Celebrating CAPE and Advancing Academic-Policy Engagement

Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) is a knowledge exchange and research project that explores how to support effective and sustained engagement between academics and policy professionals across the higher education sector.

As one of five partner universities, the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham has spent the last four years working to better understand and enhance academic-policy engagement in different geographical and policy contexts across England.

University of Nottingham x CAPE workshop

As the project draws to a close at the end of 2024, we have recently come together to reflect on what has been achieved and pass on lessons learned to knowledge mobilisers who can take them forward.

At Nottingham, we recently hosted a workshop for knowledge exchange staff to introduce CAPE’s resources. Rafael Carrascosa Marzo from UCL’s CAPE team talked us though some of the toolkits; we had fruitful discussions about policy fellowships, regional coproduction, and using the Resource Navigator to access guides in the future.

CAPE wraps up at the Royal Society in London

On 5^th November, CAPE celebrated its final event at the Royal Society. This consisted of a workshop discussion to reflect on the achievements of the project and taking learnings forward. Sarah Chaytor, Co-Investigator of CAPE, shared her experience of CAPE from conception to completion, touching on the areas the project has helped progress.

This was followed by spotlights on CAPE’s partnerships with the Ministry of Justice and Islington Council, and the introduction of Areas of Research Interest in Parliament, Senedd, and regional authorities across England.

Zinnia Gonzalez-Carranza, a Nottingham academic who attended the event, was one recipient of this seed funding. Her project produced an infographic and policy paper on the importance of supporting smallholder cooperatives to stimulate rural social development in South America.

The workshop was followed by a panel discussion on ‘the Future of Academic-Policy Engagement’. Panellists included Sarah Chaytor, Director of Public Policy at UCL and Co-Investigator for CAPE, Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Chair of Research England, Ted Hayden, Director at the Government Office for Science, Hannah Johnson, Knowledge Exchange Lead at Welsh Parliament, and Hetan Shah, CEO at the British Academy.

I love how innovative and exploratory the project was, and how many other ideas it has inspired

Through the policy paper and infographic, the CAPE project further validates the initiative and supports us to effectively showcase it to a wider audience.

Lessons learnt

During the workshop, attendees were asked to fill in postcards to reflect on CAPE and pledge ways of working for the future. Participants praised the network of expertise that came as a result of the project, as well as access to resources and seed funding.

Keeping the connection which have been built – especially to test and pilot new ideas

Create more opportunities for policy makers to come into and spent time in my institution

[My favourite thing about working with CAPE was] Being part of a growing community of enthusiastic people focused on helping research play a part in the evidence and policy process