Paper short abstract:

What are the opportunities and challenges for anthropologists seeking to inform government policy? How can anthropologists be supported to effectively influence government? Amy will share reflections from her work as a senior policy advisor and policy influencing trainer.

Paper long abstract:

Amy will share her experiences and personal observations as a senior policy advisor in the civil service, where she first worked on prison reform policy and is now part of the Open Innovation Team (OIT). The OIT is a cross-government unit working with academics to generate analysis and ideas for policy, as well as to build their skills in influencing policy.

She will discuss opportunities and challenges for anthropologists seeking to inform government policy, as well as how they could be supported with this. She will cover the accessibility of research findings and methodology to policymakers, effective communication styles, the role of synthesis, and the mismatched timescales of ethnographic research and policy development. She will also explore how the profile of anthropology as a source of evidence could be raised in government.