Connecting science and policy

A large amount of research is pertinent to public policy. But a seemingly tiny amount of that knowledge makes it through to the policy world. This is a frustration not only for the research community but also for the policy community. Even with the best intentions, it is not always easy to ensure that the right research finds the right policy makers at the right time.

The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP), launched in July 2009, is playing its part to fix the problem. Its mission is to help build productive and lasting relationships between researchers and policy makers wherever research is relevant to policy. Its approach is to build an energetic network of policy-conscious researchers and research-conscious policy makers.

Policy Fellows

The Policy Fellows Programme brings policy makers from Whitehall and Westminster, and members of industry, to Cambridge to meet with academics in one-to-one meetings in a range of subjects. The Programme is valuable to the policy professionals, giving them a refresh in their policy area and helping them to develop a network of experts on whom they can call for advice. And it is also valuable to the participating academics who gain contacts in the policy world and a viable mechanism for helping their research to find a policy home.

Recent Policy Fellow Lucia Costanzo, Head of European Union (EU) Research Policy at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), found that the experience gave her in-depth exposure to the University and its engagement with the wider science community: ‘It also allowed me to gain a clearer picture of how the EU research agenda impacts on researchers at Cambridge – providing real insights that will inform my ongoing policy work.’

Policy workshops

The wider network of CSaP Associates coalesces into Centre Interest Groups, which every few months bring together policy makers, science experts and industry representatives to generate new ideas within a specific interest area. A core mission is to scan the horizon for research topics of potential interest before they become major issues of policy.

Policy workshops take several forms. Some start with an initial show-and-tell, others with a brainstorm; all take the form of engaging and often vigorous discussion. Recent and upcoming workshops have been convened in response to topics of relevance to those attending from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

In addition to all of these activities, CSaP also runs seminars for Associates and early career researchers. One of the goals of these events, other than promoting engagement and knowledge transfer, is to offer researchers the chance to learn about the policy process: to gain a better understanding of the constraints within which policy makers operate and to learn about the opportunities to influence public policy.

The Centre is already making an impact on influencing the use of research in the development of policy. As one example, DEFRA’s Chief Economist recognised how CSaP’s inaugural workshop on ecosystems demonstrated improved methods of valuation, saying: ‘We will be looking again at how we use this research in developing policy’.

For more information, please contact Dr Christopher Tyler (cptyler@csap.cam.ac.uk) at the Centre for Science and Policy (www.csap.org.uk/).