News
19102022 Drop in notes
Posted 28/10/2022 10:45 by - Kayleigh Renberg-Fawcett

Drop-in session held by Kayleigh Renberg-Fawcett on 19102022
UPEN Vice-Chair Elections
Posted 10/03/2022 13:45 by - Admin

We are delighted to announce that we received ten nominations from individuals wishing to stand as UPEN Vice Chairs and will therefore be moving to an election.
Surfacing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion within Academic-Policy Engagement
Posted 30/11/2021 14:46
Today UPEN has launched a report that looks at the challenge of bringing about positive change for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in academic-policy engagement.
UPEN and CAPE are working together
Posted 14/10/2021 15:23 by - Alex Clegg
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The Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) and the Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) research and knowledge exchange project are committed to working together to share learning and enhance engagement across academic-policy engagement.
New Introduction to UPEN Slides
Posted 06/09/2021 13:47 by - Alex Clegg
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Since being established in 2018 UPEN has grown to become the leading boundary spanning organisation in the UK connecting universities with policy makers.
Opening Up Parliament: Barriers to Engagement and Participatory Potential - What Academics Think
Posted 04/07/2021 20:03 by - Alex Clegg
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.
Political Studies and Civic Universities: Community, public, and policy engagement for political science
Posted 23/06/2021 09:35 by - Alex Clegg
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This panel was recorded as part of the Political Studies Association Conference 2021. It outlines and explores the opportunities for political studies in engaging and participating in developing the civic universities agenda as well as linking to the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) and the growing interest across higher education in terms of the way academics engage more deeply with the community, public and policymakers.
Areas of Research Interest and the Rebuilding a Resilient Britain project - now hosted on UPEN.
Posted 02/03/2021 12:14 by - UPEN
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Jump straight to the reports.
Celebrating two years of the Knowledge Exchange Unit in UK Parliament: our achievements, learnings and next steps
Posted 28/10/2020 10:07 by - Knowledge Exchange Unit at UK Parliament
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Jump straight to the report here.
Celebrating 2 years of the Universities Policy Engagement Network
Posted 14/10/2020 17:18 by - UPEN
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This week we celebrate two years of the Universities Policy Engagement Network!
A practical guide for establishing an evidence centre
Posted 22/06/2020 10:09 by - Louise Bazalgette, Alliance for Useful Evidence
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In the UK we have recently seen a range of new evidence centres being launched to combat pressing social issues.
PODCAST: Stephen Meek talks academic-policy engagement with the Foundation for Science and Technology
Posted 28/04/2020 10:20 by - UPEN
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Stephen Meek, UPEN’s Chair (2019-20) and Director for the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham, recently spoke with Gavin Costigan, Chief Executive of the Foundation for Science and Technology (and last year's UPEN Chair).
Evaluating academic engagement with UK legislatures: Exchanging knowledge on knowledge exchange
Posted 16/04/2020 16:35 by - Dr Danielle Beswick and Dr Marc Geddes
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This research emerged from consultation with the four UK legislatures in early 2019:
Engaging with UK Government Areas of Research Interest: Learning and insights from UPEN
Posted 18/03/2020 09:36 by - Stephen Meek, UPEN Chair 2019-20
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Good policy is built on good evidence. Evidence isn’t the only factor; good policy requires an understanding of how to deliver, for example. But the best policy draws on up to date research, evidence and analysis from across all disciplines, rather than relying on received wisdom or a narrow evidence base.
Structurally unsound - Exploring Inequalities: Igniting research to better inform UK policy
Posted 17/12/2019 10:54 by - UCL Public Policy
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Choose any year at random over the past fifty years and you’d be almost certain to find at least one piece of equalities focused legislation enacted in that year. Yet stark inequalities remain embedded in UK society, permeating throughout our social structures and institutions.
New report calls for the establishment of a National Centre for Universities and Public Policy
Posted 13/08/2019 11:09 by - Admin

A new report by University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR), University of Bristol, PolicyBristol, Cardiff University, and the University of Exeter, calls for the establishment of a new National Centre for Universities and Public Policy, to support an ongoing culture change around valuing academia-policy engagement.
More ...The effectiveness and influence of the select committee system inquiry- evidence submitted by Nick Bibby, Director of Scottish Policy and Research Exchange
Posted 17/06/2019 13:42 by - Nick Bibby, Director of the Scottish Policy and Research Exchange

How to guides- UK Parliament
Posted 30/04/2019 12:30 by - Chris Wilson and Sarah Hayes, UK Parliament

Working with Parliament can be confusing, so we've put all you need to know in one place.
Future of social science - insights, opportunities and expectations
Posted 30/04/2019 10:39 by - ESRC

Research funding is going through a period of rapid change, including the introduction of a number of significant new research funds. The content in this section provides information on these changes and the funding opportunities for social science research to make a contribution to society. It is designed to help you navigate new UKRI funding streams and explain how you can get involved with them.
IfG mentions UPEN on its new report 'How academia can work with government'
Posted 15/04/2019 11:14 by - Tom Sasse, Senior Researcher and Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow, Institute for Government

Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/UPEN_IfG_report_April19
Written evidence submitted by UPEN for the House of Commons Liaison Committee on Effectiveness and Influence of the Select Committee system
Posted 04/04/2019 13:09 by - by the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

This submission is from the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), a network of 30 UK universities who are working together to improve dialogue between academics and policymakers and to increase the public policy impact from their institutions’ research portfolios.
Applications are now open for the 2019 pairing scheme- they will close on 7 April 2019
Posted 20/03/2019 10:07 by - The Royal Society

Each year 30 research scientists are paired with UK parliamentarians and civil servants. They learn about each other’s work by spending time together in Westminster and the researcher’s institutions.
UKRI GCRF Health and Context call 2019 - outline
Posted 14/03/2019 16:09 by - UK Research and Innovation

The UKRI GCRF Health and Context call is seeking proposals for interdisciplinary research addressing wider contextual factors contributing to the burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These factors may include social, cultural, historical, and religious beliefs and practices, or wider biological, ecological and environmental factors. We want to fund consortia conducting ambitious research that:
GCRF Gender and intersectionality and Education as a driver of sustainable development network plus
Posted 14/03/2019 15:57 by - ESRC

We are pleased to invite proposals for a new Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Network Plus call. This call will have two separate thematic areas of focus, and applicants can apply to either distinct strand through this call. One theme will be Gender and Intersectionality and the other theme will be Education as a Driver of Sustainable Development.
£45 million boost for big data bioinformatics research to drive discovery
Posted 14/03/2019 15:31 by - UK Research and Innovation

A £45 million boost to data and building infrastructure will support major advances in areas such as drug discovery, cancer genetics, regenerative medicine and crop disease prevention over the coming decades.
Parkinson’s trial aims to detect disease earlier
Posted 14/03/2019 15:24 by - UCL News

The PREDICT-PD trial, carried out by researchers at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Queen Mary University of London, is seeking to recruit 10,000 participants over the age of 60 who do not have Parkinson’s to answer an annual online questionnaire and other tests sent in the post.
Recruitment campaign –Partner toolkit
Posted 13/02/2019 15:06 by - Food Standards Agency

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking to appoint new members to its Register of Specialists.
Prof. Rachel Mills, UoS, sharing her experience of giving evidence
Posted 05/02/2019 15:19 by - Public Policy|Southampton, University of Southampton

Are you a researcher thinking about policy engagement? Listen to @unisouthampton Prof. Rachel Mills sharing her experience of giving evidence @CommonsEAC. Watch the full video here: http://bit.ly/PPSRachelMills @UoSCommsAllison
The Transforming Construction Network Plus - Round 1 call for Small Projects
Posted 05/02/2019 14:59 by - EPSRC

The Transforming Construction Network Plus is funded by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to bring together experts from a range of disciplines with industry and policy makers to tackle the most pressing problems in construction, manufacturing, digital and energy to transform the way we build.
Nurture genius in developing countries with smarter investments
Posted 23/01/2019 17:31 by - University of Bath

The world is missing out on breakthrough science because exceptionally talented young people from low- and middle-income countries do not receive appropriate levels of support to help nurture their genius, according to a new study.
Committee inquiries: Open calls for evidence
Posted 24/01/2019 12:50 by - UK Parliament

Committee inquiries that are accepting written submissions are listed below.
Reverse 'Question Time' event gives policymakers chance to quiz academics
Posted 28/11/2018 14:53 by - PolicyBristol

How can we build closer working relationships between academics and policymakers?
Parliament and me podcast
Posted 15/11/2018 14:52 by - UCL Public Policy
UCL Public Policy Parliament and me. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/public-policy/new-podcast-series-parliament-and-me
More ...What is UPEN?
Posted 15/11/2018 14:40 by - Admin
Gavin Costigan unpacking what is UPEN and why has it been established. https://vimeo.com/298170037/7021d47756