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Conference

Our annual conference invites our community to come together to explore the big challenges in academic-policy engagement.

An image side on of a conference theatre showing the audience only, sitting in purple seats. A woman wearing a patterned top and a flower in her hair is holding a microphone and asking a question.

Building collaboration

Our annual conference brings together policy professionals, knowledge mobilisers, and research staff to share insights, collaborate, and explore new approaches to supporting greater use of academic evidence in decision making.

Professor Dame Angela McLean gives a conference presentation standing in front of a lecturn with banners for UPEN and the University of Surrey behind her. There are people out of focus in the foreground of the image in the audience.

Insights from the forefront

Each year, we feature leading voices and influential figures in academic policy engagement. Our programme is built around the most current and challenging questions in the field, with speakers who are actively shaping its future. Last year, for instance, we were honoured to host Professor Dame Angela McLean, Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

A space to connect

Beyond the keynotes, the conference is designed for active participation and collaboration. You’ll have dedicated time to network with peers from across sectors, and can join a range of parallel sessions to explore the topics that matter most to you in greater depth.

Conference 2026

We are busy planning our 2026 conference, stay up to date with developments by signing up for our newsletter.

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2025: Evaluation and Impact in Academic Policy Engagement

Hosted by The University of Surrey, our 2025 conference explored such questions as how we evaluate the impact of academic evidence on public policy, what methods can we use to gather impact, and how do we measure the impact of knowledge mobilisation and knowledge brokers within the public policy making process.

Find out more
Speakers included

Professor Dame Angela McLean

Government Chief Scientific Advisor

Thematic Research Leads

UK Parliament

2024: Connecting and Collaborating Across the Academic-Policy Landscape

Taking place in the Guildhall in York and hosted by the University of York, our 2024 conference was focused on connection and collaboration. We heard from Kersten England CBE on place-based policymaking, Hannah White OBE on the Institute for Government and what this year and future years might hold for evidence-informed policymaking, and a panel on place-based policymaking.

Speakers included

Kersten England, DL CBE

Chair of the Bradford Culture Company

Hannah White OBE

Director, Institute for Government

2023: The Future of Knowledge Mobilisation

Our 2023 conference was hosted by the University of Birmingham.
Speakers included

Jonathan Mills

Director General for Energy Markets and Supply at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)

Grant Hill-Cawthorne

Managing Director or Research and Information, and Librarian of the House of Commons

See other UPEN events