Where did you go and what did you do?
I completed my PIPS at the Open Innovation Team (OIT), who are a team that provide policy advice and analysis for projects across different government departments. They focus on increasing evidence-based policy decisions by highlighting academic and industry expertise during the policy development process. They also provide policy engagement advice for academics at their partner universities, which includes York.
During my placement at the OIT I was involved in a few projects. At the beginning of my placement, I was on a project for the Department of Education (DfE) around educational technologies. I was involved in drafting the report for submission to the client, which included writing policy analysis for the policy options we presented in the report. After this, I was moved onto a project about Media and Trust for the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). This project had just kicked off, so I was involved in different activities than the other project, which was in its later stages. For this project, I was involved in doing an initial literature review, identifying experts in the field, and then interviewing the experts. By the end of my time on the project, I had also led some of the expert interviews.
During the main projects, I was also involved in delivering some of the OIT’s partner university benefits. This included giving policy engagement advice for academics based on their research and policy impact ambitions.
Use this time to venture out of your comfort zone and place yourself in an experience that pushes you to gain new skills. It can help you evaluate future plans and gain more experience of different applications of a PhD.
What made you want to do that particular PIPS?
From the beginning of my PhD, I knew that I wanted to get out of the lab for my placement. Doing a policy-related placement appealed to me as I was interested to explore other avenues for impact outside of research. I was also interested in experiencing the policy-science interface from the policy angle, which a placement with the OIT allowed, given their involvement with academics.
What skills have you gained from your PIPS?
One of the parts of my placement that I had no previous experience with was expert engagement. I had never interviewed experts before my placement, and by the end I was able to lead interviews as well. Expert engagement, through both expert interviews and academic policy advice clinics, ended up being some of my favourite parts of the placement.
The drafting process for reports at the OIT was very different than I was used to. Writing for a policy audience felt very different to academic writing, which was something I had to get used to. The process was fast-paced, and the feedback and revision process was almost continuous, which was different to how I am used to writing. Developing my writing skills for a policy audience has positively impacted my writing by making me think about how to best present my work in an accessible and succinct manner.
What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?
I have contributed significantly to a report that is due to be sent to the client soon and could inform new policies. I’ve also helped with the kick-off for another project, which involved doing the initial literature review that will provide the basis for the report, as well as conducted expert interviews, which are important in the development of policy recommendation ideas. The OIT have PhD students year-round and PhD students contribute significantly to the projects they carry out.
How would you sum up your PIPS experience?
I had a wonderful time during my PIPS! It was nice to experience a completely different type of work and the topics of the work I was doing were very interesting. The team was also very lovely and provided a positive environment to work within.