐Itten

The prizes were awarded at the White Paper Competition Finalists' Symposium on April 21 by a panel of expert judges comprising:

  • Brian Burr (Lawyer specialized in biotech, software and technology companies)
  • Daniel Fletcher (Professor, Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley)
  • Rafael Friedmann (Senior Policy Analyst, PG&E)

The 2011 White Paper Competition was sponsored by Pfizer, Inc.
This event was held in collaboration with Big Ideas @ Berkeley.
Big Ideas @ Berkeley



Competition Information

Overview
Individuals or teams are invited to submit a short White Paper on the interplay between high-impact technologies and public policy. The competition is open to students enrolled at participating universities, including: UC Berkeley, UCSF, UC Davis, and Stanford. Finalists will be invited to present their papers at the Finalists Presentation and Awards Ceremony, which will take place on the UC Berkeley Campus in April 2011. The winning papers' author(s) will receive cash prizes. Over $3,000 will be awarded this year to Bay area undergraduate students, graduate students and postdocs. The Intent to Submit deadline is February 14, 2011.
The final submission deadline is March 14, 2011.

Prompt
Your essay should explore the interplay between an emergent or existing technology and pressing regional, national, or global policy needs. Suggested essay formats include:

Identify a problem in society and evaluate possible solutions, including at least one technological solution.
-OR -
Identify a technology that is causing a problem and explore policy solutions.

You may additionally write a short proposal (related to your white paper and less than one page) on a political figure, advisor and/or expert that you would like to meet and why. We will award several grants of up to $500 each for travel to meet with these experts and discuss your paper and ideas. Successful travel grant applicants typically provide a compelling reason for traveling and propose to meet with several individuals.

Awards
Bay Area Student and Postdoc awards: First place: $2,000; Second place: $1,000; Third place: $500; Up to two travel grants: $500 each.

Awards will only be granted if there are high-quality submissions.

Information Session
STEP organizes a White Paper Competition information session on the Berkeley Campus on January 24 (See Timeline). Students have an opportunity to get advice from a panel of former competition winners and receive an overview of guidelines from the competition organizers.

Powerpoint presentation from the session can be downloaded here.

Timeline
January 24, 2011 (5-6 pm): White Paper Competition Info Session, UC Berkeley Campus, 621 Stanley Hall
February 14, 2011 (5 pm): Intent to Submit Deadline
March 14, 2011 (5 pm): Final Submission deadline
April 1, 2011: Finalists announced
April 21, 2011 (6:30-8:30 pm): Finalist presentations and Awards Ceremony, UC Berkeley Campus, 106 Stanley Hall

Guidelines
We recommend that you answer the following questions in your paper:
What is the problem? What is your supporting evidence that this problem exists?
What are some proposed solutions?
What criteria did you use to compare solutions?
Why is your solution the best?
What are the tradeoffs, uncertainties, and risks of your solution?

White Papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1) Supporting Science: The clarity with which the supporting science is explained. The relevance of the science to the stated problem. The efficacy of the technology in addressing the problem.
2) Supporting Policy Analysis: Demonstrated understanding of the policy problem. Is the issue significant and supported by evidence?
3) Effectiveness of the Proposed Solution: The clarity and detail with which the solution is explained. Thorough development of the solution, including consideration of the positive and negative implications of implementation. Does the solution seem optimal?
4) Originality: Original ideas and new contributions to the existing debate. Successful submissions are based on documented research, but what are the new ideas or information that you have brought to the discussion?

Specifications
The paper can be from 2 to 8 pages in length. The 8-page limit is just for the body of the paper and does not include references or the abstract. The abstract should be a maximum of 300 words, but is non-binding for the final submission. Collaboration between students in science, engineering, social science, and policy is encouraged but not required.

Papers can have up to three authors. The competition is open to undergraduate students*, graduate students and postdocs who are enrolled at participating universities, including: UC Berkeley, UCSF, UC Davis, and Stanford. We encourage students from other universities to participate as well. If you are interested in participating and are not enrolled at one of these universities, please email step.whitepapergmail.com.

*Undergraduate authors wishing to compete must be enrolled at UC Berkeley.

If you wish to be considered for a travel grant as well, submit a brief proposal (related to your white paper and less than one page) on a political figure, advisor, or expert that you would like to meet and why. If you have any questions email step.whitepapergmail.com.

Submission Instructions
If you intend to submit a paper, please e-mail an abstract of no more than 300 words and proposed title for your submission as well as your expected team members, e-mail addresses, and affiliations to step.whitepapergmail.com as soon as possible. Put "STEP Intent to Submit" in the title line. Only one e-mail is needed per team. This is non-binding and will ensure you are kept up to date with information on the competition. The Intent to Submit deadline is February 14, 2011.

Please submit essays electronically in pdf or doc format by 5pm on March 14, 2011 to step.whitepapergmail.com. Put "STEP Paper Submission" in the subject line. The name of the file should be the last name of one of the authors. On the cover page, include all authors' contact information, affiliation, and your abstract. We reserve the right to use this paper for the purposes of the STEP group, unless otherwise specified and approved.

Finalist Seminar
All submissions will first be evaluated by a panel of student judges. This student panel will score the submissions, provide general comments and select finalists to participate in the finalist seminar. Finalists will be notified and provided with their scoring sheets on April 1, 2011. On April 21, 2011, finalists will asked to present their proposals to a panel of faculty and expert judges, who will determine the final placement of each submission.

Notes from 2009 Science Writing Workshop

  • Greg Alushin's notes on Good Science Writing Practices (pdf)
  • Rachel Bernstein's annotated rewrite suggestions (pdf)

Past White Paper Competition Winners


 

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