Higher education and research institutes are increasingly focused on policy impact, in no small part because it is often a key metric requested by programme funders. But how can academics achieve impact? And how do you demonstrate it back to your funders?
Inflect has developed a proprietary training programme for academic and research institutions to give teams the theoretical and practical skills necessary to achieve policy impact on an ongoing basis.
Developed in conjunction with a Russell Group HEI, our programme is a 6-stage masterclass full of practical tips, templates and examples.
A unique blend of skills for researchers and academics
Inflect Partners offers a unique blend of education and research sector and professional experience which means we can deliver a programme tailored to you.
Our team have worked for HEIs across the country, for the Research Councils and Innovate UK. We understand both the world of research and the world of politics enabling us to deliver a programme that speak to your team.
Our proprietary programme is tried and tested in the market, having been delivered to a number of organisations and with consistently strong feedback and results.
Furthermore, we can help your teams with bids for funding incorporating policy impact work and help with evaluation and measurement of your programmes.
Inflect Partners designed and delivered a great modular online programme for our scientists. The programme was nicely balanced between a general introduction to policymaking in the UK accessible to anyone in the institute, and more tailored modules for scientists who really wanted to develop their profile and engage more with policymakers about their research.Andrew Stronach, Head of External Relations at the Quadram Institute
We understand the complex network of stakeholders that you have to navigate when you work in housing, keeping all of them informed and on side can be a challenge. Inflect can offer a holistic range of communications and operatinoal services to help protect and enhance your reputation. Crucially, we understand the processes behind the scenes as well – too often a communications problem can be avoided with process improvement or better performance management, and we can help with that too.
Module 1: Understanding UK policymaking
This module focuses on explaining modern-day policy-making processes, focusing specifically on how policy is made in practice today. We look at the responsibilities of local, regional, national and international policymakers. We will look at the range of different policy development and consultation processes, the different mechanisms for policy implementation, and use a range of examples to explore relative timelines.
Module 2: Influencing the policy making process
This module focuses on who influences the policymaking process, why, how and when they engage, and common tactics and strategies. We will look at the impact of new ways of working and the rise of digital communications and how that has changed how policy is made. We will share examples of effective and ineffective policy engagement.
Module 3: The value of scientific, academic and specialist research to the policy making process
This module will focus specifically on the role of research and how to understand where it can add value to the policy making process. As part of this module, we would like participants to identify how their work supports the delivery of specific policy priorities and work with them to understand how they can contextualise their research and how to develop their elevator pitch for their research and ideas. In addition to our own research, we will ask participants to identify and share their best practice.
Module 4: Engaging more effectively with policymakers & influencers
This will be a practical session focused on how to engage with policymakers. Using the work developed in module 3 as a starting point, we will ask participants to develop a strategy for engagement using a live policy influencing opportunity. They will be tasked with identifying the key organisations' decision-makers and influencers and developing the practical skills to communicate effectively.
Module 5: Developing public profiles
This module is a practical session focused on building their own personal profiles and ensuring that they are effectively communicating the work that they are doing, particularly through the university, sector and personal channels. We will ask participants in advance to identify someone with a profile that they would like to emulate and build the session by looking at individuals that manage their profiles well. We will share tips and tricks on how to utilise on social media platforms and look at how to deal with media enquiries effectively.
Module 6: Personal development plans and evaluating impact
Participants will be asked to present their personal action and development plans back to the group and stress test them with their colleagues. We will look at how to set goals and measure the impact of policy engagement and their development plans. We will share general thinking around how to evidence the reach, interaction and impact of research and the ways that you communicate it.
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