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- Convenors:
-
Alex Tasker
(UCL)
Carrie Heitmeyer (Independent)
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- Format:
- Lab
- Sessions:
- Thursday 20 January, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
This Lab will identify how anthropologists provide evidence in UK governmental policy. Facilitated by civil service anthropologists working on COVID-19, participants will map emerging research and policy around COVID-19 to identify future knowledge exchange and policy engagement opportunities
Long Abstract:
COVID-19 has demonstrated the vital need for social science research to inform policymakers’ responses to national emergencies. Anthropological knowledge is unique in its ability to speak to gaps in data generated by mainstream analytical tools used by government, such as surveys, polling, and other large-scale population data. As Civil Service anthropologists, we argue medical anthropology is unique positioned to capture lived experiences, inequalities, transmission dynamics, and resource access often overlooked within COVID healthcare research (e.g. Bear et al., 2020). With some exceptions, notably the Ebola response, policymakers remain highly reliant on a narrow set of disciplines to understand societal trends, communicate findings, and design interventions.
This Lab will facilitate discussions around how, and to what extent medical anthropologists successfully input into government policy processes, and identify future opportunities for knowledge exchange and policy engagement. The Lab invites contributions from participants to share their research experiences, and perceptions of policy engagement. The discussion will draw on COVID-19 as a case study, bringing in alternative experiences from other policy areas where possible. Anthropologists with substantial experience championing the use of social science evidence in the UK COVID response will facilitate the Lab, enabling dialogues between academic and policy-focused communities.
Key questions to be explored include:
• What and how have participants achieved research impact in policy?
• How is impact identified and evaluated within policy contexts?
• What barriers exist to using anthropology and ethnographically-informed research?
• What are specific considerations for using anthropology in emergency responses (such as a pandemic)?