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On June 27th 2024 the London Universities' Knowledge Mobilisers Engagement Network (LUMEN) officially launched, with support from the London Research and Policy Partnership. Around 30 colleagues from London’s Universities gathered to connect, exchange insights, and explore how best to bridge the gap between academic research and policymaking in London. Since then, we’ve taken the time to reflect on the rich conversations from the event, shaping some initial network aims directly from the insights and experiences our colleagues shared with one another. We’re now eager to play this back to our network members for further co-creation on the journey ahead and ways we can deepen involvement, ensuring this remains a truly inclusive effort.

World Café: Roundtable discussions

At the core of the event were four roundtable discussions, conducted in a world-café style. This interactive format allowed participants to engage with multiple topics, share ideas, and learn from each other’s experiences. The four questions the discussions addressed were:

1. What is your professional background, and what brings you here today?
2. How do you navigate London government, and what support would you find valuable in engaging policymakers?
3. How does your organisation support policy engagement, and what opportunities exist for collaboration between institutions?
4. What tools, methodologies, or frameworks do you use in your role?

Key insights: What we learned 

Several important themes emerged from discussions, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges facing policy engagement professionals: 

Theme 1: Fragmentation and silos

While many initiatives exist to support academic policy engagement, participants noted that these efforts are often fragmented, ad-hoc and confined to specific universities or regions. There is also a tendency for ‘usual suspect’ relationships between universities and policymakers. Much of the work depends on individual relationships, limiting the broader impact of these initiatives. All of this fragmentation makes it difficult to engage with key governance bodies, like the Greater London Authority (GLA), due to the silos that exist within local governance structures.

Theme 2: Navigating governance challenges

Participants shared their experiences of navigating London’s complex policy landscape. While various tools and strategies are available, many still found it challenging to effectively connect with policymakers, particularly within London Government. This highlighted the need for more coordinated approaches to streamline engagement and ensure that the efforts of London’s knowledge mobilisers reach the right audiences.

Theme 3: Diverse tools and resources, unclear effectiveness

One of the discussions revealed that participants were using a wide range of approaches - 24 different types in total - to enhance their academic policy engagement within Universities. This included training sessions, fellowship programmes, 1:1 mentoring, policy impact funding and more. However, there was a consensus that these resources did not always translate into meaningful connections with policymakers. This pointed to a need for more targeted, effective resources that are better aligned with the goals of policy engagement.

Theme 4: Leveraging members’ skillsets

Interestingly, many members of the LUMEN network come from academic backgrounds, and more often than not hold PhDs. The next most common career path was from civil society professionals, highlighting the significance of community-focused work and efforts. This deep research experience coupled with strong practical skills presents an opportunity to strengthen collaborations between policymakers and researchers, ensuring that evidence-based insights are effectively integrated into policy decisions.

Theme 5: Flexibility and innovation

Participants also highlighted the flexibility and creativity inherent to many of their roles, particularly those focused on policy brokerage and knowledge exchange, with freedom to work in interdisciplinary ways. This allows for innovation in academic policy engagement, offering opportunities to develop new approaches for brokering knowledge exchange between academia and policymakers. This, in turn, can lead to more impactful, evidence-informed policy.

Theme 6: Enthusiasm for connection and training

One of the most encouraging outcomes of the event was the shared enthusiasm for connection and learning, ideally in person. Participants were eager to engage with each other, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities for training and skill development. This enthusiasm bodes well for the future of the LUMEN network, suggesting a strong foundation for ongoing collaboration and mutual support.

Looking forward: The future of LUMEN

The launch event marked the beginning of an exciting journey for the LUMEN network. The insights gained from the roundtable discussions highlighted the importance of breaking down silos, creating more effective resources, and facilitating smoother navigation of London’s policy ecosystem as a fairer, greener, safer and more prosperous city for everyone.

We also recognize the difference between universities and different teams in their policy engagement journey and hope to raise capacity where appropriate to ensure there are equitable relationships across the city. Perhaps most importantly, the event underscored the value of coming together as a community to share knowledge, support one another, and collectively enhance policy engagement efforts. We've carefully listened to your insights and have crafted the following aims for LUMEN - we would love to hear your feedback to ensure they truly reflect our shared vision

Enhance collaboration across institutions

Foster cross-institutional collaboration by creating a centralised, open-access, directory of London’s Knowledge Mobilisers that encourages knowledge-sharing and joint initiatives across universities, regions, and governance bodies.

Improve access to and engagement with London policymakers

Develop structured pathways for efficient engagement with key policymakers, particularly within the Greater London Authority and London Councils, streamlining interactions between academic partners and local governance.

Foster equitable support and professional development for knowledge mobilisers

Recognising that not all universities have equal resources or access to policymakers, the network will provide tailored support and professional development for its diverse membership, ensuring equitable access to policy engagement opportunities.

Showcase the unique contributions and stories of network members

Highlight the diverse expertise and backgrounds of network members by sharing their unique and often untold stories, showcasing their value in shaping policy and knowledge exchange across London.

Advocate for better resourcing

Advocate for increased institutional and external funding to support knowledge exchange activities, ensuring these initiatives are properly resourced and prioritized across institutions.

As LUMEN continues to grow, it has the potential to become a key resource for policy engagement professionals across London. By fostering collaboration, offering training, and promoting innovation, LUMEN can help ensure that research continues to inform policy in ways that benefit society as a whole.

Please reach out to the authors with your thoughts, comments, and feedback on this vision. We also welcome colleagues interested in helping to organize and drive these initiatives forward.