Policy Fellowships provide the opportunity to tackle ambitious and challenging research, apply that research to pressing policy challenges and support the career development of academics in the process.
Embedding some of the UK’s brightest researchers into the heart of government, fellows help inform and shape effective public policy and its implementation.
Fellows are seconded to a number of different UK government departments, devolved governments departments and What Works Centres (collectively referred to as hosts). Fellows spend the first three months of the fellowship co-designing their research plans to inform policy on a priority area linked to the government missions and UKRI strategic priorities.
Areas of research
In previous rounds the Policy Fellowships have focused on areas of research within economic and social science, arts and humanities, and biotechnology and biological sciences. The scheme is expanding to cover areas of research within all of the UKRI research councils. The areas of research will be clearly linked to the government missions.
How to work with a policy fellow
As a host organisation
If you are interested in becoming a host organisation contact ukripolicyfellowships@ukri.org
Current host organisations are available from the database of fellows.
As a policymaker
If you are interested in working with a fellow on a particular area you can search their areas of expertise and get their contact details through the database of fellows.
How to apply
Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent research experience and be based at an organisation eligible for UKRI funding. All fellowship opportunities are 18 months in duration, and fellows will spend the main placement phase of 12 months seconded to the host with a mix of office and remote working.
The scheme is run annually and the next opportunity is scheduled to open in April 2025. When the scheme is open for applications they will be published on the funding finder.
Fellowship benefits
The policy fellowships benefits host organisations by:
- supporting policymakers and practitioners to access and use the best and most relevant research when developing and implementing new policies
- developing strong research, science and technology capabilities within the civil service and research organisations
- improving the flow of knowledge and talent between government, academia and research organisations
- raising government leaders’ awareness of the importance of science and innovation
The fellowships benefit the research community by:
- providing an exciting opportunity to work in government or a What Works Centre and use research to inform the major policy challenges of our times
- upskilling researchers to enable more effective engagement and collaboration with policymakers
- providing an opportunity to publish across policy and academia
- building relationships between academics, research organisations and policy organisations
Fellowship testimonials
Nicola Holden, BBSRC, Scottish Government, Tackling Infections Bioscience Fellowship, said:
The policy fellowship scheme has provided me with an unrivalled opportunity to work directly with government colleagues, both in Scotland and the devolved nations. It has provided me with a far better understanding of the needs for and the use of scientific evidence, which I’ve been able to put into practice for both evidence users and on the academic side, for those of us generating the information. It’s been enlightening and inspiring to work with the Scottish Government Chief Scientific Advisor on global and local threats to the health of our livestock, crops, environment and ultimately, to us.
Nattapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Education Endowment Foundation, Fellowship on Recruitment and Retention in Social Services Research, said:
As a UKRI What Works Innovation Fellow at the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in London, I co-designed and led a large empirical mixed-methods research project in collaboration with the EEF, investigating how to improve recruitment and retention of settings (for example, nurseries, schools and colleges) in large-scale education trials. The study involved me collecting primary data from over 400 educational stakeholders (for example, educators and local authorities) across England, as well as analysing secondary data from project reports of approximately 140 EEF-funded trials spanning the past decade. This work resulted in a 400-page report, alongside presentations and other outputs.
As part of my Fellowship’s Knowledge Exchange phase, I was hosted by UNESCO and the OECD in Paris for a whole month to maximise the potential impact of my Fellowship project’s findings internationally. Reciprocally, I gained insights into how intergovernmental organisations leverage education evidence and data to help formulate their education policy recommendations to governments worldwide. Without the Fellowship funding, these visits would not have been possible.
Throughout the Fellowship, I also benefited from well-structured training workshops on policy engagement facilitated by the funder. Moreover, I was able to use the Fellowship funding to undertake tailored training, which equipped me with specific skills to successfully complete my project.
The ESRC team was incredibly approachable and supportive. Their flexibility demonstrated a deep understanding of the challenges involved in leading large research projects.
Ultimately, this Fellowship offered me a rare opportunity to deepen my understanding of how educational evidence get generated and translated into actionable insights that can inform both practice and policy. It also enabled me to build valuable professional connections beyond academia, engaging with major research organisations and intergovernmental agencies in the education sector.
Awarded fellowships
The growing alumni provides an ever-stronger connection between academia and policy to significantly increase the science and research capabilities of government. We have so far awarded 71 policy fellows across host organisations.
The database of fellows gives more information on their areas of research, outputs and contact details.
Last updated: 13 May 2025