{"id":2375,"date":"2024-07-11T09:57:51","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T08:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2024-07-11T10:10:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T09:10:28","slug":"enhancing-mission-led-government-by-unlocking-academic-expertise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/2024\/07\/11\/enhancing-mission-led-government-by-unlocking-academic-expertise\/","title":{"rendered":"Enhancing mission-led government by unlocking academic expertise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Dunne<\/a> is Policy Engagement Manager in the IPR and has been involved in the development of the Bath Policy Engagement Academy guides and resources. He previously worked in the press office at the University and is a graduate of the IPR\u2019s MSc Public Policy.<\/em><\/p>\n

As a new UK government is sworn in and MPs get to work, now is an opportune time for academics to consider afresh how their research and expertise might contribute to public policymaking in the UK.<\/p>\n

The commitments set out by Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s party during the election provide an important overview of the issues most likely to be occupying Ministers\u2019 in-trays. Yet, whilst Labour\u2019s manifesto was big on ideas, it was also short on detail.<\/p>\n

As this recent Times Higher Education<\/em><\/a> article suggests, this \u2018policy vacuum\u2019 now offers opportunities for researchers to help \u2018put flesh on the bones of what Labour is wanting to achieve.\u2019<\/p>\n

So, what does the new government want to achieve, what inputs or challenges could researchers provide, and where do they start?<\/p>\n

Mission critical <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the campaign, a strong focus was placed on \u2018mission-driven government\u2019. According to its manifesto<\/a>, \u2018this means raising our sights as a nation and focusing on ambitious, measurable, long-term objectives that provide a driving sense of purpose for the country.\u2019<\/p>\n

These objectives can be summarised as five core \u2018missions\u2019 - or long-term strategic aims - to rebuild Britain. To:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Kickstart economic growth<\/li>\n
  2. Make Britain a clean energy superpower<\/li>\n
  3. Take back our streets<\/li>\n
  4. Break down barriers to opportunity<\/li>\n
  5. Build an NHS fit for the future<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As Jill Rutter observes<\/a>, the aim of these missions is to breakdown internal silos and to deliver lasting change. In practice, this will involve greater cross-departmental working and the establishment of new \u2018mission delivery boards\u2019<\/a> which will draw in civil servants and outside experts, to be chaired by the PM.<\/p>\n

    For academics, understanding these core missions and aligning research findings in response to them will be increasingly important. Where research has public policy relevance in the UK, Labour\u2019s missions could become part of a plan for policy engagement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Fresh engagements<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Over the past year at the IPR we have been developing a series of online policy engagement guides to help better connect academics with decision makers. Launched as part of the pilot Bath Policy Engagement Academy<\/a> (BPEA) these set out policy processes and signpost opportunities for engagement.<\/p>\n

    Recognising that for researchers it can often be hard to know where or how to start policy engagement, the guides cover multiple entry points that academics could consider at different spatial levels \u2013 from the local to international. They also present a framework for translating policy engagement into policy impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    This means properly planning policy engagement over the long-term, considering \u2018a theory of change\u2019, and crucially keeping records of policy interactions so you can chart progress. It draws on a model for research engagement and impact developed by Research & Innovation Services (RIS<\/a>) known as the 5Ps.<\/p>\n

    This encourages researchers to think through:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The policy problem<\/strong> their research addresses<\/li>\n
    2. The purpose<\/strong> or difference their research could make<\/li>\n
    3. Which people<\/strong> need to know about it and who could affect change<\/li>\n
    4. What processes<\/strong> or activities can help engage key stakeholders<\/li>\n
    5. How evidence and progress <\/strong>towards your goals could be tracked<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Enacting the 5Ps <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

      When it comes to defining the policy problems<\/strong> and purpose<\/strong> of research, the importance of clear communication<\/a> is critical. What story can you tell about your findings, why they matter and what contributions they might make? Which platforms will you use to tell people about it?<\/p>\n

      Being able to clearly present work to non-experts is part of this, but media and social media can play a role too. Agenda-setting theory<\/a> suggests that both traditional and new media play an important role in identifying issues and raising topics up the agenda. News coverage can also help to give you name recognition.<\/p>\n

      As an example of aligning this, following of the Chancellor\u2019s announcement on house building targets this week<\/a>, University of Bath architecture experts Prof Sukumar Natarajan and Dr Juliana Calabria Holley provided media comments that were subsequently picked up by building press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      To help define your \u2018policy people\u2019<\/strong>, our guides highlight different ways to prioritise audiences using stakeholder mapping<\/a>. This might involve direct engagements with Government Departments<\/a> or interacting with Parliament<\/a>, or engaging through other policy actors, including What Works Centres<\/a> or businesses or think tanks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Finding routes for engagement with government could mean drawing on new Departmental Areas of Research Interest<\/a> (ARIs) or engaging through consultations or evidence requests<\/a> as they emerge. As new Government Ministers<\/a> are finalised it will also be important to keep track of those in charge in relevant areas.<\/p>\n

      In Parliament, 334 new MPs are taking up seats following the election and there will be new opportunities to engage Westminster. This could be through the Select Committees and APPGs<\/a> soon to be set up, or via the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology<\/a> (POST).<\/p>\n

      Both within government and in Parliament, there will also be new opportunities to undertake policy fellowships and placements<\/a>, offering first-hand experiences of working with policymakers in areas aligned with your research. Through BPEA, we list the latest policy engagement opportunities, including placements, via this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Making research relevant <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

      With the government\u2019s focus on missions and an ambition to change Britain, there is a fresh opportunity to expand what role researchers can play in shaping and enhancing evidence-informed public policy in the UK. We hope our BPEA guides can contribute towards creating a stronger bridge between academia and policymaking.<\/p>\n

      If you are a policymaker and would like to connect with University of Bath academics, including via our Policy Fellowship Programme<\/a> please get in touch. If you are an academic keen to find opportunities to connect with policymakers, please consult our guides<\/a> and get in touch if you need extra advice, guidance or support.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of the IPR, nor of the University of Bath.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Andy Dunne is Policy Engagement Manager in the IPR and has been involved in the development of the Bath Policy Engagement Academy guides and resources. He previously worked in the press office at the University and is a graduate of...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1742,"featured_media":2376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[116,151,129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evidence-and-policymaking","category-policy-engagement","category-uk-politics"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2024\/07\/Untitled-design.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1742"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}