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

Policy Secondment: The Royal Academy of Engineering - Articulating Policy Impact

Through UPEN and Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) , we are pleased to announce a new Policy Secondment opportunity with the Policy and International Partnerships Directorate of the Royal Academy of Engineering . The academy is looking for someone to work with them to develop deep, rich impact narratives which look back at issues on which the Academy has a track record of sustained policy work, to document that work and to track, understand and articulate the influence that workstream has had.

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.