The House of Lords select committee on Artificial Intelligence in Weapon Systems has launched a new Area of Research Interest (ARI) alongside their Call for Evidence. Academics, research institutions and experts with technical and other expertise concerning AI in Weapon Systems are invited to complete a short survey about their research.

As part of our exploration into the importance of knowledge exchange events in academic-policy engagement, we reflect on a pilot network within CAPE called the Policy Knowledge Brokers Forum (PKBF). The network bought together policy knowledge brokers in policy organisations to meet and share experiences. Kayleigh Renberg Fawcett and Jenny Hasenfuss, CAPE coordinators who supported the network, share reflections on what we’ve learnt based on the collective experience from founding members of the network from the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology, Government Office for Science, and the Evidence & Partnerships Hub at the Ministry of Justice . Our insights from this initiative show that knowledge exchange events are a great way to build networks, provide a safe space for disruptive thinking, and work well when there is a diversity of voices present. 

The House of Commons International Development Committee has now updated its Areas of Research Interest for 2023 to support the Committee’s scrutiny of the UK’s international development strategy and funding. Academics at all career stages, research institutions, and experts are encouraged to register their interest in these ARIs, add their existing research in the topic areas to the ARI repository, provide their insights, and suggest questions that the Committee could be asking the Government. 

‘Social infrastructure’ is a phrase often used by policy makers and academics to describe places where people come together. But what does this phrase mean to local communities and how can we include them in discussions about these spaces? In 2022 the Bennett Institute for Public Policy ran a CAPE funded project with the Institute for Community Studies to explore. Owen Garling, Knowledge Transfer Facilitator at the Institute, reflects on the experience of talking about social infrastructure with community groups, how the project effectively engaged the public, and why it’s so important they are included in conversations.

In this blog Ben Hepworth from the Ministry of Justice describes how civil servants working in knowledge exchange roles across government have been supported by CAPE to convene a forum – the Policy Knowledge Brokering Forum (PKBF) – to discuss topics of mutual interest. The substantive content of this blogpost explores and summarises one session of the PKBF that discussed evidence usage, academic engagement, and ‘impact’.

Florence Greatrix, CAPE Policy Fellow, has been working with the Government Office for Science in their Emerging Technologies team. In sharing her reflections on her time working in policy, she explores the value of doing a policy fellowship and offers insights into what it’s like working in GO-Science.

Gemma Burgess and Katy Karampour from the University of Cambridge reflect on their CAPE Collaboration Fund project which evaluates modular housing schemes for homelessness in Cambridge. They discuss how co-production and collaboration has worked with their partner Jimmy’s Cambridge and how this will help to inform future policy decisions by Cambridgeshire County Council.

In this case study, CAPE Policy Fellow Darren Sharpe, Senior Research Fellow from the University of East London, discusses his work on participative democracy with Newham Council, London. He explores how his Policy Fellowship with Newham is experimenting with different ‘demonstrator’ projects to include marginalised voices in the policy making process better.

In September 2022, two Senedd committees launched the Senedd’s first Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) as a new way to improve committees’ engagement with the research community. ARI topics include climate change, modal shift and active travel, sustainable communities, and health literacy. In this blog Rob Davies, CAPE Policy Fellow, outlines how researchers can engage with the ARIs and how they aim to support parliamentary scrutiny.