UKRI Policy Fellowships

Funding for applicants to conduct collaborative research projects with UK national or devolved governments or What Works Network centres to address pressing national and global challenges.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are running this fellowship opportunity with support from Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK). Fellows will collaborate with a UK or devolved government host or What Works Network centre on research activity to address pressing national and global challenges.

Applicants will co-design research with the host organisation to inform policy on a priority area in order to help improve the exchange of knowledge between policy/government and academic institutions. A total of 49 fellowships will be awarded through this opportunity, covering a wide range of government partners and the devolved administrations.

Fellows will:

• Scope and lead research-related activity with the host.
• Work closely with hosts to ensure alignment of priorities and that analysis is as robust and useful as possible in driving decisions.
• Provide advice and peer review to other aspects of the host’s work.
• Support capability building within host in their area of expertise.
• Strengthen engagement between government and academia through activities such as:
  • Connecting with related UKRI research portfolios, acting as a pipeline for knowledge exchange between them and hosts.
  • Publishing outputs from analysis produced, subject to clearance processes.
  • Knowledge exchange activities with academic institutions and other analytical and policy teams within government and intermediaries.
• Supporting hosts and funders of this funding opportunity in the evaluation of the fellowship programme and improvement of future schemes.

The benefits for the fellow include the following:

• Opportunity to undertake cutting edge research, enhance knowledge and potentially access new and novel data.
• Opportunity to inform decision-making on the most pressing policy problems of our time.
• A better understanding of government analysis, operations, policymaking, data usage, and priority areas for research.
• Ability to build their network of policy and analytical professionals within government and across the What Works Network.
• Opportunity to join a cohort of academic researchers across government working to address complex policy questions across and with government.
• Potential to influence future policy-academia collaborations.
• Opportunity for publication across policy and academia, subject to clearance processes.

Funding will be available for 18 months and will cover:

• Inception phase for project set up, up to 3 months.
• Main placement with host, 12 months.
• Knowledge exchange phase, up to 3 months.