Reflections one year on as a Policy Advisor

This blog is by James Coe, Senior Policy Advisor at the University of Liverpool.

The 10^th anniversary of the Lighthouse Policy Group coincides with my first anniversary as senior policy advisor, at the University of Liverpool.  As we look back on the work of the Group I’ve been reflecting on what a policy advisor is, what they do, and what they might have to do over the next year.

A “policy advisor” is a very pliable role.  We occupy a space which sits somewhere between special advisors, public affairs professionals, and projects managers.  It comes in different forms in different institutions even for people with the same job titles.  Some roles are focussed on influencing political institutions, some work across media and communications, some focus on internal projects, and others look more externally on the changing higher education landscape.

In my particular version of the role I am responsible for three things:

• Providing advice to the vice chancellor and her senior leadership teams on developments in higher education policy as it impacts the work of the University.
• Supporting institutional priorities through research, advice, making connections, and occasionally managing projects.
• Building relationships with civic partners, mission groups, and decision makers, to advance the universities’ civic agenda and national profile.

As with any role there are lots of things which emerge, which fit across, or often between, these three areas.  In other contexts, our equivalents in politics, the charity sector, or in civil service, tend to have more tightly defined fields.  As such, navigating where to deploy our time to the most effect is a key part of the role.  As a growing profession within higher education there is still lots to do to  work out where we fit but nonetheless there are five general lessons I thought would be helpful to share, for people in roles like mine, for people considering applying for roles like mine, or institutions looking to establish this function.

1. In a generalist role the most helpful insight will often be from colleagues who are embedded in the details of the workings of different aspects of the University.  My ability to give advice on a range of issues is infinitely enhanced by seeking a wide range of views from colleagues who work across teams.  As well as advising them, in return there has been huge benefit in sharing ideas to challenge assumptions and bring new context, to what are often cross-cutting projects. 
2. Meet early and meet often.  In my first month I met something like 60 colleagues and external partners to get a broad understanding of the work, and perceptions, of the University.  This helped me to understand the University’s function, and how it interacts with local stakeholders.  A tangible benefit of this was when we recently instigated a local R&D strategy which drew together academic expertise, our business community in the LEP, and civic stakeholders in the Combined Authority.
3. The third, and perhaps most obvious, is reading widely to keep atop of the changing higher education landscape.   There’s a range of useful HE sources from HEPI, WonkHE, THE, Research Fortnight, Commons Library, and this blog, but with the complex range of issues we are asked to grapple with a breadth of reading is also required.  For example, I have recently found the Financial Time’s work on COVID, the Resolution Foundation on work and the wider economy, or the ONS in gathering a wider picture of the University as part of the economy, to be particularly useful.
4. Equally, it’s impossible to keep on top of every announcement and every detail of every policy on your own.  Working out the stuff which is important, where there is a gap in knowledge, and supporting the organisation to get a week ahead is most useful.  Broadly, I’ve found there are three ways to delineate which are:
   • institutional priority which would impact core business (for example A levels),
   • important to engage in but with time to do so (for example OfS consultations), and
   • helpful to know about but don’t require action.
5. Reach out to mission groups and policy networks.  In my context, the Lighthouse Policy Group, Russell Group Public Affairs Network, colleagues at UUK, and N8, have both been places to share intelligence, but importantly networks for support where there are often similar challenges between institutions.

To sum it up, make valuable relationships, work closely with external partners, and keep on top of the information you need to, to support the work which crosses over between those groups.  In a year which will likely include realignment from Brexit, more signals of a shift in support to FE, more debate on the culture wars on campus, R&D roadmap rolled out, a shift in regulation, and perhaps, a response to the Augar review, our sector will continue to evolve, but it will be richer for the involvement of policy professionals in that evolution.