Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Researchers communicating their research to policymakers

What can the new government do to strengthen academic-policy engagement?

Following Labour’s landslide victory, all eyes will be on the new government to see how it will respond to current issues within higher education

Sarah Chaytor , Laura Bea, Chris Hewson

Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Life cycle assessment depicted by icons on wooden balls.

Circular impact: a call to action for research on grand societal challenges

How to enact a ‘circular’ approach to research and impact so outcomes feed back into the work to inform ongoing planning and improvement

Ryan Nolan

University of Exeter, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Insight on parliamentary inquiries and lobbying

Parliamentary inquiries and lobbying explained

Martin Smith offers an overview of parliamentary inquiries and lobbying for academics, looking at who is involved, how effective it can be and what results it can offer beyond direct policy change

Martin Smith

Goldsmiths, University of London, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

How to improve PhD student well-being

How to change research cultures to support the well-being of PhD students

From providing mental health champions to simply having honest conversations about expectations and pressure, there’s much that can be done to help students

Imelda Bates

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Woman speaking in front of room

My experience of speaking in front of a select committee

Nicola Searle shares lessons for academics on speaking in front of a parliamentary select committee, to provide insight on topics linked to your research

Nicola Searle

Goldsmiths, University of London, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Image of a grand government building

Writing and presenting reports for government: five dos and five don’ts

A guide for academics on the dos and don’ts of writing and presenting research reports designed to inform policymakers

Naresh Pandit

University of East Anglia, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Five steps for engaging policymakers with research

Five steps for engaging policymakers with research

Five pointers to help researchers get policymakers interested in their work, based on a guide co-created by government and academics from the University of Leeds

Ben Walmsley

University of Leeds, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Group high five

Does the UK need an observatory for university engagement with policymakers?

Any such project would need to guard against numerous pitfalls, but the benefits in terms of bringing together various initiatives and engendering new skills could be great

Jonathan Breckon , Sarah Chaytor , Kayleigh Renberg-Fawcett

Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE), Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), University College London

No one in academia can agree on what research leadership looks like

No one agrees on what research leadership is, let alone how to do it well

The academy has no common idea of what research leadership really is, why it’s important or what good practice looks like. That needs to change, says Matthew Flinders

Matthew Flinders

University of Sheffield, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

A family embarking on a journey

When refuge isn’t safe: uncovering real-life stories to shape policy

Human stories that feed into research can be a powerful tool for driving policy change but need careful and sensitive handling, as Lizzie Kirsch explains

Lizzie Kirsch

University of Birmingham, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Strengthen research capacity: how do we do it?

What does ‘strengthen research capacity’ actually mean, and how can we do it?

Leaders of research consortia face a difficult task in carrying out research and improving research capacity, but embedding a specialist team to make recommendations provides great gains

Imelda Bates , Justin Pulford , Lorelei Silvester

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Image depicting the need for the public to understand evidence and fact

How to improve the public understanding of evidence

The ability to critically analyse information and differentiate fact from fiction is a skill needed far beyond higher education. So how can academics trained in evaluating evidence engage the wider public in this important process?

Rebecca Dewey

University of Nottingham, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)