‘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.

CAPE is pleased to see the launch of the Yorkshire & Humber Policy Engagement & Research Network (Y-PERN) which has been awarded £3.9m of funding from the Research England Development (RED) fund.

When we think of the current research-policy ecosystem in the UK, what image does it conjure? Some may picture an archipelago; islands of research-policy engagement initiatives separated by surrounding waters. What if we could better connect these islands so that resources can be shared and communities can learn from each other more easily?

CAPE team members reflect on the key insights that emerged from a workshop that sought to explore the development of a more mature engagement ecosystem.

Following a connection made through a CAPE Fellowship, anthropologist Kelly Fagan Robinson and policy officer Imogen Resnick discuss the initial findings from the Anthropology By Children (ABC) pilot in schools. They explore what they have learned together about the ways in which inclusive research can provide a rich foundation for successful collaboration between academics and policy-makers and a better future for participants.