Healthcare Science's Seminar on Engaging with Policy Makers.

On Wednesday 10 June the School of Healthcare Sciences hosted a Seminar on Engaging with Policy Makers. The event was attended by an audience from across the University, and beyond, and 3 invited speakers came to share their expertise on Parliamentary engagement. Liz Price, Regional Officer for Outreach Services for Wales and SouthWest England explained the role of Parliament as an independent body separate from Government that can informa politicians and Peers. Dr Chris Tyler, Director of Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology spoke about the role of evidence in shaping policy and the availability of Postnotes as useful summaries of available research evidence. Stephen Aldhouse, Committee Specialist for the Health Select Committee spoke about the role that researchers can play in influencing the Committee and its decisions.

The event was highly informative and included two presentations of research that had engaged and influenced policy. This included the work into Disorders of Consciousness by Professor Jenny Kitzinger (JOMEC) and Dr Rachel Barlow (Healthcare Sciences) who presented her work on nutritional intervention to improve surgical outcomes.

Evaluations from the event showed that all participants found it useful and that their knowledge of how to engage with Parliament increased. 90% of the respondents mentioned that they will be using information provided in the seminar when planning the dissemination of their research and this seminar provided them with new ideas about increasing the impact and engagement of their research. Respondents mentioned that the seminar provided 'clear insight into how to get research into policy and how to engage with policy makers' and that 'it's worth planning policy impact from the start.'

Professor Daniel Kelly, Director of Research and Innovation, said:

'This was a unique opportunity to learn how best to use research evidence to shape health policy at the UK level, both via traditional written formats and face to face in Select Committees. The School already has strong links with Welsh Government and our recent work into nurse staffing levels in Wales is an example of how our research has informed policy directly in the Welsh NHS.'