Welcome

What is UPEN?

The Universities Policy Engagement Network, UPEN, is a community of UK universities committed to increasing the impact of research on policy.

UPEN offers a dedicated contact point for policymakers, and a collective response to requests for evidence.

It organises knowledge exchange events with government, parliament, devolved bodies, and identifies mechanisms to take forward specific projects.

UPEN is also developing best practice amongst universities in policy engagement activities, and will act as a champion for this relatively new role within universities.

Latest News

New Introduction to UPEN Slides

Since being established in 2018 UPEN has grown to become the leading boundary spanning organisation in the UK connecting universities with policy makers.

Opening Up Parliament: Barriers to Engagement and Participatory Potential - What Academics Think

Efforts are being made at Westminster to open up the UK Parliament to a wider range of public voices, including a more representative selection of academic researchers. So what can universities and Parliament do to encourage a more diverse range of academics to engage? UPEN decided to carry out a survey of 790 university academics and researchers to find out.