Local Government: How to better engage and routes in

In this session, we will be joined by Hayley Sims, Strategic Lead for Policy and Equality at the London Borough of Islington and currently a CAPE Fellow and Alumni of the Local Government Association (LGA) graduate scheme, the National Graduate Development Program (NGDP). 

In her first few months at Islington, Hayley has contributed to the development of the Council's Strategic Plan ‘#IslingtonTogether: For a More Equal Future’ which has been produced in consultation with residents, community partners and Councilors, as well as helping to lead on the Council's COVID-19 response. Hayley will introduce the role and functions of local government, including how researchers, and academia more broadly, can better engage with local government, as well as explaining her career path so far and what her work entails. 

This session is chaired by Katrina Rattu, Policy Advisor in the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), who also has a background in Local Government and is a fellow Alumni of the LGA Graduate Scheme, the NGDP. If you’re not sure about what Local Government is, what they do and how to engage better with Councils then come along! 

About Meet the Policymaker

The world of policymaking can be a ‘black box’ for many. Who are policymakers and how do they actually ‘make’ policy? How are experts selected for advisory committees? Who can influence policy decisions? Questions like these can make engaging with policy seem a daunting task to take on as a researcher.   

The Policy Impact Unit is running a lunchtime seminar series this Autumn to provide UCL researchers and students with an opportunity to hear first-hand from professionals working in a range of policy roles, including in Government and its agencies, Parliament, Local Government, and in Europe. During the sessions, attendees will hear what it is like to work in a policy role, learn more about how research evidence is used in policymaking and hear how researchers can get involved.