Sarah Jasim shares insights from her research on bridging the gap between academic research and policymaking and the future of academic-policy partnerships.
Blog
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àËÅöÊÓƵ Policy Fellowships
Our policy fellowships aim to foster deeper collaborations, creating lasting policy impacts that benefit all àËÅöÊÓƵers
Building on previous successes, LRaPP’s Policy Fellowships are designed to deepen relationships between academic researchers, policy professionals and practitioners in àËÅöÊÓƵ, enhance professional development and foster collaborations across communities. By providing opportunities for immersion in new policy and academic environments, our Policy Fellowships aim to improve ways of working together, deepen collaborations and generate further insights that will contribute to lasting policy impact for the benefit of all àËÅöÊÓƵers.
Our Policy Fellows are well supported by the LRaPP Executive team and partner organisations to deliver on a range of dynamic projects whilst building a number of transferable skills. Whereas host organisations benefit from the expertise of a fellow to shape policy and/or research development, in addition to accessing new networks. If you are interested in hosting Policy Fellow, either as an academic or policy organisation, please contact Aiysha Qureshi (aiysha.qureshi@london.ac.uk).
Our inaugural policy fellows did a brilliant job, not only identifying the barriers to stronger interaction between the worlds of policy-making and academia, but also providing a clear roadmap to a brighter future, rigorously researched and clearly synthesised. I would like to thank Sarah and Ilias for their huge contribution to the àËÅöÊÓƵ Research and Policy Partnership: there is a huge opportunity to tap and their work gives us a great foundation to build on
Previous Policy Fellowships
Two Policy Fellows, Dr Sarah Jasim (UCL & LSE) and Dr Ilias Krystallis (UCL) were embedded part-time within the City Intelligence Unit at the Greater àËÅöÊÓƵ Authority, also joining the then newly formed LRaPP Executive Team. The fellowship was initially a 12-month pilot to develop a dedicated long-term match making service to build knowledge networks between àËÅöÊÓƵ’s policymakers and academic researchers.
Our fellows produced a report highlighting their key findings from surveys and consultations with àËÅöÊÓƵ policymakers and academic researchers. The aim was to spotlight the working examples of academic-policy partnerships and how LRaPP could evolve in order to better support this ecosystem. Their findings emphasize the importance of better understanding àËÅöÊÓƵ's policy priorities, a shared language, improved internal cohesion, and the strategic anchoring of knowledge brokerage within organisations with senior management buy-in.
The study also developed a three-stage Transitions framework, offering actionable recommendations for elevating LRaPP's match making service. Progressing from basic ad-hoc services to a structured programme in a well-defined policy area, culminating in a sophisticated stage leveraging the broader academic research-policy partnerships ecosystem, the framework provides a clear roadmap of the steps to take.
We know there could be huge benefits in àËÅöÊÓƵ’s universities and àËÅöÊÓƵ government working more closely together but we also know that partnerships between academics and policymakers don’t always gel. We are extremely grateful to CAPE for funding two Policy Fellows, Sarah Jasim and Ilias Krystallis, to help LRaPP understand what researchers and public servants want from each other and how they can best work together. Their research and the highly practical advice will be helpful not just to LRaPP but similar partnerships in other regions.
Jo Fox, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research and Engagement, àËÅöÊÓƵ
