Policy Engagement in the Context of Political Shifts

This masterclass will explore the multiple challenges that researchers and knowledge brokers face in a complex political landscape.

Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/policy-engagement-in-the-context-of-political-shifts-tickets-1056760211239

The election of a new UK government in July 2024 has once again highlighted the significant impact of party politics and political change on university policy engagement. Elections across the multi-level UK state frequently create drivers for change in the policy priorities and focus of both incumbent and newly elected governments. They also highlight the changing tapestry of party politics in different parts of the UK political system, and this can impact on how researchers and knowledge brokers engage and collaborate with policymakers, impacting both on established working relationships and previously agreed Areas of Research Interest (ARIs).

This masterclass will explore the multiple challenges that researchers and knowledge brokers face in navigating this ever-changing complex political landscape. First, it will provide an overview of how government and policymaking have been remodelled as the UK government has sought to devolve powers to established and emergent tiers of government. It will go on to consider the potential implications of changes in government in terms of the systems, processes, and relationships which support university policy engagement. Finally, it will explore how researchers and knowledge brokers can better prepare for elections and respond to politically driven changes in policy and research priorities across different levels of government.

The masterclass will be delivered by Dr Andrew Mycock (University of Leeds), a specialist on the party politics of the devolved UK state and Chief Policy Fellow of the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network. He will be joined by and Stephen Meek Director, Institute for Policy and Engagement at University of Nottingham and Independent Consultant. This workshop should be of interest to all those within the multi-level governmental landscape of the UK, particularly to early and mid-career researchers, and knowledge brokers who have not experienced working in the context of significant political change. Participants will go away from the workshop with a greater understanding of the importance of political change in shaping university policy engagement.