Resources to help you engage with academic research as a policy professional

Introduction

Over the past three years, the Capabilities in Academic-Policy Engagement (CAPE) team have created a collection of practical resources, designed to simplify the process of academic-policy engagement, enhance your ability to engage with academic research, and save you time.

How CAPE collaborates with policy professionals

CAPE is a knowledge exchange and research partnership that explores how to support effective and sustained engagement between academics and policy professionals across the higher education sector.

As one of the university partners in CAPE, we are excited to introduce CAPE’s brand-new Resource Navigator - your compass for navigating this treasure trove. Plus, the team have handpicked a selection of resources tailored specifically to policy professionals like you.

The toolkits and guides are designed to be flexible so they can be adapted to meet the specific needs of different university and policy systems. These resources are intended as an entry point into addressing common challenges in academic-policy engagement and to inspire new and deeper forms of engagement.

Introducing our Resource Navigator

If you are you looking for toolkits and templates that can help you kickstart or increase your engagement with academics and knowledge brokers, you want practice-based, easy to digest resources that you can download to support your work, then this is for you.

The CAPE Resource Navigator is a one-stop shop that gives you an overview of our more comprehensive toolkits and guides and presents them through commonplace issues they could help to solve. These are presented as data profiles that give you a rundown of the resource (what is it, who is it for, how to use it, etc.) and include further readings from CAPE’s library of case studies, reports, and blogposts.

Unlock the power of evidence with the ‘Engaging with Evidence’ toolkit

CAPE’s Engaging with Evidence toolkit, developed with Nesta, aims to help you utilise, synthesise, scrutinise, and engage with evidence and expertise. Whether you are shaping policies, designing programmes, or evaluating impact, this toolkit equips you with the necessary practical skills.

Overall, this toolkit enables you to:

• Understand the role of evidence and expertise throughout the policy lifecycle, from inception to evaluation.

• Discover theory, case studies, and interactive activities.

• Personalise the use of the modules based on your priorities, time constraints, and unique development needs.

• Set clear learning objectives and track your progress.

Rapid Evidence Assessments toolkit: get a quick, comprehensive overview of research

If you are currently facing an urgent policy decision - perhaps where to allocate resources, develop a business case, or scrutinise a new government policy - and need a swift overview of research to bolster confidence in your decision, then this toolkit is for you.

Our Rapid Evidence Assessments toolkit, developed in collaboration with the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) and Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), can help you make your urgent policy decisions evidence informed. This guide is your ally in commissioning Rapid Evidence Assessments that align with your urgent policy needs, enabling you to: 

• Benefit from a transparent search, quality assessment, and synthesis of existing research 

• Understand the full review process to inform your tender documents 

• Ask the right questions to ensure a review that is both rapid and rigorous

Get started on your evidence-based project with our scoping template

Developed from CAPE’s expertise, this scoping template empowers you to co-produce and co-develop projects and partnerships between you and an academic partner. Whether you are new to academic engagement or a seasoned pro, this template enables you to:

• Define what your project will achieve

• Build strong relationships with your academic partners and ensure your objectives align

• Navigate the nitty-gritty of engagement projects, including resources and best practices

To learn more about CAPE and hear about new toolkits and resources, you can sign up to their newsletter here.