Early Years Education and Care Research: Lessons Learned for Academic Policy Engagement

Our Research England policy funded project (September–July 2024/25) focused on place-based policymaking to tackle the early years workforce crisis in Bristol. Working with local and national partners and collaborators, we engaged early years professionals in knowledge exchange events across Bristol nurseries (local authority, private, voluntary and independent sector) to foreground their lived experiences – documenting their voices and the impact the workforce crisis has had on their everyday working lives.

Evidence suggests the need for a co-produced, collaborative form of policymaking that is shaped by a local approach. A place-based policy approach (Beer et al. 2020) aligns national funding and policy agendas with local initiatives. However, engaging in academic policy processes can be both demanding and rewarding. It calls for a careful balance between scholarly rigor, real-world relevance, and constructive collaboration with diverse stakeholders. Our project, Place-based Policy Making: A Bristol Case Response to the Early Years Workforce Crisis, illustrates key lessons for academics seeking to engage effectively with the policy process.

The Importance of Early Engagement and the Value of Partnerships

Policy windows are often brief, making early engagement essential. In our project, involving local, regional and national stakeholders from the outset was critical. By including them as collaborators and partners from the project’s inception, we were able to co-produce evidence that was timely, relevant and responsive to pressing workforce challenges in the sector.

Collaboration amplified our impact: by partnering with local stakeholders and drawing on the principles of place-based policymaking, we used a series of knowledge exchange events to build a localised evidence base grounded in community expertise and authentic educator experience. These partnerships ensured that the research was not only academically rigorous but also socially meaningful.

Translating Research into Accessible Insights

Current early years education and care policy challenges are complex, and our experience reinforced the importance of presenting findings as clear, actionable recommendations and research-informed policy solutions. To this end, our initial policy brief was followed by the publication of a manifesto and a supporting infographic.

However, sustained engagement and persistent advocacy were crucial to ensuring that our research reached the right audiences and had the potential to influence the policy agenda. Patience and persistence proved essential: presenting at roundtables, forums and conferences, as well as sharing our work through social media and local and national networks, were key strategies for disseminating our insights effectively.

Navigating Tensions Between Rigor and Relevance

Balancing academic rigor with the urgency of policy needs was central to our approach. While maintaining methodological integrity, we prioritised co-produced findings that addressed the immediate concerns of the early years education and care workforce. Behind every policy decision are real people with lived experiences. Listening to these stakeholders provided invaluable insights into the challenges faced by the early years education and care sector. Understanding their perspectives helped build trust and ensured that our recommendations were practical, empathetic and actionable. Continuous learning and adaptation were also essential to keeping our policy recommendations relevant and responsive.

Academic policy engagement is an iterative process of building relationships, sharing knowledge, and driving societal change. The lessons from our project demonstrate how early engagement, partnerships accessible communication, and persistent reflection can strengthen the bridge between research and policy. By combining rigorous scholarship with collaborative, context-sensitive approaches, academics can contribute to meaningful, sustainable improvements in sectors like early years education and care. In sum, no single individual or group can resolve these issues alone. Collective responsibility and joined-up policymaking are therefore essential. By centring the voices of early years educators, our project provides a critical, context-sensitive evidence base that seeks to inform sustainable and inclusive policy reform in the early years sector.