Blog: Peer Mentoring and sustaining relationships between policy and academia

Taking part in the OPEN Peer Mentoring Scheme has been one of the most rewarding professional development experiences I’ve had in recent years.

Over the past six months, I’ve had the privilege of being paired with Michele Mendelssohn, Professor of English and American Literature at the University of Oxford. While our professional backgrounds are very different, mine rooted in UK government policy and hers in academia, that difference proved to be the scheme’s greatest strength.

Despite decades (!) of varied civil service experience, I approached our first meeting a tad apprehensive. I had never stepped foot in a university before, let alone had any real understanding of how the world of academia operates.  However, my initial trepidation was unfounded, and from our very first meeting, it was clear that this was going to be a genuinely valuable partnership. We quickly established an open and thoughtful rapport, shaped by curiosity about each other’s very different work and a shared interest in how research and policy can inform one another, and a mutual love of literature and books.

One of the most useful aspects of the mentoring relationship was the opportunity to exchange perspectives across sectors. I was able to share practical tools from government, including approaches to structuring policy design and thinking through complex problems, while Michele shared her deep expertise in research, critical thinking, and the realities and challenges of academic work.

We spent time exploring how Michele's research, particularly her Polar X project, could inform UK policy discussions and where opportunities might exist to engage with government departments, parliamentarians and select committees. That discussion helped bring to life the challenges and opportunities of academic–policy engagement in a very tangible way.

At the same time, I gained a much better understanding of how academic careers are structured: the balance between research, teaching, and administration, and the pressures that can shape decision-making in that environment. That insight has given me a much greater appreciation of timing, incentives and constraints.

While I learned a great deal about academia, Michele was equally interested in understanding how government works in practice: how policy is developed, how ministers make decisions, and how legislation progresses through Parliament. I was able to arrange for Michele to join my team for a tour of Parliament which provided the perfect setting for us to discuss how policy is developed and made into law.

I particularly enjoyed the ‘peer/mentor’ aspect of our relationship which made it mutually beneficial and much more than a traditional one-way mentoring arrangement. We were both able to bring expertise, questions and challenges to our discussions and go away with new perspectives on every occasion.

The structure of the scheme has reinforced for me the importance of sustained relationships between policy and academia. The scheme effectively bridges the gap between policy and academia, creating a space for honest conversations, new perspectives and lasting professional relationships. 

For anyone considering taking part in a future OPEN Peer Mentoring Scheme, I would strongly recommend it. It's a fantastic opportunity to step outside your usual environment, challenge your assumptions and build connections you might never otherwise make. The scheme has given me a much richer understanding of academia, and I hope it has offered Michele a similarly valuable insight into the world of government policy-making.