UKRI Policy Fellowship Impact Report

On 13 May 2025 the 2023 cohort of UKRI Policy Fellows—early to midcareer researchers embedded inside government departments and devolved administrations—gathered at the British Academy for reflections and mutual sharing of experiences as their 18-month fellowships come to an end. The Impact Event created a safe, reflective space for fellows, host department sponsors and research support staff to take stock of what the scheme is achieving.

The day blended three strands: celebration of practical wins, candour about stubborn barriers, and capability building for the next phase. Morning sessions surfaced lived experience—from a “blue-sky” expectation versus reality mapping to rapid three-minute pitches from the thirteen fellows that showcased impacts ranging from carbon sequestration modelling at DEFRA to trauma informed yoga in women’s prisons.

After lunch the focus shifted to evidence. University College London’s Tatiana Souteiro Dias (Research Development Officer, at the IOE UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society) demystified forthcoming REF 2029 rules, while Prof James Copestake unpacked “attribution versus contribution” and challenged attendees to craft proportionate causal claims to evidence their impact in their policy fellowship. Breakout tasks converted theory into action: stress testing fellows’ impact stories, drafting cohort wide recommendations, and peer reviewing theories of change.

Graphic scribes from We Are Cognitive captured key ideas in real time, producing visuals that complement this report. By close of play participants had outlined a roadmap that includes a follow-up reunion, a collaborative learning brief for ESRC and departmental Chief Scientific Advisers and other relevant groups within government organisations and What Works Centers, and a shared online workspace to sustain peer support.

This Executive Summary distils key insights from conversations of the day so that fellows, departments, the public, UKRI and the wider policy research community can quickly grasp what was learned—and, crucially, what needs to happen next.