How to mobilise your research in the policy landscape
Speaker(s):
Bio: Rob Davies is the Head of Policy and Dialogue at CLOSER, the UK's partnership of social and biomedical longitudinal population studies, based at the UCL Social Research Institute. In May 2020, Rob took on an additional role as Head of the CLOSER COVID-19 Taskforce and is the architect of the COVID-19 Longitudinal Research Hub. From February 2021 to April 2023 Rob was seconded part-time as a CAPE Policy Fellow to the UK Parliament and the Welsh Parliament to develop their respective Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) pilot projects. Prior to taking up the position at CLOSER in 2016, Rob worked in and around government and parliament, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the House of Lords, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Abstract:
Breaking news every hour, a continuous onslaught of social media posts, videos, podcasts and an endless stream of messages, calls and opinions vying for attention. If that's what life is like for most people, imagine being in government or parliament. Every day you are bombarded by more and more information competing to win the hearts and minds of those in power.
Tired of receiving descriptive briefings full of jargon, government officials, Members of Parliament and their advisors often end up resorting to 'The twin pillars of Google and asking people we know'. So how do time-poor researchers cut through the noise to capture the attention of policy and decision makers?
The session will focus on how to mobilise your research in the policy landscape, what influences policy and decision makers, and some tips and resources to help you on your journey to policy impact.