Top tips for... Promoting your research to decision-makers and opinion-formers

We cannot take for granted that politicians, or those who influence the opinions of politicians, appreciate – or are even aware of – the range of Oxford’s research endeavour. So there is real value in our simply showing and telling them what we do.

While politicians and their advisers have a particular interest in university research that makes a contribution to wider society – socially, economically, culturally – or, that provides a solution to a modern-day problem, there is no reason not to tell them about other research with no obvious short-term or immediate impact on society. If it is new and ground breaking, it is of potential interest to politicians.

There are a number of ways in which you can present your research to politicians:

• Feature your research in a University publication (e.g. Oxford in Westminster, Oxford Today) or online
• Host a meeting, a talk or an event in the UK or European Parliament (in Westminster, you might be able to present your research to a relevant All Party Group, front bench team or backbench departmental committee, or you could form the basis of evidence in a select committee inquiry)
• Invite politicians to visit your department or faculty
• Consider the media: news and politics are so intertwined that if you find an obstacle in getting your message to politicians you can take your case to them via the newspapers or online material they read, the radio they listen to or the programmes they watch.

You might also want to consider the potential benefits of promoting your research through activities that come under the umbrella of public and community engagement – see Top tips for public and community engagement.