Research Project Support

Our offer

Public Policy|Southampton (PPS) work with Principal Investigators (PI) to design, deliver and evidence policy engagement activities with confidence during their research project. PPS encourage Principal Investigators (PI) to engage early in their research proposal in order to develop a bespoke policy engagement activity at the outset. Please contact Publicpolicy@soton.ac.uk to arrange a meeting or complete our Research Project Form and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible. In the meantime, a list of the services PPS can offer to support you with your research project can be found below. 

Policy Engagement Strategy 

PPS will work closely with the research team to ensure that policy engagement is a thread which runs through a project with timetabled policy engagement activities leading to policy outputs. This strategy is prepared in consultation with the PI providing confidence that their work will achieve the broadest possible reach and deliver meaningful engagement with policymakers and practitioners. This work is normally developed before a proposal is funded. View our basic Project Flowchart. View our template on the Policy Engagement Strategy.

Stakeholder Analysis*

The purpose of the stakeholder analysis is to identify and engage with relevant local, national and international policy makers, Parliamentarians (including All Party Parliamentary Groups and Select Committees), non-governmental organisations, professional bodies, practitioners and endpoint users. This work  commences typically within the first six months of the project being funded.

Policy Synthesis*

During the policy synthesis, the PPS team will produce a grey literature review source from local and national government policy papers and NGO and thinktank white papers. Key findings will be drawn together into an executive summary, verbal presentation and slide deck providing the research team with insight and indications of travel direction. This work runs alongside the stakeholder analysis.

* Delivered by PPS Policy|Associate – find out more here.

Stakeholder workshop

Stakeholder workshops present an opportunity to review the research projects' initial key findings, discuss potential recommendations/implications, and refine the accessibility of a policy brief by leveraging stakeholders' expertise identified above. The stakeholder workshop usually takes place around the final third of the research project timeline.

Project Webpage

PPS will develop a dedicated web page that will offer information about the research project’s aims, milestones, and research team. It will be updated as the project develops to include latest news, the launch of the policy brief, podcast episodes, videos, and final reports (where applicable). PPS will provide data analytics for these pages as requested, which can be submitted to funders as evidence of reach. View our list of policy projects here. 

Policy Brief

The policy brief is an output co-produced with stakeholder which provides an accessible and engaging document targeted towards a specific audience which outlines the policy context, the key findings and recommendations/implications of this research project. PPS will support you with developing the policy brief from drafting through design and dissemination. View our list of policy briefs here. For design and printing related costs please click here.

Podcast 

PPS can support with the production of one or more 20 minute podcast episodes during your project. Promoted via our Social Media channels to a broad policy audience these legacy outputs create an opportunity to engage and produce quantitative data for funders of the reach of your policy engagement activities. Listen to our podcasts here.

Social media dissemination (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) and additional communications support

PPS can support by utilising existing channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) to promote the research project’s policy implications and offer an online space for interaction with relevant interested parties. Read more here.

What does it cost?

Please include £3000 in your Justification of Resources to make use of our Policy|Associates scheme. This expenditure should be listed as Casual labour (resource required to undertake short term tasks to support the proposed research). All other support is provided without charge.

Please note that costs associated with design, printing, travel costs, venue and catering are not included. To get an estimation of these costs please click on the link below.

PPS Membership

If you want to get for involved with the policy process and maximise your engagement with policymakers, we highly recommend to join our FREE Membership. To find out more and to register please on the link below.

In the meantime, please refer to our supporting pages dedicated for: useful information on additional costs to consider related to your research project; policy related projects which PPS has been involved with; policy engagement best practice; and policy training sessions.