We were pleased to join forces with the team at CLOSER again this year to produce another informative podcast featuring several high-profile experts from the world of data, including our own Director, Dr Steve McEachern.
In this new production, we explore how research data can be used by government policymakers to make positive influences to so many different aspects of our society.
Guiding better decisions
Over the two episodes, podcast hosts Jennie Blows (CLOSER Digital Communications and Events Manager) and Rodney Appleyard (UK Data Service Communications and Stakeholder Manager) sit down with four experts to explore how further awareness of research data could be raised among policymakers, so that it can be used to guide even better decisions in the future.
Our panellists include:
- Dr Steve McEachern (Director of UK Data Service)
- Rob Davies (Head of Policy and Dialogue at CLOSER)
- Prof Emily Marchant (Lecturer at Swansea University)
- Natasha Mutebi (Social Sciences Lead at the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST))
To provide you with a taste of what to expect in these podcasts, in episode 1, we asked Rob to provide us with his understanding of dynamic ways awareness can be raised with policymakers.
He told us: “I think it’s absolutely critical to kind of speak to the target audience. And I think one of the most powerful ways I found in terms of mobilising research data, particularly longitudinal research data, is through storytelling.
“So, it makes it more accessible. You’re able to kind of tell a story, and it really resonates with the target audience. I think one of the kind of consistent pieces of feedback that I get from policy actors, whether in governments, parliaments, is the importance of evidence synthesis as well.
“So not necessarily pushing forward kind of one paper or one finding, but looking across, you know, the kind of landscape, and looking across the issue you know, potentially looking at generations, generational change, which, again, longitudinal data is really powerful at communicating.”
Listen to the podcasts below to find out more
In episode 1, our panel share their insights into how researchers can connect with policymakers and effectively communicate their findings for policy audiences.
In episode 2, our experts showcase examples of where research data has been used to guide policymaking, dissect the challenges that researchers face in mobilising their research, and explain how UK Parliament assesses research to decide what evidence to use.
Further resources:
- UK Data Service’s Learning Hub
- Policy Hub
- POST newsletters
- POST resources
- Research impact at the UK Parliament
- UK Data Service
- University Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)
- Love Data Week 2025 “My kind of data” podcast episodes