Training slides by Professor Mark Reed from Fast Track Impact - find our more at: https://www.fasttrackimpact.com/training-courses

1. INFLUENCING POLICY

2. Question:
Your handbooks

3. Question:
What is policy impact?

5. Question:
What is policy impact?
?
Who
benefits

6. The good that
researchers do
in the world
Reed (The Research Impact Handbook)
Question:
What is impact?
“Demonstrable and/or perceptible benefits to individuals,
groups, organisations and society (including human and non-
human entities in the present and future) that are causally
linked (necessarily or sufficiently) to research.”
Reed et al. (2021) Research Policy

8. Question:
There is no such thing as
(purely) evidence-based policy

9. Question:
Responsible policy impact

10. Question:
Responsible policy impact
Imposter syndrome
only go as far as you feel comfortable

11. Question:
A personal journey
Timing Approach Role
Are you ready to
engage with
policy yet?
Do you want to
reactively inform
or proactively
influence?
Do you want to be
a critical friend,
collaborator, broker
or advocate/
campaigner?

12. Clearly-defined policy
problems and/or
solutions
Strong evidence
Limited, weak or
mixed evidence
Poorly-defined policy
problems and/or
solutions
Systematic impact strategy
• Use evidence to evaluate existing
policies to make the case for
change and assess alternative
solutions
• Use a Logic model of Theory of
Change to plan policy change
Relational impact strategy
• Use evidence to better understand
the problem, drawing on different
perspectives from policy networks
• Co-produce new policy options with
policy networks and those affected
Systematic research strategy
• Synthesise existing evidence to
identify what is known and gaps
• Gap fill with new research, co-
produced with those who affected
where possible
Relational research strategy
• Explore the problem from the
perspective of different groups
• Co-produce potential solutions to
research with people who see the
problem from different perspectives
Are you ready to engage with policy yet?

13. Who has a stake in my research?
1. Evidence synthesis
Tools for building the evidence base
 Scoping reviews
 Systematic reviews
 Meta-analysis
 Realist reviews
 Qualitative
evidence synthesis
 Umbrella reviews
 Rapid reviews
2. Adapt your current
research
3. Apply for funding to
analyse secondary
data or collect new
primary data…

15. Proactive engagement
via knowledge exchange
Questioning,
inclusive
engagement
Pragmatic,
exclusive
engagement
Reactive engagement
via knowledge transfer
Facilitating influencer
Creating alliances with non-academic
organisations, coproducing policy
options with those affected by the
problem, doing consultancy projects for
NGOs seeking to influence policy
Facilitating informer
For example, writing a consultation
response that gives voice to those
directly affected alongside other
research evidence
Expert influencer
For example, using policy briefs to run
policy webinars, being available to
answer questions from policy
colleagues, doing policy consultancy
projects
Expert informer
For example, speaking at a
parliamentary inquiry or committee,
writing opinion pieces and
disseminating policy briefs
Do you want to inform or influence?

16. Question:
Discussion
Timing Approach Role
Are you ready to
engage with
policy yet?
Do you want to
reactively inform
or proactively
influence?
Do you want to be
a critical friend,
collaborator, broker
or advocate/
campaigner?

17. Question:
Discussion
Timing Approach Role
Are you ready to
engage with
policy yet?
Do you want to
reactively inform
or proactively
influence?
Do you want to be
a critical friend,
collaborator, broker
or advocate/
campaigner?

18. All knowledge must be
interpreted subjectively
Policy
responsive
research with
close working
relationships
Policy-relevant
research with
distance from
policy colleagues
All knowledge is objective
Expert broker
Clearly defining the policy problem and providing
as many feasible solutions as possible,
evaluating options based on evidence
Expert collaborator
Co-produce policy responsive mono- or multi-
disciplinary research with policy colleagues
Campaigner
Single-issue focus mobilising the public to
influence policy indirectly, usually in
adversarial mode
Critical friend
Asking provocative questions and
providing scrutiny of policy
Advocate
Single-issue focus working directly with
policy colleagues either closely or in
adversarial mode
Facilitating broker
Questioning how the policy problem is framed and
providing as many feasible policy options as
possible including evidence and perspectives from
affected groups for policy colleagues to evaluate
Facilitating collaborator
Co-produce policy responsive, transdisciplinary
research with policy colleagues and groups
affected by the policies
What role will you play?

19. Who has a stake in my research?
Informers: sign up to consultation email lists
Influencers: reach out to contacts based on
their interests and co-produce an impact plan
Critical friends and campaigners: identify
organisations you can work with to hold policy
to account
Brokers: Identify groups with different
perspectives you need to represent
Collaborators: Co-produce your impact plan
Adapting to your preferences

20. Practical
tools

21. The heart of the impact agenda in…
1 metaphor
1 word

23. Empathy

24. Who has a stake in my research?
Analysing who’s relevant

25. Who has a stake in my research?
Who’s relevant? 3i’s
1. Who is interested (or not)?
2. Who has influence (to facilitate or block
impact) or not?
3. Who is impacted (positively or negatively)?
Why?

28. Who has a stake in my research?
Options:
1. Websites and
organograms
2. LinkedIn (or a
colleague’s if
better
connected)
3. Your networks
4. Paid
directories and
consultants
Identifying relevant contacts
I only have 4 connections in
Department of Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy working on climate
change, but if I include 2nd and 3rd
degree connections, I can identify
713 people in the department with
interests in climate change
K*** Fear*****h

29. Who has a stake in my research?
Story: how I used
a 3i analysis to
reframe our
research to
successive
ministers to
achieve policy
impact
Identifying relevant contacts

32. How do you feel?
Question:
Identifying your red lines
Limited Influence and Impact More
Lower risk Higher risk
now
Vote

33. Writing a
policy brief
infographic or
presentation
that has real impact

34. Who has a stake in my research?
 Summary or synthesis of research evidence
 Targets an issue, evidence gap or policy
need
 Provides policy options, advice or actions
 You can write and design you own policy
brief or be part of a series
What is a policy brief?

35. Who has a stake in my research?
 When you’ve submitted evidence to a
consultation or inquiry that you also want to
get to specific people or teams
 As a visual aid for a talk or meeting to leave
with participants for follow-up
 When your research is only part of the
picture – integrate with other projects or
evidence synthesis
When is a policy brief useful?

36. Who has a stake in my research?
 Use more infographics and less text the
higher up the policy chain you are targeting
 Can be integrated with policy briefs or
repurposed for social media and
presentations
 You can make them yourself with no design
skills or money…
Infographic

37. Infographics are a great way of communicating
your research to a wider audience

38. Who has a stake in my research?
Start by cutting your article down to size.
Extract your key messages

39. Who has a stake in my research?
 Cut the academic jargon and rework your
messages to use as few words as
possible, making sure that they are
instantly understandable.
 The simpler your language, the more
effective your infographic is likely to be.
Simplify your language

40. Who has a stake in my research?
 Draw all the images that come into your
mind as you think about each point,
Visualize your key messages

41. Who has a stake in my research?
Come up with a layout

42. Who has a stake in my research?
Convert to graphics

43. Who has a stake in my research?
 Integrate inforgraphics into policy briefs
 Expand messages from presentations in
accompanying policy briefs
 Revise your policy brief based on the
questions you get when you present
Integrating products

44. Who has a stake in my research?
 Choose a policy product (link to folder in chat
now)
 Discuss what you like or dislike
 Share your screen to illustrate your points or
tell others the file name so they can open the
document you’re viewing
What makes a good policy product?
out
Break

45. A good policy brief:
 Summarises or synthesizes evidence
 Communicates complexity and uncertainty responsibly
 Clearly targets a policy need, challenge or policy-
relevant evidence gap
 Identifies technically and politically feasible actions or
questions existing options to open up new opportunity
spaces
 Is developed with feedback from policy networks
Question:
Content tips

46.  Use a limited colour palette
 Keep text to a minimum, break up blocks of text with
sub-headings, images, diagrams and white space or
blocks of colour
 Catch the eye with an image or infographic on the
front page
 Add University/funder logos
Question:
Design tips

47.  Front page:
 Concise, prominent and policy-relevant title
 Key messages or policy options
 Inside:
 Policy challenge
 Research
 Explain and appraise policy options
 Back page:
 Contact details
 References, footnotes or further reading on back page
 Plain English and policy jargon only
 Length depends on audience
Question:
Structure tips

48. Who has a stake in my research?
Informers: send to policy teams
Influencers: use in meetings and webinars
Critical friends and campaigners: send to
media
Brokers: research and cover all the options
Collaborators: co-produce your policy products
Adapting to your preferences

49. Who has a stake in my research?
Getting your focus right:
 Use your 3i analysis to identify warm
contacts from relevant policy networks (e.g.
engaged researchers, third sector,
consultants, agency staff, civil servants,
MPs)
 Tailored email based on intersection between
your interests and theirs
 Meet to discuss evidence gaps, policy needs
and other questions
Co-producing a policy brief

50. Who has a stake in my research?
Getting your content right:
 Get their help to identify keywords that will
resonate with your audience
Co-producing a policy brief
 Get their feedback
on draft text and
design
 Stress-test drafts
 Consider different
versions

51. Who has a stake in my research?
Co-producing a policy brief

52. Who has a stake in my research?
Case study

53. How do you feel?
Question:
Identifying your red lines
Limited Influence and Impact More
Lower risk Higher risk
now
Vote

54. Using your policy
product in
meetings and
policy
seminars

55. Who has a stake in my research?
 Revisit your stakeholder analysis
 Focus on high interest/influence groups that will
directly benefit from your research
 Fine-grain your analysis if necessary to identify
specific teams and individuals via online research
and help from colleagues
 Create invitations based on their interests
(tailored for one-to-one meetings or list most
important benefits for seminars)
Targeting key people and teams

56. Who has a stake in my research?
Options to consider:
 Single issue/presenter versus curating a
programme
 Joining a seminar series versus creating a
stand-alone event
 In-house or a nearby venue with a nice lunch
 Presentation/questions or participatory
format
 Feedback questionnaire or post-card to your
future self
Policy seminars

57. Who has a stake in my research?
Options to consider:
 Cold call or be introduced via a trusted
intermediary
 Send key messages and policy brief via
intermediary, visit with them or go yourself
 Come in listening mode or with key
messages
 Their office or a coffee shop
One-to-one meetings

58. Who has a stake in my research?
 What is the difference between influence and
manipulation?
 How might researchers inadvertently cross
their own red lines?
Discussion exercise

59. Pitching
policy options in
meetings and seminars

60. 1. Purpose
2. Communicate
tangible
benefits
3. Explain why
these benefits
are important
1. Have purpose
! ! !

61. 4. Give people a reason to trust you
5. What’s coming next?
1. Have purpose

62.  Know your audience
 If you don’t, start off
getting to know them
 What concerns and
motivates them most?
 The power of stories
 Stories with impact are
personal, unexpected,
visual, visceral
2. Connect

63.  Ask “you-focused” questions, for example:
 What would you do if…
2. Connect

64.  Use your body language:
 Open & approachable; positive & energised
 Your audience will mirror you emotionally
2. Connect

65. AUTHORITATIVE INTIMIDATING
VS
3. Be authoritative and passionate

66.  Posture: be aware of your feet
 Start/end at “home” position and use
different stage positions for different
3. Be authoritative and passionate

67.  Use emphasis to make every word and
sentence count:
3. Be authoritative and passionate
 Slow down and spell out key
points
 Use volume
 Vary intonation  Pause/silenc
e

68.  Identify one, memorable key
message
4. Keep it simple

69. 4. Keep it simple
 People will
forget the
detail, so use
the detail to
build and
convey your
key message
 Repeat it in
different
ways, coming
at it from
different
angles to
communicate
your
secondary
messages

70.  Practice and practice
again
 Record yourself, get
feedback, identify
bad habits and
practice breaking
them
 Speaking too fast,
pacing, verbal fillers
5. Polish

71.  No slides are better than bad slides:
use visuals to add impact, not as your
notes
5. Polish

72. Ella aged 2
wearing mum’s shoes
Ella aged 22
Put yourself in their shoes: have purpose, connect, be
authoritative & passionate, keep it simple, and polish
your shoes regularly

73. Question:
Discussion
 Something important you learned or liked
 Something you disagreed with
 Share a story or a tip
 Ask a question
Comment
in chat
Open
mic

74. How do you feel?
Question:
Identifying your red lines
Limited Influence and Impact More
Lower risk Higher risk
now
Vote

75. The bottom-up and top-
down pincer movement

76. Who has a stake in my research?
You don’t have to be the world expert to become
the “go to” person:
 Identify junior civil servants who work with
evidence in your field
 Offer targeted help based on their
interests/remit, asking what else you can do
 Work in the public interest, not just to get your
research used
 Deliver useful, understandable and on time, via
your network if outside your expertise
 Wait for them to connect you to their teams
Bottom-up: the trusted advisor

77. Who has a stake in my research?
 Identify influential stakeholder organisations and
decide if you can work with them (considering
risks to your values and reputation)
 Offer help to junior staff who work with evidence,
build trust and get to know their teams
 Provide evidence for them to use in high-level
meetings, if possible briefing and de-briefing
before/after
 The risk: they cherry-pick or distort the evidence
to lobby using your name and credibility
Top-down: intermediaries

78. Who has a stake in my research?
 When it all comes together…
Top-down and bottom up
Open
mic

79. How do you feel?
Question:
Identifying your red lines
Limited Influence and Impact More
Lower risk Higher risk
now
Vote

80. In chat
Comment
Open
mic
For example:
 Things you disagree with or do differently
 Questions about specific contexts or situations
 Something I’m taking away from this (to think
about or do)
Questions

81. Next steps

82. Write in chat:
 What will I do, based on what I learned today?
Provide your email address and I’ll contact you a
month from now to remind you what you wrote
and see if I can help.
Or send your action to a colleague and arrange
a meeting over drinks to swap notes in a month.
Evaluating Impact
Actions
In chat
Comment

83. Get a reply from Mark to any query within 1 week:
send via Madie (pa@fasttrackimpact.com)
www.fasttrackimpact.com
@fasttrackimpact

84. Evaluating Impact
Feedback
www.fasttrackimpact.com/feedback-form

85. Evaluating Impact
Newsletter

86. Read and discuss
Free follow-up training
www.fasttrackimpact.com/for-researchers

87. Read and discuss
Free follow-up training
www.fasttrackimpact.com/impactculture

88. For trainings over two days,
place this slide before the policy
brief session

89. Who has a stake in my research?
 If you have time: read the Oliver and Cairney
paper (or you can just work from the abstract
tomorrow)
 Reflect on additional lessons you would add,
based on what you learned today
 Come up with actions (policy options) that
could be actioned by a new policy institute at
your University to facilitate policy impact
Preparation for tomorrow

90. For trainings over two days, start
day 2 with this slide

91. Who has a stake in my research?
 Extract the key messages from the
paper/abstract and yesterday’s session
 Use the 3i’s tool to identify who would be most
relevant to engage with, if you wanted to
influence the strategic plan for a new University
policy institute
 Come up with actionable options for strategic
plan, catering to the needs of the relevant
people/groups you identified e.g. activities,
structures, initiatives, that would enable the new
institute to facilitate policy impact. For example:
reflect (key message) > researchers (relevant
group) > learning from failure
Exercise