Policy Pathways

Policy Pathways is a project hosted by the HaSS Research Institutes that aims to support colleagues working to develop policy-relevant research and establish partnerships with stakeholders in the policy sector. Multiplying calls for people-centred approaches and ‘narrative imagination’ in policymaking point to a central role for the creative arts, humanities and social sciences. Yet, the two sectors do not engage as much as they could, often because they approach common challenges in different ways, work within different time frames and use a very different language to communicate what they do. Moreover, despite expectations to produce ‘policy-relevant’ work, academic colleagues often lack training in this vital area.

Policy Pathways directly addresses these gaps through a series of workshops and resources bringing HaSS researchers together with policymakers, to build structural and institutional bridges across sectors that often remain siloed.  Each of our workshops will concern and convene partners from across different scales—local, national, international—to facilitate translation of knowledge between the academy and policymakers, and to centre this interdisciplinary channel of communication in our work and conversations on methodology, engagement and impact.   

The goal will be to advance networking, knowledge exchange, capacity building and skills training for all stages or career and study. The workshops will sharpen all the participants’ awareness and appreciation of the policy-relevant contributions HaSS colleagues can make to tackling our collective challenges (including the climate crisis, the Sustainable Development Goals, societal and intergenerational equity).

This project will work with student interns to map existing partnerships with stakeholders in the policy sector. 

The HaSS Research Institutes look forward to working with Directors of Research and Impact in the HaSS schools to make sure that the planned events and resources can support all colleagues across the faculty.