EGU Science for Policy Hangout

Join us on the first Monday of every month to discuss how researchers can more effectively engage with policymaking, get the scoop on upcoming science for policy opportunities, and virtually mingle in a relaxed, informal environment. You’ll be met with people working at the science-policy interface as well as others who may be interested in doing so!

Each Hangout will feature an expert who is working at the interface of science and policy before dividing participants into breakout rooms to virtually network and continue the discussion! A few conversation starters will be provided to start the breakout room discussions, but participants should feel free to “go with the flow” and talk about other topics of interest.

On Monday, 6 October, our guest speaker will be Gustė Gurčinaitė, a doctoral candidate in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford and the first Lithuanian to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Gustė’s work focuses on connecting academic research with public policy to support an equitable and resilient clean energy transition in Europe. Her research employs qualitative, participatory, systems thinking, and action-oriented methods to bring practitioner perspectives into academic debates on just transition policy. She has also served as the EU’s Young Energy Ambassador (2024–2025), where she contributed youth perspectives to clean energy discussions within the European Commission’s Energy Directorate-General and the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency.

Drawing on her research, Gustė will speak on:
“Rethinking the research–policy pipeline: co-producing knowledge with practitioners for just climate transitions.”

Her talk will address:

• Why rethinking the research–policy relationship is necessary, with a focus on centring practitioner perspectives in climate and energy policy research to increase impact.
• Research designs that can bridge academic and policy knowledge, including elite interviews, participatory research, and action research.
• The critiques and challenges of engaging policy elites in research, particularly questions of representation, legitimacy, and power dynamics.

Register for this online event here.

If you have any questions about ‘EGU Science for Policy Hangout’, please contact us via webinars@egu.eu.