Cardiff Met academics selected as policy fellows to work with Welsh Government

Two Cardiff Metropolitan University academics have been selected as policy fellows by UK Research and Innovation to work with Welsh Government to help inform policy.

The fellowships, each lasting 18 months, will enhance the relationship between academia, government and research organisations by improving the flow of evidence, insights and talent.

Following a successful pilot, run by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 2021, the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy Fellowships programme has doubled in scale and expanded the range of research disciplines involved.

Professor of Environmental and Sustainable Design for the Built Environment, Carolyn Hayles from Cardiff Met Uni, will work with Welsh Government on the Cadw Climate Change Adaptation Pathways Fellowship. The aim of the fellowship is to develop and test a methodology for identifying and planning climate change adaptation action.

Professor Hayles said: “This opportunity builds on previous research collaborations with Welsh Government and Cadw, where I have looked at how resilient buildings in the UK and Wales are to challenges associated with a changing climate, including practical recommendations for risk-based adaptation.

“The fellowship provides an opportunity to engage with the practical application of a strategic decision support tool that has the potential to be applied across numerous policy areas to inform much needed climate adaptation both in Wales and the UK more widely. Undoubtedly, this opportunity will help me to develop expertise at better informing and influencing policy makers in decision making and climate adaptation advances.

“I am really delighted to have the opportunity to work on such an important project. A better understanding of approaches to climate adaptation policy are necessary if we are to build capacity and resilience to climate change.”

Dr Adrian Kay, Senior Lecturer in Strategic/Project Management at Cardiff Met Uni will also work with Welsh Government on designing and implementing an evaluation of Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations (WFG) Act (2015), on the Sustainable Futures Fellowship.

Dr Adrian Kay said: “My research, for several years, has investigated how governments can confront the dilemma of acting in the interests of future generations. There are many different factors, such as budget pressures, elections, reporting requirements, accountability reviews, that tend to shorten the time horizons of policymakers and make it difficult to transition to a sustainable future. The WFG Act is a landmark attempt to counteract this tendency and has attracted significant attention in the rest of the UK, as well as overseas. The fellowship will aim to develop useful suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of the Act.

“My career started as a government economist in Wales and, after many years working internationally, it feels great to be back working on this important ESRC project with the Welsh Government.”

The aim of the policy fellowships is to help fulfil the potential of research and expertise to inform and shape effective public policy and its implementation.

The policy fellowships benefit government and What Works Centre partners by:

• supporting policymakers and practitioners to access and use the best and most relevant research when developing and implementing new policies
• developing strong research, science and technology capabilities within the civil service and research organisations
• improving the flow of knowledge and talent between government, academia and research organisations
• raising government leaders’ awareness of the importance of science and innovation.

The fellowships benefit the research community by:

• providing an exciting opportunity to work in the heart of government or a What Works Centre and use research to inform the major policy challenges of our times
• upskilling researchers to enable more effective engagement and collaboration with policymakers
• building relationships between academics, research organisations and policy organisations.

Stian Westlake, Executive Chair of ESRC, said: “This programme represents a major increase of UKRI’s investment in connecting research and policy. It will put some of the UK’s brightest researchers at the heart of government, to help inform the way policy is made.

“We are building on the success of the 2021 pilot by doubling the size of the programme, increasing the range of research and scientific disciplines involved, and embedding policy fellows in almost every UK government department and all three devolved administrations. It will provide a significant increase in the science and research capabilities of government and will boost the positive impact of scientific research on public policy.”

44 academic fellows were selected in total to work in 21 government departments and five What Works Centres across the UK.

Further information on the 2023 Policy Fellows is available on the UKRI web page.