Policy Fellowship Network

The Policy Fellowship Network supports both individual members and the wider fellowship community in advancing policy and academic fellowship programmes

Aims for Network Members: 

• Share best practices and learn from peers 
• Expand professional networks and exchange contacts 
• Develop skills and confidence in managing fellowship programmes. 

Mission For the Wider Sector: 

• Foster collaboration between academic and policy sectors to promote fellowship programmes. 
• Raise awareness of the benefits of fellowships to both academia and the policy sector, thereby attracting more support and resources from funders and leadership.  

This genesis of the Network was a workshop organised by UCL Public Policy which brought together university professional services who support, or are looking to support, policy fellowships in their organisation. You can read the blog we wrote reflecting on the workshop here. 

Many attendees shared common challenges in managing partnerships and processes: onboarding difficulties, contract negotiations, securing senior staff approval, and balancing what academics want to share from the fellowships with what they are contractually obliged not to disclose. 

"While these shared challenges were reassuring, they also highlighted the need for collaborative approaches to problem-solving and system improvement in managing fellowships. The broader questions raised were relevant not only to the individuals at the forefront of these exchanges but to the sector as a whole."

— Workshop reflections: building capabilities in policy fellowship management, by Alice Tofts