Resources on Policy Engagement

Numerous avenues, both formal and informal, exist for interacting with the realm of policy and policy makers. Various organisations offer valuable guidance materials and toolkits to help researchers hone the skills needed to engage with policy stakeholders effectively and integrate a policy engagement component into their research endeavours.

Universities Policy Engagement Network: UPEN is a collective of UK universities and policy experts dedicated to enhancing the influence and impact of research on public policy. Explore the UPEN Blogs for insightful discussions on key topics related to policy engagement.

Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement: CAPE comprises a consortium of five UK universities, including the University of Cambridge. Its objective is to enhance the skills and expertise of academics and policy professionals through tailored training programs, fellowships, seed funding, and skill development resources. Their impact toolkits and case studies serve as valuable practical resources for refining your policy engagement abilities.

Research Impact at the UK Parliament: Researchers can work with the Parliament and the Knowledge Exchange Unit to shape and influence policy agenda in a multitude of ways. This can help raise the profile of your research and broaden its dissemination by creating demonstrable impact.

To help researchers understand the current research and evidence needs, the UK Government publishes Areas of Research Interest (ARIs). POST uses ARIs to inform future work and request research contributions.

Engaging Internationally: If you are interested in engaging with policy at an international and intergovernmental level, suggestions for a good place to start are the guidance notes published by OPEN (Oxford Policy Engagement Network) and UCL Public Policy.