UNIVERSITY VIEW
THE Open University has now established the first academic initiative to lead comparative policy research across the nations of the UK and Ireland.
Called PolicyWISE (Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England) it partners policymakers and academics in and across each nation, tackling some of the biggest issues facing societies today.
While democratic devolution within the UK has existed for over 20 years, it was the experience of the pandemic that shone a bright light on different decisions, and the diverging impact on individuals and nations. There is now increased interest in who holds power in each of our nations, why some decisions are made, and the role of research in informing the debates. As the only university operating across all four nations of the UK, and beyond, The Open University has been particularly aware of these developments and the opportunities they present.
The UK has a strong tradition of public policy research, however there is relatively little published work which considers comparative research across the UK nations. We know that decision makers from all the governments are keen to learn from one another about what works and to contribute to broader comparative analysis.
PolicyWISE will create the space, we will share ideas and insight, and we will focus on policy solutions. All our work will be UK and Ireland in scope, supporting policymakers
and researchers across the nations to develop relationships, respect and knowledge.
We will lead collaborative work to understand evidence gaps and research needs that address and analyse policy priorities. Where there is a lack of existing knowledge and where cross-nation collaboration or comparison aids decision making, we are uniquely placed to share insight, ideas and innovation.
We will initiate and deliver programmes of work to address knowledge gaps and evaluate the application of new knowledge to policy challenges.
In order to gather and share knowledge we will be working with leaders across public policy, including policymakers and academics in and across each nation to solve policy challenges. We are proud to be working with Cardiff University, Trinity College Dublin, Queen University Belfast, The University of
Edinburgh and University College London are on board to help shape our development.
Dewi Knight is the Director of PolicyWISE, bringing public policy expertise and experience from his career in government, universities and internationally.
Collaborating with colleagues across the OU, partner universities and our governments, he is determined that this new initiative will play an essential role in meeting the public policy challenges around shared citizenship, well-being and prosperity, right across the four nations.
The PolicyWISE initiative has been developed through recognition that we need to learn across communities and nations to understand how different public policy approaches are created and delivered.
As part of this PolicyWISE will be addressing tricky societal issues, including the challenges that impact on peoples lives
regardless of where they live.
We will be sharing our learning about how different government policies are implemented, the extent to which the schemes are evaluated, and knowledge is shared beyond each administration.
As a result of our work there will be better policy developed through and informed by comparative insights and an understanding of the context of place, more efficient policy development arising from value-adding collaboration, improved cross-nation understanding of each nation’s context and priorities and what performs well to improve the lives of citizens.
We want to draw on the strengths across our nations to help create better public policy that really makes a difference to the lives of people and to communities.