In December 2024, Policy@Exeter had the opportunity to support a visit from Baroness Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and current member of the House of Lords. Featuring a roundtable chaired by Policy@Exeter director, Professor Paul Cornish, the day provided valuable discussions for academics keen to engage with the UK policy landscape.
Alongside attendees from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and distinguished University of Exeter academics, Baroness Bennett and her team met to discuss methods of policy engagement. After visiting different areas of the University –exploring research taking place in the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) and more – the Baroness shared her insights into collaboration between the Higher Education and policy sectors. Academics in attendance were encouraged to discuss their own experiences, as well as the potential challenges of this work.
This collective expertise produced the following guidance, applicable to academics across all faculties with an interest in policy engagement:
- Keep your communications short – stick to a one-sentence pitch, and three short bullet points.
- Be open about uncertainty within your research. If you can explain these areas, it may help policymakers form a better understanding of the scope of your work.
- Particularly if you’re an early career researcher, get in touch with your University’s policy engagement function (which in our case, is Policy@Exeter).
We look forward to building on the success of this visit, and using these discussions to inform our continued relationships with policymakers on the national stage.
For more advice on policy engagement, University of Exeter staff can find our guidelines on the Policy@Exeter Resources Hub.