Comment: Academia must engage the policy process — and here is how

Prof. Sarah Okonkwo, an executive editor of Materia, argues that the scientific community has a responsibility to engage with policy-making processes — not as advocates for specific outcomes, but as honest brokers of evidence. Drawing on her experience advising the African Union on energy infrastructure, Prof. Okonkwo outlines five practical principles for effective science-policy engagement: know your audience, frame your evidence in terms of decision-relevant questions, acknowledge uncertainty transparently, build relationships before you need them, and accept that evidence is one input among many in democratic decision-making.