One foot in politics and the other in research

“I started my career as a scientist, but I wanted to get a broader perspective on life and to be more socially involved.” Sandy Litjens did not choose a conventional career path. After obtaining her Chemistry Degree from the University of Nijmegen, and her PhD in Cell Biology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), she chose to make a major career switch. “I joined NKI out of idealism. I wanted to contribute to a cure for cancer. I really liked doing research, but I also found it very narrow. Eventually you end up knowing a lot about just one specialised subject. My research project was also very fundamental, and there were no further practical applications in sight. After her PhD Litjens accepted a post-doc position in human stem cells. After one year she came across a job posting from the Board for Health Research “Raad voor Gezondheidsonderzoek” (RGO). “It was just what I was looking for! The RGO gives advice to Ministers on which areas of research require more attention and more resources. If a Minister adopts the advice he or she will ask ZonMw (the Netherlands for Health Research and Development) to start a programme, and to distribute the funding.”

Scientific Secretary

Sandy works as a Scientific Secretary. After a Minister’s request for an advisory report one of the secretaries of the RGO will take on the project. First, a commission is formed with experts from that particular research field. They will discuss the current situation in the field and decide which areas need to be stimulated and in what order. This is based on the opinions of the experts. “As a Secretary, I guide the process of forming the commission, in which all interest parties need to be represented. We have an extensive database of people who are qualified as commission members, and we use this database to put together a balanced group. After the commission is formed I write the starting document, in which I clearly define the subject of the advice. The commission comes together and starts its discussions. At the end there has to be a consensus, which means I have to write the report over and over again to produce the final document. It takes about a year to finish a report.” In order to make it well rounded Sandy does a lot of desk research. She has frequent contact with the commission members and she speaks to many other experts. She can also call in the help of professional editors.

Politics

“My job involves a lot of politics. The RGO connects science to politics. We can only give advice, and it is then up to the Ministries to follow the advice or not. You have to notify the officials that advice will be given shortly, otherwise they cannot incorporate it into their programme, and will not take it into consideration.” Sandy must also be politically correct towards the commission members. In the first place, they all want to have their mark on the report, so they all have to be equally named. Besides that all members have their own agenda. “All members of the commission work in a particular research field, and they all want to promote their own interests. To make sure that I don’t get caught up in the politics I always have to check with other experts if the statements the commission members have made are objective. It’s a big challenge working in this high-powered arena, and I really enjoy it.”

The RGO also has the prerogative to give advice without being asked for it in the first place. Litjens is currently looking into the subject of stem cell therapies to see if there are possibilities to give some advice on this subject. “This way I have a real influence on what research areas get more funding. Advice that is not requested by a Minister of course demands more lobby work. You have to convince the officials that more scientific research in a certain area is actually needed.”

Job requirements

Sandy has no background in policy making, but that is not required for her position. “They specifically asked for a PhD degree in science, probably because it is important that you have an established network within the research community, and also your own scientific background. One of my colleagues has a background in Physics, for example, and another in Sociology.”

For this job you need to read, analyse and write in a structured manner. Those are the main skills you have to master. “What I like most about this job is that I get a good overview of a research field, and that I really have some influence on what research will be done and which aspect will get more funding. What I also like is that I get to talk to many people, and that I have a lot of freedom. I can plan my own activities and my own schedule. This is also how I used to work in my former positions as a post-doc and a PhD candidate, and I am glad that I still have this possibility. It does not matter how I do it, the result is what counts.”