How to Engage Policy Makers with Your Research

Edited by Tim Vorley, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean, Syahirah Abdul Rahman, Lecturer in Business and Management and Lauren Tuckerman, Lecturer in Business and Management, Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes University, UK and Phil Wallace, Communications and Engagement Coordinator, Digital Futures team, University of Manchester, UK

Contents:

PART I UNDERSTANDING THE NEED AND
ARTICULATING THE OFFER
1 Introduction to How to Engage Policy Makers with Your
Research 2
Syahirah Abdul Rahman, Lauren Tuckerman, Tim Vorley
and Phil Wallace
2 What do policymakers want from researchers? Developing
better understanding of a complex landscape 10
Graeme Reid and Sarah Chaytor
3 The value of research evidence for policy 28
David Christian Rose and Chris Tyler
4 Speaking a shared language 38
Sarah Foxen and Rowena Bermingham
5 From broadcast to engagement: moving beyond traditional
mechanisms 50
Anand Menon and Jill Rutter
6 Between disciplines and perspectives: ACT as
a PERIpatetic researcher 61
Matjaz Vidmar
7 Co-producing policy relevant research 73
Clementine Hill O’Connor, Lucy Gavens, Dan Chedgzoy
and Mary Gogarty
8 Developing and delivering university consortia 83
Annette Bramley
9 When worlds collide: the role of the funder in connecting
research and policy 94
Melanie Knetsch and Lauren Tuckerman

PART II MODES OF ENGAGEMENT
10 Critical friends – real time insights for shaping strategy 104
Debbie Johnson, Geeta Nathan and Syahirah Abdul Rahman
11 Designing and delivering targeted policy engagement events 113
Sarah Weakley
12 Collaborative doctoral research 124
Tim Vorley and Cristian Gherhes
13 Doing and making the most of PhD internships 136
Lauren Tuckerman
14 Enabling collaboration and building capacity through
research networks 146
Phil Wallace, Heidi Hinder, Adam Luqmani and Lisa Hanselmann
15 Mission research: experiences from participation in OECD
entrepreneurship policy research projects 154
Helen Lawton Smith
16 Intersectional Anti-Racist Academic Activism for
Policy-making (INTARAAP) through community engagement 164
Ima Jackson and Judy Wasige
17 Commissioned research 175
Dan Hodges and Syahirah Abdul Rahman

PART III EXAMPLES OF INFORMING, INFLUENCING
AND IMPACTING POLICY
18 Engaging with policy makers in emerging markets 185
Ekkehard Ernst
19 The City-Region Economic Development Institute –
establishing a successful place-based research institute to
support regions in turbulent times and beyond 196
Rebecca Riley, Simon Collinson, Anne Green and Raquel
Ortega-Argilés
20 Impacting small business policy: the Enterprise Research Centre 207
Vicki Belt
21 Impacting policy thinking through partnership: insights
from Northern Ireland 217
Jen Nelles, Tim Vorley and Eoin McFadden
22 Critical engagement in diversity and entrepreneurship:
lessons from the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority
Entrepreneurship 229
Monder Ram
23 Supporting policy towards sustainability 241
Alice Owen
24 How to win friends and influence policy: a guide for new
researchers 249
Katy Jones

Index 259