Meet the team: Sarah Chaytor, UPEN Co-Chair and Director of Programmes

Hi Sarah. What’s your role within UPEN and what do you do?

I’m one of UPEN’s three co-chairs and am also currently Director of Programmes – which means I’m overseeing how UPEN deploys our £6m funding award from UKRI to develop a national ‘connective infrastructure’ for research-policy engagement. I’m engaging with some of our key policy stakeholders to inform that, as well as co-leading our work to enhance knowledge mobilisation practice and UPEN’s ability to offer an interface between academic research and public policy.

Tell us what you did before UPEN or what you do alongside your UPEN role?

I am also Director of Strategy & Policy for UCL Research, Innovation and Global Engagement, which involves working closely with UCL’s Vice-Provost for this area and overseeing UCL Public Policy (our institutional academic-policy engagement initiative). And I’m currently very excited to be a visiting professor of practice at Newcastle University. I have led two previous multi-partner projects to connect academic research to public policymaking – the International Public Policy Observatory, funded by ESRC; and CAPE (Capabilities in Academic-Policy Engagement), funded by Research England. I started my career working in a small think tank and then as a parliamentary researcher for a number of MPs before moving into higher education policy. 

What’s your favourite thing about your role?

Working with really fantastic and dedicated people who all want to make universities better institutions and the world a better place. And feeling like what I do is in some small way having a positive impact. 

What has been your career highlight (or highlights) to date?

Securing UKRI funding for UPEN, and for CAPE before that – because of what they represent as collaborative projects which are trying to drive systems change and make a positive impact. 

What do you think the biggest challenge in academic-policy engagement is at the moment and what can we do about it?

Academic-policy engagement is still not seen as ‘core’ to university missions – which means it still feels quite precarious, both in terms of the importance afforded to it by senior leaders and the resources available to support it. I think we have to continue to make the collective case that academic-policy engagement should  be a key part of what universities do – and universities need to show policymakers that we are willing to work together (not compete against each other) to support the use of evidence in policymaking. 

What’s one small unexpected thing that always brightens your workday?

Getting positive feedback about a colleague or a piece of work. A good cup of coffee!

What does your dream holiday look like?

Hills to walk up in beautiful scenery, great views at the top, beautiful and unpolluted rivers or lakes to swim in. 

Time for Desert Island Discs! If you were cast away on a desert island, what three songs would you currently take with you and why?

Three is too hard!

A Place Called England, performed by The Young ‘Uns – to remind me of the need to retain a fundamental sense of hope

The Crane Wife 1, 2 & 3 by The Decemberists – a beautifully poetic song-telling of a rather sad folk story; the first Decembrists song I heard (and instantly loved); and one of the few songs that my kids and I all agree on!

Margo and the Sea by The Deep Blue – the most beautiful harmonies and reminds me of seeing them live with my best friend (and some lovely wonderful sea-swims when visiting her)

Give us a plug for something you’re working on at the moment

Developing some practical training sessions around knowledge mobilisation and evidence use for both academics and policy professionals, drawing on the CAPE Engaging with Evidence toolkit and Hidden Talents report. 

How can we get in touch with you?

You can email me.

& finally, share with us a snapshot of life outside of work

This is Stoodley Pike, which is on the West Yorkshire moors just above the village where I grew up. One of my favourite places to walk to. It was erected as a monument to commemorate the end of the Crimean War (replacing the previous monument which commemorated the battle of Waterloo but was then destroyed in a lightening strike!)