Louise Kettle, Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations, writes about her research on British-Iranian relations, and how the Institute for Policy and Engagement’s Policy Impact Pathways Programme (PIPP) provided valuable support for her project in this short blog.
Research Background
Britain and Iran have had a long, but often challenging, diplomatic relationship. In recent years, relations have been focused on security related issues, especially nuclear proliferation, the security of the Gulf and the arrest of British-Iranian dual national citizens.
However, with the release of two British dual nationals last year, changing regional diplomatic dynamics and nuclear negotiations proving impenetrable, the time has come for the UK to re-evaluate its approach to Iran. My research focuses on this challenge. Specifically, it asks; What has been Britain’s relationship with Iran in the past? Should Britain continue to engage with Iran? And, how could UK-Iran relations be improved?
The Policy Impact Pathways Programme (PIPP)
To support the research and to begin to generate a broader awareness of my work I applied to the Institute for Policy and Engagement’s Policy Impact Pathways Programme (PIPP). The programme was particularly appealing because of its dual-track approach in providing significant training to support the process of policy engagement and offering support and funding to complete an impact-focused project.
The training proved extremely valuable. It included stakeholder mapping and management, writing for policy audiences, social media and traditional media training, and a session on evaluation and evidencing impact. In addition, the Institute organised a productive day in London, engaging with a think-tank, senior civil servants and a Chief Scientific Adviser across three different government departments, to gain an insider’s perspective on academic policy engagement. Each of these elements offered significant insights that helped in my project development but will also continue to be useful as my research and engagement develops over time.
My project
I used the project funding to organise, attend and participate in two expert-dialogue events on British-Iranian relations. The idea behind these events was to start to raise awareness of my work and expertise as well as build a network of experts in the field. The events were put together in conjunction with RUSI (a defence thinktank), with whom I am an Associate Fellow, and they provided additional project management support.
The first dialogue was held online and was focused towards the academic community. It brought together 20 key British and Iranian academic experts to discuss the history of Britain’s diplomatic relationship with Iran, in order to tease out past disagreements and improve mutual understanding of historical events.
The second dialogue was held in person and focused towards the policy community. It brought together two key speakers with a room of invited parties representing academia, think-tanks and policy practitioners to discuss the future of Britain-Iranian relations in order to consider how it could be improved.
Conclusions and outcomes
The dialogues proved to be interesting in themselves as well as providing a networking opportunity to make new contacts in the academic and policy space. After each event, an anonymised summary was produced and circulated to attendees and other interested parties. This included the highlighting of key arguments and recommendations for policymakers. In response to these activities, I have formed a number of new professional relationships and it has had the added benefit of leading to speaking and event invitations, joint working initiatives and the drafting of joint funding bids.
The final, unexpected, advantage of joining the PIPP was becoming part of a cohort of academics interested in policy engagement. In fact, the PIPP has created a community of supportive and knowledgeable colleagues with whom ideas, experiences and contacts can be shared as our research and policy experience develops. This was an additional benefit that I had not considered before joining the programme but made the experience all the more enjoyable.
Overall, the PIPP training programme has provided me with a number of tools to facilitate policy engagement. The support and funding for a project has allowed me the opportunity to develop contacts to begin this process, whilst the community of the PIPP cohort offer a network of ongoing support as my research on Britain and Iran continues. As a result, I would wholeheartedly recommend the PIPP to anyone interested in developing their policy engagement.
Louise Kettle is an Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences.