Events: Orientation

New AAAS Fellows are required to attend an eight-day orientation program at the start of the fellowship year. The goal of orientation is to provide Fellows with essential facts about the legislative and executive branches, to help define Fellows' roles and to offer information and contacts that will be useful in their assignments. Bellow is the summary of our September 2007 Orientation Program:

Day 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE FELLOWSHIPS & WASHINGTON, DC

• Overview of Orientation and the Fellowship Year
• The American Experiment in Government
• Speed Bonding Introduction Exercise
• Expectations for Your Fellowship Year/Contrasting Cultures of Science & Public Policy Making

Day 2: MONEY MAKES THE GOVERNMENT GO ROUND!

• Introduction to the Federal Budget
• An Interactive Workshop: Writing an Appropriations Bill
• Luncheon Keynote: Riding the Roller Coaster – Politics and Policy in a Wild Election Cycle
• National Economic Policy

Day 3: THE PRESIDENCY, LEADERSHIP & ETHICS IN POLICYMAKING

• The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• History, The Presidency, and U.S. Public Policy
• Luncheon Keynote: Governing America – Presidential Leadership
• Ethics Policies in the Executive and Legislative Branches

Day 4: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OPERATIONS & THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

• Introduction to the U.S. Congress/A History: The Evolution of Power in Congress
• The Lawmaking Process/The Path of Legislation
• Lunch with a Member of Congress
• I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help You – Understanding the Federal Bureaucracy

Day 5: POLICY DEVELOPMENT, SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS & HOT TOPICS

• Developing, Pitching and Implementing Policy 101
• Policy Development and Promotion Workshop: From Concept to Implementation
• Lobbying in Washington
• What’s Hot and What’s Not in Science & Policy

Day 6: SCIENCE, DIPLOMACY, & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• America's National Security Predicament Today: The Stakes and the Challenges
• The Practice of Diplomacy
• Science and Diplomacy
• Luncheon Keynote: Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats Are Hijacking the Global Economy
• Science and Security: International Opportunities and Challenges

Day 7: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH/EXECUTIVE BRANCH “IN-DEPTH”

• Congressional Fellows: Congressional Research Service Institute for Congressional Science Fellows
• Executive Branch Fellows: Interagency Cooperation
• Being a Science Fellow in an Agency With/Without Scientists
• Challenges and Rewards of Public Service
• Effective Writing in the Executive Branch

Day 8: NON-GOVERNMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS

• Science, Policy, Politics and the Media
• Think Tanks
• Overview of the National Academies
• AAAS: A Voice for Science
• Wrap-Up and What’s Next

Day 9: Congressional and Agency-Specific Orientation