Q: Why did your working group have a symposium last year and issue this report?

Kelsey Miller: We needed clarification across the complex on what the Department of Energy required of human subjects research (HSR) and how to apply the HSR regulations to energy technology and policy research. Mostly, it’s because the people working in this area haven’t done much research with human participants. The regulations were built around the idea of biomedical experiments, so applying it to energy technology and policy research was a significant gap where researchers and human subjects professionals both needed some education.

 

Q: Why did so many labs come together to host the symposium and prepare the report?

A: We were all able to speak to different aspects of the work being performed across the complex because it is different at each of the national labs. However, the symposium as a whole was sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Human Subjects Protection Program in the Office of Science. We are getting ready to hold another symposium a year from now. Next October, you can expect to see a symposium about community-engaged research and how it overlaps with human subjects regulations. It’s an opportunity to focus on the needs of researchers and program managers when designing this work, so we welcome everyone to attend.

 

Q: What surprised you about the last session and then the report? 

A: What surprised me most is how crucial this information is for this group of researchers who want to do things in the best way they can. They want to use these best practices, and it’s just something that they need to become more accustomed to. More resources needed to be available to both researchers and program managers. Some of these basic topics, like how to write a protocol, get glossed over and not talked about as broadly, and resources need to be provided regularly. So, we wanted to ensure that this report mapped out the essential elements of what people need to know and gave real examples of these best practices in action, making human subjects research more approachable.

 

Q: Have the energy research areas used human subjects before, or is this a relatively new area of research? 

A: Historically, many human subjects-related projects have been throughout the Department of Energy. If we think back, there was a lot of concern about nuclear testing and its impacts on humans. And there were a lot of missteps in the past. The social science aspect of research, I think, is newer to the Department of Energy. It hasn’t been a primary focus. Still, with energy justice and the increased understanding of the inequities that exist in our energy systems, the perspective from communities and making sure that we’re engaging people in the right way and asking the right questions to drive the deployment of these technologies has become a key focus at the Department of Energy. We have seen a large increase in the funding opportunities for this community engagement piece.

 

Q: You touched on funding opportunities because they are important to many people. How will reading the symposium report and seeking your guidance help researchers write better proposals to get funding?

A: When we look at these competitive funding proposals, we see they’re asking for a lot of elements about engaging diverse communities, such as PIER plans, Community Benefits Plans, and other interactions with community stakeholders. If you incorporate some of these best practices at the very early stage of the proposal, it will be much stronger and more likely to get funded. We can show you how they can be incorporated efficiently and effectively into the larger study design that you’re creating. I think this resource will be a great opportunity. It has a lot of background material on what is needed in communities, the types of interactions that are missing historically, and how we can be a part of working together to make this the new age of energy justice. 

 

Q: What additional resources can your office provide for those who have questions?

A: We have a lot of resources and contacts. We’re always here for you to ask questions and are happy to inform your proposals and study designs as needed in the early stages. And we’re also here to make those connections. Between the HARC Office and our committee members who conduct this kind of research, we know a lot of people throughout the complex and academia who do similar work. These people can help you with your design or if you’re looking for a collaborator. We are well-positioned to assist with the social science aspects of the larger, more technical projects we’re working on to provide researchers with a broader perspective.

 

Q: Do you have office hours?

A: We have office hours on Mondays from 2 to 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 to 10 a.m., and if those times don’t work for you, you can always reach out, and I can make myself available to meet with people as needed.

 

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