+Policy Network

The Science, Technology & Engineering in Policy (STEP) program is a product of Virginia Tech’s +Policy Network (formerly Policy Destination Area). The group emerged out of Virginia Tech’s Beyond Boundaries initiative. Destination Areas integrate natural strengths at the university with novel and innovative strategies to solve local, regional and global problems.

The +Policy Network serves as a dynamic space for faculty and students developing novel approaches to policy development, implementation, and analysis to address complex decisions across multiple settings. Working at the intersection of scientific evidence, governance, and analysis, Network affiliates translate scholarship to practice and examine the interplay between the two.

The research and scholarship, curriculum development, and community engagement efforts of the +Policy Network are guided by a Stakeholder Committee and its working committees as well as collaborations with other transdisciplinary initiatives across Virginia Tech and beyond. The Institute for Society, Culture and Environment (ISCE) is the administrative home of the +Policy Network.