We bid farewell to our outgoing Vice-Chairs, and showcase some of their key achievements.
We mark the end of a significant chapter in UPEN this month, extending our sincere thanks to our six outgoing Vice-Chairs who have concluded their terms after serving since 2022. Vice-Chairs were introduced in 2022 with the aim of supporting the successful delivery of key UPEN workstreams. The Membership voted in 6 Vice-Chairs with broad remits, who have volunteered their time to carry out this role. Our outgoing Vice-Chairs have been instrumental in championing key areas of work and advancing UPEN’s mission to connect academic expertise with policy need.
The commitment and vision of our outgoing Vice-Chairs has left UPEN in a much stronger place. They leave a legacy of greater connectivity, capacity, and credibility for academic-policy engagement across the UK. We are immensely grateful for their time, energy and expertise in helping UPEN get to this important juncture in its development.
A legacy of achievement
During their tenure, the Vice-Chairs have driven forward critical initiatives and expanded the network’s influence.
From working with UPEN members on devolved and regional initiatives to share approaches on place-based policy, providing training for members and partners, to supporting national systems of evidence informed policy, I feel proud of being a UPEN Vice-Chair and I look forward to continuing this work in my new role at UPEN.
Kayleigh Renberg-FawcettVice Chair, 2022-2025, Head of Knowledge Mobilisation (Place), UPEN
Professor Des McNulty has worked closely with UPEN’s International Sub-Committee to build strong relationships and networks with the Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science and Sports, as well as the Embassy of Ukraine, for a two day conference hosted by the Royal Society. The conference, Ukraine’s Recovery: Rebuilding with Research, brought together ministers, scientific advisors, academics, and officials from the UK and Ukraine to highlight the role of research in a post-war context.
Professor Arlene Holmes Henderson MBE has championed Arts and Humanities policy engagement activity across UPEN. This included the publication of a landmark report showcasing over 20 case studies of Arts and Humanities research successfully influencing public policy, training for UPEN members attended collectively by over 200 participants, and an upcoming report on career progression and promotion criteria for academics conducting policy engagement activity.
Nicky Buckley and Gareth Giles have both championed Areas of Research Interest as a growing mechanism of academic-policy engagement, building strong relationships with the UK Parliament, and the UK Government Chief Science Advisors Network, building a core UPEN offer for government departments and legislatures to showcase their Areas of Research Interest to the academic community.
It has been a privilege to be part of the growth and development of UPEN over the last 3 years. UPEN has achieved an incredible amount in this time; notably surfacing, supporting and celebrating the infrastructure, processes and practices that connect academic research to public policy decision-makers at different levels of government and public service, through which we may hope to support positive outcomes for the public good.
Nicky BuckleyVice-Chair, 2022-2025, Director Fellowships and Networks, CSaP
These achievements are representative of the time, expertise, and energy the Vice-Chairs have dedicated to the network. We look forward to the recruitment of new Vice Chairs in the new year, and further information on the recruitment process will be announced shortly. Alongside these Vice-Chair departures, we are developing and implementing a renewed governance structure aimed at strengthening and consolidating UPEN’s offer to the ecosystem.
