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Professional development workshops
CSaP's professional development workshops are designed to demonstrate, through worked examples, the value of building links between evidence, expertise and policy making; to create networking opportunities between researchers and policy professionals; and to share and inspire good practice for evidence-informed policy making.
We have a track record of working with government departments and the Policy Profession; Doctoral Training Centres and Partnerships; research initiatives and learned societies to deliver workshops for early- and mid-career researchers and civil servants across all disciplines.
For more information, please contact Jackie Ouchikh, Head of Programmes.
9 March 2017, 9am
Professional Development Policy Workshop for researchers in the natural sciences
A one-day workshop covering topics such as earthquakes, volcanic hazards, climate, ecology, conservation and biodiversity.
26 October 2023
Institutional Memory in the Civil Service
On 18 October 2023, Professor Heather Lovell, Professor of Energy and Society at the University of Tasmania, presented her current research programme at the first online seminar for CSaP Policy Fellows in the new academic year, as part of our series, ‘Public Policy and Practice: challenges and opportunities’.
17 July 2023
Adolescent brain development
On 29 June, CSaP invited Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, to give a lecture on adolescent brain development – what we know and what it means for policy. The lecture took place at Trinity College, Cambridge.
22 May 2023
Treading water in the Taiwan Strait: China-Taiwan relations
Professor William Hurst, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development at the Department of Politics and International Studies and Deputy Director for the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, delivered the second of CSaP’s online seminars for Policy Fellows on the theme of Geopolitics: Nationhood, conflict, and identity.
20 February 2023
Uncertainty and expertise in geopolitics, health, and infrastructure
CSaP's Horn Fellowship and members of the Policy Fellowship network met with Cambridge academics to shed light on some the uncertainty witnessed in 2022 and what we might expect to see in 2023.
16 February 2023
Evidence Analysis and Decision-Making in Policy
The Centre for Science and Policy launches a new online course in collaboration with Cambridge Advance Online. The 6-week course will provide learners with analytical tools and frameworks to deeply understand the problems they may be facing, improve their decision-making processes, and produce effective, evidence-based policy solutions.
8 February 2023
Innovating our way to Clean Tech - Insights from Dowling Policy Fellowship meeting
The third meeting of CSaP’s Dowling Policy Fellowship was designed to stimulate discussion around the subject of clean tech, with talks from a variety of academics and innovators from the Cambridge ecosystem.
29 March 2021
Giving Advice to Government: Insights for Early Career Researchers
How should researchers synthesise diverse evidence and construct compelling answers to policy questions? What are the differences between being an honest broker of information and an issue advocate? How can early-career researchers get involved with the world of policy?
28 May 2019
Civil Service Fast-streamers and Scientific Researchers team up at Professional Development Workshop
CSaP's latest professional development workshop brought together Civil Service Science and Engineering Fast Streamers (SEFS) and Early Careers Researchers (ECRs) from the University of Cambridge.
11 May 2019
So you want to work in policy?
Many PhD students and postdocs are uncertain about what career path they want to take. A workshop organised by CSaP for the Earth System Science DTP and EnvEast DTP provided insights to help researchers consider their options.
20 July 2018
Policy Internships Scheme - call open
The research councils organise the Policy Internships Scheme for current research council-funded PhD students to work at host partner organisations on one or more policy topics relevant to both the student and the host.
5 April 2017
Exploring the role of evidence and expertise in effective policy making for environmental science
A CSaP professional development policy workshop for early-career environmental scientists at Cambridge gave them an insight into the role of science, evidence and expertise in public policy.
19 October 2016
Early career researchers discuss the benefits of building connections between science and policy
CSaP organised a talk for early career researchers to gain a better understanding of the role of research in the policy development process.
23 May 2016
Understanding the needs of policy makers
In addition to CSaP's Professional Development Workshops for early- and mid-career researchers, CSaP offers opportunities for PhD students to take up 3-month internships.
14 March 2016
What are the challenges and opportunities for mid-career researchers to engage with policy?
CSaP partnered with Churchill College Cambridge to deliver a workshop which brought together academics in Cambridge who have an interest in taking leadership roles in the scientific community and becoming advisers to government.
10 December 2015
Linking transport, health and wellbeing
A Professional Development Policy Workshop looking at the role of evidence and expertise in making transport policy, with a particular focus on how it can influence health and wellbeing.
26 November 2015
Statesmanship in a scientific age
The greatest challenges facing global leaders and the skills needed for effective leadership in the modern world were examined in a series of events as part of the Churchill Statesmanship Programme 2015.
22 September 2015
How is Big Data research and analysis used to improve public policy and services?
On 18 September 2015, CSaP teamed up with Cambridge Big Data and the Royal Statistical Society to run a workshop exploring how data science and ‘Big Data’ can help inform and improve public policy.
27 April 2015
Professional Development Policy Workshop: Science and 21st Century Leadership
CSaP teamed up with the Churchill Archives Centre to deliver a workshop (as part of the Churchill Statesmanship Programme) to provide junior policy makers and early career researchers with an insight into the role of expertise and evidence in policy making. Speakers from both academia and government were invited discuss their own experiences of gathering and presenting scientific evidence for policy.
16 December 2014
Behavioural Scientists learn about challenges of the policy-making process
45 early-career behavioural scientists gathered in Downing College to learn about the policy environment and the skills needed to interact effectively with policy makers.
10 November 2013
Early-career chemical scientists take on role of 'scientific advisers'
Hosted and sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry, this one-day workshop offered practical advice on how researchers can develop their communication skills and engage with the policy development process.
7 June 2013
Nanotechnology policy: practical advice for early-career researchers
On 3 June, CSaP partnered with the Cambridge NanoDTC and the Royal Society of Chemistry to host a career development day for PhD students interested in nanotechnology policy.
1 November 2012
Scientists and policy makers advise early-career researchers
Communicate, join networks, develop lasting relationships and build trust: these were just some of the recommendations put forward by a distinguished line up of computer scientists and policy makers at the CSaP Professional Development Policy Workshop for early-career technology researchers on 31 October.
20 September 2012
CSaP Junior Associate Fellows start placements in Government
CSaP explores opportunities for early-career researchers to contribute to the policy process
3 May 2012
Professional Development Policy Seminar for Health Scientists
On 3 May 2012 the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) held a professional development policy seminar, in partnership with the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) and the Cambridge Institute of Public Health (IPH).
9 December 2011
Professional Development Policy Seminar for Engineers
In December, CSaP and the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge co-hosted a Professional Development Policy Seminar for early-career engineers. Co-sponsored by the IET, 32 researchers from 7 universities heard from engineering experts and policy professionals on the opportunities and realities of engaging with policy.
For Marcus Pelenu, a PhD student at the Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering, this seminar resulted in a work placement in the Cabinet Office.
11 November 2011
Professional Development Policy Seminar for Biologists
11 November saw CSaP host its second professional development seminar for early career biologists. The day-long seminar offered insights into the opportunities, and the associated challenges, for university academics to engage in science policy at the level of UK government.
18 November 2010
Professional Development Policy Seminar
A number of key posts in Government are held by people who spent most of their careers as academics. These advisers and policy makers are brought into the civil service because of the knowledge that they bring to policy issues, even if they do not have a practical knowledge of policy. Consequently, the transition from university academic to government civil servant can be quite a challenge.