Wonderful academics

First post!!
Should I be tentative?? Or oh-so-bold??

Well, I'll just jump right in and talk about the world of academia. Having worked in local government for a short time and then returning to academia, I really do wish the two would listen to each other more. This is a train of thought that is likely to reappear time and time again but I'll keep it relatively calm this time.

The interaction between the worlds of academia and policy are both beginning to realise that they do need each other and it isn't just a one-way process. That's how academics, generally, have been able to establish a 'greater-than-thou' view of policy makers - the fact that science has previously been passed down to policy and rarely does information go back again.

The timeframes that each field work under is unbelievably different. Policy makers have a vast number of responsibilities. This, of course, shapes their views, how much resource (time, effort and money) they can invest in establishing an in-depth understanding and therefore they may not understand an area of science as well as academics would like them to.

Academics, on the other hand, are researching to extend their own and their field's knowledge. Policy makers rarely have chance to express what is needed to be known (I'm generalising hugely here) so scientific research can be lost to the 'real world' and become increasingly, and solely, for the academic audience.

How to bridge the gap?? Research councils are investing a lot into this at the moment. And things are changing - slowly - but they are. It could take a few years, a decade or longer. But there are actually very few areas of science that don't somehow link and are relevant to policy. When I tried to come up with any - I think I had to go into space...