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InterPore News featuring Science, Policy and Diplomacy… and Science!

Sent on: 12-09-2025

Dear InterPore colleagues,

A few years back, I started working for the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, an independent research institute (lots of science!) but also a ‘trusted advisor’ to the Dutch government. Up to that point, I never really considered the connection between my scientific endeavours and formal policy, apart from the mandatory society relevance-sections in proposals…

However, these days I do have to take existing policy (EU directives, Dutch laws) into account when designing research that answers policymaker questions and follow the political news (e.g. the failure of the INC 5.2 Global Plastic Treaty negotiations), however frustrating that can be (like spending an entire day finding that single space that completely ruins the simulation code!).

Curious (about policy)? Check the item on policy and diplomacy!

All the best,

Matthijs de Winter
Editor-in-Chief
InterPore News