Become an Insights Policy Fellow

IF provides access to expertise, advice and evidence needs through the LUBS network and the Yorkshire research community.

This will be of particular value to early- and mid-career civil servants (i.e. analysts, policy, operational professionals, communication teams). For policy professionals the fellowship will be attached to a team within a department. This is a unique way of ensuring the benefits of the IF scheme are embedded within a team in a department or agency during the period of the fellowship. 

The IF scheme will last up to 3 years, with members of the team either rotating access to the fellowship over the 3 years, or an individual member taking the position for the length of time of the entire fellowship. 

The IF scheme is tailored to the individual needs and career stage of the fellows, with advice and support offered throughout the entire length of the fellowship. 

As a policy fellow you will have the opportunity to:

• Take part in leading approaches to policy-academic engagement. 
• Spend up to 3-6 days over a maximum of 3 years accessing academic expertise through one-to-one meetings.
• Have curated meetings with regional stakeholders, including local government, mayoral combined authorities, health, and the voluntary and community sectors through the vast network of LUBS’ established relationships with the wider Yorkshire research and policy engagement community.
• Access seminars, workshops, and roundtables organised by LUBS, Y-PERN, Y-PIP and wider networks.
• Gain support and advice in crafting policy questions and evidence needs to enable the best access to expertise that can support policy or business challenges.
• Work with experts to translate the latest research into practical solutions for specific policy or business challenges.
• Peer-to-Peer exchanges with other IF policy fellows on the scheme to share best practice, experience, and support collaboration on cross-cutting policy themes.
• Co-produce topics and themes for workshops and discussions that align with stakeholder interests across central and local government. 
• Navigate the innovation landscape across West Yorkshire through Nexus – the University of Leeds’ community of innovators that brings together business, technology and academia.

Please complete an application form and email to a.j.m.quaile@leeds.ac.uk.

LUBS is dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals and teams can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, or people who belong to a minority ethnic community; people who identify as LGBT+; and disabled people. Fellows will always be selected based on an individual’s aims and strength of questions to be explored during their Fellowship.

The typical exchanges that will take place are one-to-ones, and most often with academics. Along with this, the exchanges throughout the fellowship can include workshops, seminars, and other types of events. All forms of exchange will follow Chatham House rules, unless otherwise stated. For instance, if the events that policy fellows attend will be used to support research and/or data collection, then all attendees will be made aware of this in advance and will be offered the decision not to consent to any comments of materials to used.

Individuals are responsible for what they disclose during their time as a policy fellow, though it should be emphasised that any information that is presented in confidence should be flagged as such to those that the policy fellow meets with. Policy fellows should feel comfortable to speak, and to cover ground in ways that can better inform the experts they exchange with. Some policy fellows will use the questions as scripts to structure their exchanges, while others may use the questions as a launching pad to cover wide ground. It is important to note that unlike areas of research interest (ARIs) the questions that form the fellowship will not be made publicly available. However, the fellowship team will analyse the questions for internal purposes, primarily to support the fellows in adapting or revising their questions across the length of the fellowship to maximise the value of their meetings. Note that policy fellows will primarily exchange with academics, but the Insights Fellowship is set up to enable exchanges with other policy professionals and experts from multiple sectors. All that has been stated here applies to such situations, in which the default is to follow Chatham House rules.

Applications are considered on a rolling basis and reviewed, with support and advice, throughout the application process. Review panel members will engage with prospective applicants. Final decisions on the application will be made between 4-6 weeks of the submission of the application.
Applicants can expect to hear the outcome of their application within the same timeframe.

Throughout the IF scheme successful applicants will be supported by a Visiting Professor of Research Impact. The support includes advice on how to adjust and tailor the questions addressed in the fellowship to ensure it is agile to dynamic policy demands. This will ensure meetings organised as part of the fellowship are appropriate and increase the likelihood solutions can be made. 

Visiting Professors are leaders in policy and business who bridge the gap between research and practice. Their unique perspectives and networks enable them to co-develop actionable recommendations with academic colleagues, ensuring that research findings directly inform policy and practice.

The Insights Policy Fellowship is being piloted over 2025/26 before wider roll out.

Paul Hayes is Senior Policy Engagement Fellow at Leeds University Business School. With a long background in policy development and local government, his role is to support and facilitate academic colleagues in developing and sustaining relationships with national and regional policy partners. This includes policymakers, public bodies and public service organisations, as well as think tanks and voluntary and community sector organisations. He is currently engaged with both the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement & Research Network (Y-PERN), as well as the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Innovation Partnership (Y-PIP), alongside several other national and regional networks.

Alistair Quaile is a research impact specialist passionate about bridging the gap between academic research and societal change. With a background in journalism, he brings a sharp focus on communication to help researchers translate complex findings into clear, accessible insights that influence policy, practice, and public understanding.

He is currently the Research Impact Manager at Leeds University Business School, where he leads strategic initiatives to support knowledge exchange and maximise the societal impact of research. He previously held a similar role in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, giving him broad experience across disciplines and sectors.

His current interests lie at the intersection of technology and policy development. He is particularly focused on how connected datasets can inform evidence-based decision-making; how AI can reveal patterns and predict the outcomes of policy intervention; and how digital platforms can enhance citizen engagement and democratic participation in shaping policy.

Magda Osman is a decision scientist, and a cognitive psychologist by training with specialisms in decision-making under risk and uncertainty, and group decision-making.

She has published over 150 research articles on topics concerning decision-making, risk analysis, reasoning, problem-solving, and the application of behavioural interventions (nudges). Her recent research critically appraises mechanisms (e.g. Areas

of research interest [ARIs], knowledge brokerages, policy exchange networks) used to support evidence-based policy decision-making and how to improve on them.

For over 10 years she has worked closely with several Governmental departments and agencies in an advisory and supportive role on risk analysis in safety and security domains.

Vanna Aldin is an economist with over 20 years’ experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex portfolios of analytical work covering a wide range of economic and policy areas.

She is Deputy Director and lead Analyst in Business Strategy and co-Chief Economist at the Department of Work and Pensions where she leads a multidisciplinary team of analysts and is responsible for developing the evidence and analysis underpinning the departmental vision 2025 and supporting the Executive Team in its Strategic Design Authority Role.

Until June 2021 she was Chief Economist and Head of Analytics at the Food Standards Agency. She led on improving the overall analytical capability of the department by focusing on innovation and evidence development.

She spent 8 years at the Home Office, mostly on immigration policy and labour and skills shortage as Head of Economics and Research for the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). She built an international reputation for the MAC, engaging with senior officials in several countries and international organisations (including World Bank, OECD, IOM).

Carrie Heitmeyer works at the intersection of research and policy and is interested in the ways in which legitimacy and authority are ascribed to different forms of evidence and knowledge in the policymaking process.

She is Head of Social Science in the Government Office for Science where she leads behavioural and social science for cross-government and external engagement, advising the Government Chief Scientific Advisor and senior staff on technical applications and strategic decisions. She previously worked as a Senior Science Advisor for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) Covid response, focusing on social and behavioural science. She has also worked in energy decarbonisation and reproductive health policy.

Prior to joining the Civil Service, she conducted research in India, with a focus on the interface between state and civil society in health initiatives, regulation and governance of stem cell research and therapy and the impact of collective violence on identity.

Gill Dix has a long track record and positive reputation as a senior analyst and policy lead in the field of work, labour markets and employment relations. Building on experience working in social policy research, she held senior leadership roles for 30

years at Acas as Head of Research and Evaluation, then as Head of Workplace Policy. This included occasional secondments to the (now) Department for Business and Trade (DBT). During this period, she worked with successive government administrations and saw significant change in the focus on employment policy, and its impacts on workplace outcomes and working life.

She is currently Research Development Manager at the University of Warwick’s Institute of Employment Research where she supports academic colleagues in the translation of research findings to policy and practice including improving accessibility of content and brokering relationships with non-academic stakeholders.

Additionally, she sat on the HEFCE business and management sub panels for the 2008, and 2011 RAE/REF as the adviser on ‘impact’ and has observed it becoming a key element of the assessment approach.