Events from OPEN
OPEN offers a diverse range of activities throughout the year, including workshops, talks, masterclasses, and networking events. These events offer practical guidance to researchers and policymakers on how to collaborate effectively and bridge the gap between their respective areas of expertise.
Researchers and professional services staff from all areas of the University are welcome to take part in OPEN's activities, and increase their confidence for engaging with policymakers and better understand how to bridge the divide between their areas of expertise and work together in effective ways.
New events are being added regularly so Join OPEN or follow OPEN on Bluesky and on LinkedIn for updates.
2 Mar | OPEN Conversation on Parliament, Policy, and Sustainable Impact
16:30 - 18:00, Lecture Theatre, Oxford Martin School
How can researchers better engage with the UK Parliament, to ensure that their academic research has robust, timely, and enduring “impact” on policy decisions that affect us all?
To explore this question, the Oxford Policy Engagement Network (OPEN), the ZERO Institute and the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment are bringing together a panel of experts working in the policy and academic spheres in an OPEN conversation.
This will examine the opportunities and practical realities of engaging with the UK Parliament’s Select Committees, a critical channel for policy engagement, from contributing written and oral evidence, to building longer-term relationships that support policy impact. The discussion will reflect on the evolving sustainability landscape in 2026, and how researchers and Select Committees can collaborate drawing on examples of energy, climate, environment, and sustainability policy, but with applications to other fields.
The session will be relevant to researchers from other disciplines interested in how Select Committees engage with evidence.
Speakers
Gary O' Key, Committee Specialist, Climate & Environment Unit, House of Commons, working across Select Committees include Environmental Audit (EA); Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (EFRA) and Energy Security & Net Zero (ESNZ)
Dr Misha Patel, Committee Specialist, Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons
Dr Radhika Khosla, Associate Professor, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (School of Geography and the Environment), and Programme Leader in Zero Carbon Energy Use, ZERO
Moderator
Dr Anupama Sen, Associate Director of Impact, and Head of Policy Engagement, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (School of Geography and the Environment)
Register here for the OPEN Conversation on Parliament, Policy and Sustainable Impact
18 Mar | The US Research to Policy Landscape: Lessons from MIT
12:30 - 13:45, Online
How does the US research–policy landscape operate? What can be learned from the experience of those who have engaged directly with it?
Drawing on insights from MIT, this session explores these questions by outlining the main institutions and mechanisms that support engagement between academic research and policy in the United States.
Intended audience
Anyone who is new to the US academic-policy engagement environment, as well as those interested in understanding how policy engagement fits alongside academic work more broadly.
Speakers
Drew Story, Managing Director of MIT’s Policy Lab, will present an overview of the US policy environment as it relates to academic research, drawing on his experience advising policy professionals and supporting faculty engagement. Building on his background in congressional advisory roles and science–policy fellowships, he will outline the pathways, relationships, and forms of institutional support that shape how academics engage with policy in the US.
The session will also include Professor Tom Peacock, Director of MIT’s Environmental Dynamics Laboratory, who will draw on his experience bringing environmental and ocean science into US policy settings. He will highlight how this engagement has unfolded and the lessons learned for those interested in policy engagement.
To explore more events related to policy and research that are taking place across the University, visit the Research and Public Policy Collection on OxTalks.
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