Huddersfield joins £5.9m UK university policy network project
The University of Huddersfield has joined a new £5.9 million initiative that seeks to foster, build and sustain the infrastructure required to effectively link academic expertise to public policy.
The funding, awarded by Research England, will support the development and scaling of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN). Since 2018, UPEN has built a UK-wide network of universities and knowledge brokers with the aim of fashioning a supportive and collaborative ecosystem that strengthens the flow of academic research into public policy. UPEN is currently hosted by University College London (UCL).
This investment sees Huddersfield work alongside lead partner UCL, as well as the Universities of Birmingham, Cambridge, Durham, Leeds, Nottingham Trent, Southampton, Teesside, Insights North East and the Wales Centre for Public Policy at Cardiff University.
Other delivery partners include the Institute for Community Studies, the Institute for Government, and Yorkshire Universities - signalling the importance of collective action and multi-institutional collaboration for effective policy engagement.
The University of Huddersfield’s Head of Policy Engagement, Dr Chris Hewson, said: “This investment represents an important signal that the work of UPEN in building and supporting a healthy academic-policy engagement infrastructure has been recognised by UKRI.
In the context of ongoing devolution debates, I’m excited to explore the benefits of this work for our region, that showcases the diverse, rigorous, and demand-led research undertaken at the University of Huddersfield.”
In addition to £5m provided by Research England, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has granted £300,000 support participation of universities across the UK, alongside a further £588,000 through UKRI’s strategic theme, ‘Creating Opportunities, Improving Outcomes’, to develop work on regional evidence needs and areas of research interest (ARIs).
This funding comes at a time when the UK government has outlined reforms for the higher education sector that aim to ensure that university research delivers benefits for the economy and society, nationally and regionally. Consistent with the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, economic growth, clean energy, cutting crime, reforming childcare and education and improving the NHS are the five ‘national missions’ that university research should seek to support.
Over the next four years, UPEN will undertake new programmes of work that focus upon:
• Developing individual skills, alongside institutional capacity, to undertake academic-policy engagement
• Improving engagement between researchers and policymakers at different levels of government and in a diverse range of areas across the UK
• Embedding greater collaboration between universities and policymakers to address areas of significance, including community-driven policy priorities
The funding will support UPEN’s evolution from a voluntary network into a sustainable organisation, bolstering the prominence of academic-policy engagement across the UK.
On the award, Research England Executive Chair Professor Dame Jessica Corner said: “The need for reliable evidence which can inform public debate and policy has never been greater. With increasing pressure on public finances, it is also vital that local and central governments can be confident that their policy interventions will be effective and successful – and academic expertise has a crucial role to play in that process.”
UCL’s Vice-Provost Research, Innovation & Global Engagement, Professor Geraint Rees, added: “University research can offer a wealth of insight to inform complex policy questions and recent years have seen increased policy demand for academic expertise. We need universities and policymakers to engage with each other as effectively as possible and so we’re delighted that this Research England funding gives us the opportunity to put UPEN on a more formal footing. Harnessing that expertise doesn’t happen by magic – it requires investment in capacity, capabilities and structures for engagement.”