Today, the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR) is pleased to welcome a team from Western Gateway – the pan-regional partnership for South Wales and Western England – as part of its Policy Fellowship Programme: Net Zero transport, buildings and infrastructure.

During their one-day visit, fellows will meet with University of Bath academics across the School of Management, the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, the Department of Psychology, the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, the Department of Computer Science and the IPR to explore a range of policy questions and challenges that they are looking to address in their professional role. This will also lay the foundations for possible future engagement.

Western Gateway is the UK’s first pan-regional partnership to bring together local leaders from two countries. Stretching across South Wales and Western England, it works to support the UK’s efforts to reach net zero whilst also providing opportunities to those at risk of being left behind.

John Wilkinson, Director of Western Gateway, says:

“It is great to work with the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR). The Western Gateway Partnership has set out an ambitious vision for the area which looks to harness the collective strengths of our two nations to create new opportunities and reach net zero. Our aim is to bring together our great academics, businesses and local leaders to find the best possible solutions to the challenges we face. Working with the University of Bath alongside the wider GW4 Alliance and our other universities is key to making sure we can gather the best evidence to inform decision makers to achieve our ambitions for the area.”

IPR Director, Professor Nick Pearce, adds:

“We are very pleased to be welcoming the Western Gateway team to the University of Bath at what is an important time for policymaking on the transition to Net Zero, in particular. We hope to help stimulate new thinking and contribute insights from our academic research to the significant challenges faced by policymakers in the Western Gateway partnership.”

The IPR Policy Fellowship Programme provides senior policymakers and decision-makers from government and the third sector with the opportunity to engage with world-class academics from across the University of Bath through tailored one-to-one or group cohort meetings. Applications are currently open across the programme’s three streams:

If you would like to find out more about the Policy Fellowship Programme, please get in touch with Amy Thompson, IPR Head of Policy Programmes and Communications, via at712@bath.ac.uk.