About UCL's Knowledge Broker Academy

What is the Knowledge Broker Academy?

UCL Public Policy has spent over a decade refining pathways for academic-policy engagement, learning what works to maximise research impact. Despite this progress, many researchers and professional services staff still face barriers to engaging with policy, such as a lack of skills, opportunities, or support. In fact, 63% of UK researchers express interest in policy development work but lack the tools (skills and support) to participate effectively.

The KBA was created to address these challenges. It aims to foster inclusivity in academic-policy engagement across career stages, disciplines, and protected characteristics, offering participants the chance to develop skills, build networks, and enhance their impact.

What is the purpose of the KBA? 

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The KBA is driven by five key objectives which structure the curriculum, timeline, and learning materials. Participants will strengthen their skills and experience in:  

 

1. Evidence use in policy: to develop academic policy engagement skills, including evidence scrutiny, synthesis, and communication capabilities. 
2. Adaptive relationships: to strengthen capacity for adaptive relationships, across perspectives as well as academic and policy disciplines and sectors. 
3. Academic policy engagement pathways: to increase knowledge of academic policy engagement pathways and the ability to navigate these effectively. 
4. Conscious leadership: to develop an ability to critically examine the roles, responsibilities, ethics and identities of a knowledge mobiliser. 
5. Institutional capacity-building: to increase institutional capacity for knowledge mobilisation and supporting evidence use. 

On completion of the 2024 programme, KBA participants responded that they were more confident in every area of academic policy engagement that these objectives cover.

2025/6 KBA Programme - frequently asked questions

What are the key dates and deadlines? 

September 2025: Applications open. To apply, please 1) complete our short MS form (opens new link) and 2) share our Worktribe template and share this with your finance manager - this is available for download via our Sharepoint page (click to open). We do not necessarily need to receive the completed version of the Worktribe template by 3rd October, but we ask that you please ensure to ense this to your finance contact at the point of application in order to mitigate delays in confirming your place on the programme if successful. Completed templates can be e-mailed to Dr Sinéad Murphy and Amanda Crumley. 

You will likely need your line manager's agreement to take part in the KBA, as participation is funded by salary buy-out. We encourage you to have this conversation as early as possible; you may wish to share the benefits of participating with them when doing so - see 'benefits for the faculty' (opens new link). 

3 October 2025: Deadline to complete the online application form.   

13 October 2025: 2025/26 KBA programme participants confirmed. We will follow up with you and your finance manager to arrange your salary buy-out.  

November 2025: KBA participants begin the programme – defining personal objectives, familiarising themselves with the Narrative CV template, browsing KBA Teams/resources area to explore learning materials and suggested events/training.  

Onboarding guidance will be provided to support participants. We will also hold an onboarding session in late October/early November for all confirmed participants. Two session dates/times will be available to choose from, to allow flexibility.    

What is included in the KBA programme curriculum?

Through the programme we intend that participants will: 

• Understand the policymaking process and the role the UCL community can play in supporting evidence-informed decision-making.
• Develop skills and resources that will help them to translate research and/or practitioner expertise into broader contexts, and engage with policy actors, networks and organisations. 
• Feel well-versed in the varying pathways to policy impact, and gain experience in sharing their own work and expertise with different actors across the evidence ecosystem. 
• Develop the basis of a policy intervention (such as, but not limited to a report, presentation, policy brief, slide deck, Select Committee submission, or policy fellowship). 
• Be able to share ways of engaging with policy with others in the UCL community. 

 

KBA Programme Stage	Timing	Activity
Part 1	Nov 2025	Defining personal objectives, creating narrative CV, and registering for initial training/workshops/events
Part 2	Nov 2025 – Feb 2026	Self-directed learning through curated resources
Part 3	Dec 2025 – May 2026	Peer learning sessions
Part 4	Feb 2026 – May 2026	Engagement/collaborative with policy professionals
Part 5	Mid-end May 2026	Reflection period: completing Narrative CV/monitoring/tracking; final 1:1 meetings with UCL Public Policy. Continued engagement with training/workshops/events advised.
Part 6	Feb – July 2026	Knowledge broker project/activity delivery and next steps in policy engagement.   – including option to apply for a KBA micro-grant (competitive, follow-on funding)     Micro-grant funding will become available in term 2 (early 2026) and will be competitive. Up to 5 awards of £10,000 will be made available, and only present and past KBA participants will be eligible to apply. All spending funded by KBA micro-grants must be completed by 31 July 2026*.      Participants who do not apply for/receive a KBA micro-grant will still be offered guidance and advice on opportunities to continue their policy engagement activity and consolidate their knowledge, skills, and network.     *Activities/projects may continue through to 2026/7 academic year, but we note that any activity supported by UCL Public Policy funding must adhere to the financial year spending deadline (31 Jul 2026)

What funding is available to participate in the KBA programme, over what period?

This year’s Knowledge Broker Academy programme consists of two core elements: 

KBA Programme (participation funded by salary buy-out): 8 awards of up to £10,000 are available for participation in the 2025/6 KBA Programme.  

 Key info: 

• Participants can expect to commit approximately 0.5 days per week (on a flexible basis) engaging with the KBA programme from November 2025 to the end of May 2026.  
• This funding will be directed exclusively towards salary buy-out for each participant, to ensure the KBA can be accounted for within normal working hours. 

KBA micro-grant funding (competitive, optional): In addition to the KBA programme, participants will be offered the opportunity to apply for a micro-grant to support a policy engagement activity or project.  

Key info:  

• This funding will become available in term 2 (early 2026).  
• Awards will be competitive: up to 5 awards of £10,000 will be made available, and only present and past KBA participants will be eligible to apply.
• All spending funded by KBA micro-grants must be completed by 31 July 2026.  
• Due to funding restrictions, KBA micro-grants cannot be used cannot be used for buy-out to produce publications or for public engagement activities. All KBA programme participants, regardless of whether they apply for/are awarded a micro-grant, will be offered guidance and advice on opportunities to continue their policy engagement activity and consolidate their knowledge, skills, and network.

All KBA programme participants, regardless of whether they apply for/are awarded a micro-grant, will be offered guidance and advice on opportunities to continue their policy engagement activity and consolidate their knowledge, skills, and network. 

Who would benefit the most from KBA?

UCL Public Policy aims to embed policy engagement and impact widely across UCL. The KBA is open to academic and professional services staff, including early career researchers (broadly defined as someone within the first seven years of their research activity) from any UCL Faculty or Department. Unfortunately due to funding restrictions, those on short-term contracts cannot participate in this pilot programme. 

Participants must be employed by a contract that runs for the full duration of the programme, including the evaluation and reporting period (approx. 30 Sept 2026). 

Participants who may benefit the most from the KBA: 

• Are interested in professional development and building leadership skills. 
• Have capacity for collaboration, external engagement, and developing relationships. 
• Are eager to see greater impact beyond their immediate spheres of influence and expertise. 
• Engage in research or expertise which has potential to inform policy. 

 

How do I apply to participate in the KBA? 

Any member of academic or professional services staff can apply to participate in the KBA, including early career researchers (broadly defined as someone within the first seven years of their research activity) from any UCL Faculty or Department. Unfortunately due to funding restrictions, those on short-term contracts cannot participate in this pilot programme.

To apply, please: 

• Complete this short MS form by 3 October 2025 (opens new link).
• Download the Worktribe template and share this with your finance manager, requesting the relevant information (required for salary buy out) - this template can be downloaded from our Sharepoint page (click to open). Completed templates can be received before or after the deadline to apply. 
• Arrange to speak with your line manager or Head of Department to agree that your time can be bought out to participate in the KBA (equivalent of up to 0.5 days per week, from November 2025 until the end of May). 

Can more than one application be accepted from my faculty? 

Yes – multiple applications be considered. Our priority is for as many UCL faculties as possible to be involved in the KBA, but if funding permits, more than one participant per faculty may be confirmed.  

What will I do after the KBA programme? 

This year, in addition to the KBA programme, participants will be offered the opportunity to apply for a micro-grant to support a policy engagement activity or project - see 'eligibility, funding, and time commitment' above for details. After May 2026, you will be offered a range of options to support your future policy engagement activities. Funding is available to support these activities where needed. As one of the KBA’s goals is to enhance UCL’s capacity to engage with policy, we are keen to support KBA participants as they share their learnings and/or contribute to academic-policy engagement within and beyond UCL. 

Why has the KBA programme timeline changed for 2025/6?

This year’s KBA programme has opened for applications earlier in order to align with the academic year and to better meet funder requirements. This earlier timeline also allows us to make micro-grant funding available to support academic-policy engagement projects and activities, within UCL’s financial year deadlines.