Connecting Policy to the Public

Community experience has been noted for its importance in planning and community development. But engaging directly with researchers can be key in appreciating the nuance and complexities within this area.

The Policy Leeds: Place and Space insight conference presented this very opportunity; exploring locally led research outputs with nationwide application and implication. Held at the University of Leeds on 7th July, the event provided invaluable insight into the progress and constraints of research which connects policy practitioners and stakeholders.

In attendance were a multi-institution network of researchers and planning professionals. The presentation of their cross-faculty projects reflected place-based policy’s contribution to UK national missions in issues such as economic growth, educational attainment, and health outcomes, in the wake of widening English devolution.

Present was a diverse group of researchers from across the University of Leeds, including from the Healthy and Sustainable Places Data Service and the Centre for Cultural Value, as well as from external organisations such as Street Space and the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission.

The breadth of place research

The overarching impression of the event was one of genuine interest in the breadth of research being presented, each project aimed at building the understanding of and tackling unique and diverse issues.

What was enlightening was each presenter’s passion for the impact their work could have on wider communities, and the various methods employed to connect with the day-to-day lived experience of those communities. Though presented as separate pieces of work, core themes were flowing throughout the day, and the event as a whole offered potential avenues for future collaboration.

The conference consisted of a series of presentations, networking opportunities, and a panel discussion between Nik Lomax, Director of HASP; Julia Martin-Ortega, School of Earth and Environment; Hannah Andrew, Policy Manager for Spatial Planning at West Yorkshire Combined Authority; and Martin Elliot, Head of Strategic Planning at Leeds City Council. Together, these enabled a deep dive into research on themes such as inclusive and resilient urban spaces, rural and agri-environmental policy, and infrastructure-related climate behaviours.

The thematic breadth of the work presented throughout the day is a reflection of the major role academic research plays in rooting policymaking in the lived reality of communities. Observations of Leeds-based climate hubs as community ‘one-stop-shops’, the application of social media data to understand consumer wellbeing in inflation, and parliamentary evaluation of democratic education are all examples of the pre-eminent work helping to build understanding of communities and inform practitioners.

Co-production as a core foundation

The more telling discovery however was the latent themes interlacing the presented projects. Of these, co-production emerged as one of the most fundamental elements in research design.

Working in conjunction with policy stakeholders can enable a grounding of projects in current policy constraints. The production of the cultural indicator suite led by Stephen Dobson, for instance, leveraged local authority stakeholder feedback to identify core elements of day-to-day lived culture in communities. Paddy Smith, in his HASP opinion piece on place attachment, argued that identifying this lived experience and cultural memory is essential in preserving community attachment to place and preventing resident alienation amid urban development.

Similarly, co-production with individual stakeholders can establish projects in community lived experience; Anna Barker and Rebecca Brunk worked extensively with local volunteers to develop training schemes to increase the safety of parks and green spaces for women across the UK.

As a core methodological feature presented throughout the conference, designing research with those who can create impact and those who are impacted has been essential in connecting place and space to policy.

The role of data and evidence

Underpinning this connection is the emphasis on collected evidence. Data, at various levels of granularity, has proven fundamental in gauging community sentiment across the projects presented at the event, as well as highlighting the constraints in current understanding of various community issues. The conference demonstrated the indisputable value of communicating with communities themselves; it makes clear that there is no impact without first determining the impacted.

In the concluding panel, Nik Lomax, director of HASP, noted the importance of a data-first approach, talking directly to local people and building evidence upon this, as well as determining which communities are engaged with collected evidence. Smart data can be an essential component in rooting this community sentiment in the wider context of its lived experience. Exposures data such as air quality, speeding prevalence, and proximity to food provisions can form the broader picture needed to root policymaking in community needs.

Sara González and Chris Terry’s research into St James’s wholesale market in Bradford and its contribution to the local economy mirrors this point. Connecting directly with sellers and customers enabled grounded data collection which detailed not only the regional economic impact of its traders, but also the broader community impact in its provision of affordable and fresh food.

What the Policy Leeds event highlighted is that data can both uncover dynamics across place and space and identify the constraints in our existing understanding of them. The role of evidence in the work presented at the conference cannot be understated; it signifies the importance of services such as HASP in providing data and insight to understand community interaction with place. Similarly, it can inform policy interventions that directly reflect the needs of the communities they target.

Final thoughts

Policy Leeds: Place and Space proved invaluable in sharing cross-cutting research across the academic community. Beyond simply offering fascinating insights, the projects shared at the event provided an enlightening view of the work being done to make planning and policy development more relevant and responsive to community lived experience.

The variety of research being conducted is both impressive and highly encouraging as it shows how fundamental the academic community is in connecting communities with policy practitioners, and just how important its work is in properly informing practitioners of the on-the-ground reality within which people live.