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Conference 2025

In 2025 we explored how we evaluate the impact of academic evidence on public policy at the University of Surrey.

Evaluation and Impact in Academic-Policy Engagement

Our 2025 Conference was generously hosted by the University of Surrey on their beautiful campus on 11 June 2025. Our topic this year was evaluation and impact – we discussed how we can evaluate the impact of academic evidence on public policy, the methods we might use, and how we can include the impact of knowledge mobilisers themselves.

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.

Our keynote

We were delighted to welcome UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser Dame Angela McLean where she made a direct appeal to the academic community. Discover why the work of knowledge mobilisers and the need for academic evidence in policy is more critical to government now than ever before.

Watch our 2026 keynote
This image is of the thematic research leads session at the UPEN 2025 conference. Four people are in shot sitting on chairs in front of a glass table with glasses of water on it. They sit in front of a big screen with the logo of the UK Parliament on it. One person is holding a microphone and speaking into it while the others listen.

Panel: Thematic Research Leads

We were also jointed by the UK Parliament’s Thematic Research Leads (TRLs) for a dynamic and thought-provoking panel exploring how academic research helps inform policy makers and shape the scrutiny of government.

I really enjoyed meeting so many lovely people & feeling like I have a valid place and role in connecting policy, practice and academia.
Stacey Pottinger Impact Manager, Bath Spa University
First-class, really well organised, throughly engaging and substantively impressive.
Amelia Hadfield Associate Vice-President for External Engagement, University of Surrey
The time for networking really epitomised the values of UPEN being of and for its membership.
Gareth Giles Head of Public Policy|Southampton, University of Southampton
  • 171

    Attendees

  • 6

    Workshops and research seminars

Workshop: Evaluation of Knowledge Exchange Activity

This workshop drew on the speakers’ experience of participating in and evaluating knowledge exchange initiatives, including the Areas of Research Interest (ARI), the Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) project, and the beginnings of a – first of its kind – cost-benefit analysis of academic-policy knowledge exchange. The workshop shared lessons for those wanting to support activity, and those funding effective and responsible knowledge exchange, through discussion to agree principles of good practice for KE evaluation.

Read a blog on this workshop
Delivered by

Kathryn Oliver

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Benjamin Hepworth

Ministry of Justice

Carrie Heitmeyer

Government Office for Science

Workshop: Developing Areas of Research Interest and Local Research Collaborations

The workshop focused on the outputs of a UCL policy fellowship on Research Cities, which seeks to develop a maturity framework for place based academic collaborations, as well as sharing some examples of outcomes so far from ARIs development with local authorities, combined authorities, and parliaments. Participants engaged with critique and share feedback on the evolving space and learnt from its developments.

Read a blog on this workshop
Delivered by
Headshot of Nicola Buckley

Nicky Buckley

Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy

Jon Gleek

Doncaster City Council

Workshop: Policy Fellowships – creating evaluation frameworks to measure success

This workshop aimed to promote collaborative discussions on how to evaluate Academic-Policy Fellowships, focusing on understanding what constitutes a successful fellowship for all involved parties. The session explored both policy-to-research and research-to-policy fellowships. Fellowships comprise secondments or placements when fellows are embedded within host organisations. Drawing on existing evaluations by organisations like UKRI, CSAP, and CAPE, participants reflected on key success factors and learn to adapt evaluation strategies to their own organisational context.

Read a blog on this workshop
Delivered by

Alice Tofts

UCL

Lisa Hodgson

University of Durham

Workshop: The Policy Quest – Designing Impactful Campaigns with Policy Cards

As part of the CAPE funding, the University of Nottingham has developed a new way for researchers to think about policy impact and build impact plans into their work. By gamifying the process of policy campaign planning we believe we have created a more accessible method to think through engaging with policy makers in the UK and further afield. The workshop was a short taster of how the cards could be used to develop policy campaigns.
Delivered by

Tiffany Trundell

University of Nottingham

Research Seminar: Diversifying and disrupting assumptions around evaluation and impact

Six pieces of research were selected to provide space for discussion and exploration of a particular issue, topic, question or finding. Two research seminars took place to discuss these.
Delivered by

Dr Sarah Weakley

Kimberley Somerside

Research Seminar: Exploring evaluation and impact in different contexts and settings

Six pieces of research were selected to provide space for discussion and exploration of a particular issue, topic, question or finding. Two research seminars took place to discuss these.
Delivered by

Taghreed El Hajj

Kerry Millington

Find out more about our host, The University of Surrey Policy Network

Conference planning committee

  • University of Surrey

    Andrew Gill, Public Affairs Manager

    Lucy Chubbock, Policy Engagement Officer

    Aleeza Syeda, Public Affairs Officer

    University of Surrey Conference and Events Team

    Conference Planning Committee

    Geoffrey Neale, Cranfield University

    Rebecca England, UCL (CLOSER)

    Tiffany Trundell, University of Nottingham

    Domonique Davies, University of Reading