The Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) has funding available for participation in policy engagement activities linked to UPEN Programmes related to people, place and practice, including enhancing connections between academic research and public policymaking, elevating capacity and capability, catalysing innovation and delivering system change.
Grants are awarded up to £5,000 on a rolling basis, with the Participation Fund running until 2028. Costs can cover, but are not limited to, the following: travel and costs associated with in-person events, accommodation, staff time, event registration costs, training courses and costs associated with outputs such as (non-academic) publications or communications materials.
Another route for applying to the fund is via specific funding opportunities, which will be added as and when participation is required. Details of these can be found below.
Ashley Lait, Head of Policy Programmes and Communications at the Institute for Policy Research and the University of Bath’s UPEN lead, said:
"The UPEN Participation Fund is designed to help academics to meet, share, engage and develop initiatives with policymakers, both locally and nationally. The funding can help you to attend or organise events or training relevant to UPEN's programmes, among other opportunities. We encourage University of Bath colleagues, especially those at early- and mid-career stages, to apply."
Applications from Bath-based colleagues must first be shared with Ashley Lait. If you would like advice on applying or support with your application, please contact Ashley: ajl232@bath.ac.uk
Current Participation Fund opportunities
Rapid Response requests from national governments: What works
Closing date: 25 September 2026.
How can universities respond quickly and effectively when government needs academic evidence at pace? The UPEN Programmes CONNECT team are inviting applications to lead a mini-learning project exploring what works (and what doesn’t) when responding to rapid response requests for academic evidence and expertise from UK or devolved national governments. Your project would bring together learnings from across organisations and different approaches, helping strengthen rapid response capability.
Funding available for this mini-learning project could be used for:
- Roundtables and workshops with those who have experience in delivering rapid response activities to the government
- Desk-based or qualitative interviews across multiple institutions or rapid response functions
- Other approaches that gather and synthesise shared learning on the topic