Science-informed policies and decision-making are critical to ensuring a healthy, prosperous, and equitable future. Relationships of trust between scientists and policymakers are foundational to science-informed decision-making. We must work towards an ecosystem where the expertise of scientists and engineers is put to work collaboratively with policymakers and communicators to better identify and address future challenges and opportunities. Whether climate change, public health, or the responsible use of artificial intelligence, science alone cannot solve the most pressing issues of our time. Only when scientists and policy-makers trust and collaborate with one another at the local, national, and global levels can the greatest challenges of our time be overcome.
The 2025 AAAS Annual Meeting—Science Shaping Tomorrow— invites us to celebrate and strengthen the projects and collaborations among science, policy, and communication that already exist and promote the infusion of scientific and technical expertise into the public discourse and policymaking. We will highlight not only the responses to challenges and crises, but also marvel at what our future could be.