If you want your research and expertise to influence policy, it helps to understand the world from the policymaker’s side of the table.
What makes academic input useful? How does government find expertise? What kinds of engagement does it use, and what can make relationships between academics and policymakers work well?
The Government Office for Science Academic Engagement Toolkit offers that perspective. Although primarily written to help civil servants work effectively with academics, it is equally useful for researchers who want to understand how government approaches academic engagement.
It covers topics including finding and accessing expertise, choosing appropriate routes for engagement, communicating across the different contexts of academia and government, inclusive engagement, and building relationships over time.
For established researchers looking to increase their policy influence, it can help you think more strategically about where, when and how your expertise might be most useful.
One thing to consider
If opportunities often arise because someone thinks of your name, what would you like people beyond your immediate team or institution to know you for, or know about you?
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