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Rethinking Policy Impact

At the start of December 2022, SPRE hosted a series of lunchtime events exploring new thinking about research-policy relations. This ‘Rethinking Policy Impact’ series was prompted by a recent Royal Society of Edinburgh and Economic and Social Research Council funded project, by the same name. 

Rethinking 'Busyness'
in research-policy engagement

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Presentation slides

A recent study of ‘what works to promote research-policy engagement’ concluded that there is a “vast and increasing mass of rudderless activity that is busy rather than effective.” Ironically, while many of us working in this space know what this feels like, we struggle to find time to explore how to do things differently. This webinar aims to open up conversation on how we can rethink busyness, in ways that draw our attention to opportunities for practical change.

Speakers: Dave Bell (SPRE, UPEN & LARIA Scotland), Laura Bea (UPEN & University of Southampton), Olivia Stevenson (UPEN, CAPE and UCL)

Rethinking policy engagement in praxis

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Presentation slides

SPRE has been developing a new ‘praxis-based’ approach over the last two years. in this talk, Nick Bibby, SPRE’s director, explores tools and strategies that take advantage of what we know about how policy is formed, and what really achieves impact in the world beyond the academy. He will cover current thinking about impact and policy, an overview of the Scottish policy context and suggestions of how policy engagement can be a learning process in its own right.

Speaker: Nick Bibby (SPRE)

Rethinking Policy Impact

Video of session

Presentation slides

The ‘impact’ agenda is now thoroughly internalised in the core mission of universities. Yet two decades on from the first initiatives to promote impact, there is a pressing need to rethink our approach to how we support policy impact.

Recent work, sponsored by the ESRC and the RSE and led by Profs Boswell and Smith, conducted a series of workshops to explore the purpose, definition, scope and beneficiaries of policy impact. The panellists will discuss the projects final, Rethinking Policy Impact (1MB, PDF).
 
Speakers: Christina Boswell (University of Edinburgh), Katherine Smith (University of Strathclyde), Audrey MacDougall (Scottish Government).