Policy partners

Policy Leeds acts as an engagement hub, connecting researchers and partners to address knowledge needs.

Our partners include policy organisations, public bodies and networks. On this page, you can find out how we work with them and how to get involved.

Local and regional collaborators

The University collaborates with civic, business and community partners across Leeds, West Yorkshire and Yorkshire and Humber. This includes the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Leeds City Council and other Yorkshire and Humber local and combined authorities.

Leeds City Council

The University and Leeds City Council have a long history of working together to address pressing issues in the city region.

We collaborate across many areas including:

the University of Leeds and Leeds City Council research collaboration framework
the Areas of Research Interest (ARI)
research projects responding to ARI
scrutiny boards
placements.

Find out more about our collaboration with Leeds City Council and explore resources.

Get in touch

Email Juliet Jopson, Public Policy Engagement Manager, at S.J.Jopson@leeds.ac.uk for more information on working with Leeds City Council.

Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN)

Y-PERN brings together researchers, policy makers and the community to support inclusive, place-based policy making in the region. They gather information and facilitate knowledge exchange to respond to local policy needs.

Y-PERN plays a crucial role in fulfilling the commitment made in the Memorandum of Understanding between Yorkshire Universities and Yorkshire and Humber Councils.

As the University of Leeds is a network member, Policy Leeds and Y-PERN work collaboratively to share information, support events and deliver research projects.

Find out more about Y-PERN.

Regional projects

Resources

Mapping Strategic Priorities of Local and Combined Authorities in Yorkshire: a blog identifying recurring themes and overlap between local and combined authority strategic priorities. It signposts academics towards key entry points for research evidence.
Yorkshire and Humber Authorities’ strategic priorities and areas of focus – August 2024 (Word document download): Summary of the findings of a scoping activity to understand knowledge needs across the region.
How are local people’s lived experiences and expertise informing decisions and solutions in Yorkshire and the Humber?: a blog exploring the YPIP project.

Explore more Y-PERN news and blogs and Y-PERN resources.

Get in touch

Email Kayleigh Renberg-Fawcett, Senior Programme Manager, at K.E.Renberg-Fawcett@leeds.ac.uk or email Andy Mycock, Chief Policy Fellow, at A.J.Mycock@leeds.ac.uk for more information on working with Y-PERN.

Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission (YHCC)

YHCC is an independent advisory body set up to bring actors from the public, private and third sectors together to support and guide ambitious climate actions across the region.

The University of Leeds supports this initiative as a funder and host, with the Commission’s core team based on campus. At Policy Leeds, we work with YHCC to connect activities and showcase climate evidence.

Along with the University of Leeds, YHCC are a member of the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP). YPIP’s core objectives are to support inclusive growth and enable sustainable living in a greener economy.

Resources

In 2025, Policy Leeds supported YHCC’s visit to parliament, where they presented research findings and recommendations on the regional climate actions that make a real difference. Read about YHCC’s experience engaging with parliamentarians in our blog.

Get in touch

Email Andrew Wood, Senior Engagement and Impact Officer, at A.Wood2@leeds.ac.uk for more information on working with YHCC.

West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (WYCA)

WYCA is the local governing body working across West Yorkshire to develop and deliver policies, programmes and services for people in the region.

WYCA is chaired by Mayor Tracey Brabin and supported by the thematic committees. It encompasses democratically elected councillors from Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield councils, plus non-voting member the City of York Council.

We engage with the Mayor and WYCA in several ways, including membership of key advisory committees, supporting research projects, initiatives, regional networks and events, informing and shaping regional policy and strategy, providing academic expertise and feeding into strategic funding bids, including via membership of the WYCA Local Growth Plan Expert Panel.

Resources

Reports and plans

Systems analysis of West Yorkshire economy: WYCA asked Y-PERN to undertake a ‘systems’ review of business support and skills infrastructure in West Yorkshire. The conclusions of the study informed WYCA’s Local Growth Plan.
The West Yorkshire Plan

Regional projects

Committee records

The University of Leeds has representation on thematic WYCA committees that oversee specific policy areas:

Dr Martin Stow – Economy
Professor Ben Walmsley – Culture, heritage and sport

Meetings by these committees are held in public and you can access records of meetings, agendas and minutes on the WYCA website.

Get in touch

Email Marc Eatough, Head of Regional Development and Engagement, at M.Eatough@leeds.ac.uk or the email the Y-PERN team at contact@y-pern.org.uk for more information.

National collaborators

Policy Leeds also works with wider-reaching organisations involved in academic-policy engagement on a national scale.

Government departments

Across the University, many of our researchers work with UK government departments in advisory capacities, on collaborative research projects, undertaking secondments or in other ways.

Policy Leeds provides an initial contact point for government colleagues seeking to connect with researchers and research evidence at the University. We further support work with government partners by facilitating events and building relationships. We also act as a University of Leeds contact for our partnerships with the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub and Sheffield Policy Campus initiatives.

Get in touch

Email Juliet Jopson, Public Policy Engagement Manager, at S.J.Jopson@leeds.ac.uk for more information.

Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

UPEN is a community of UK universities committed to increasing the impact of research on policy. Through UPEN, policymakers can access expertise from across 110 universities, including the University of Leeds.

The network regularly informs government, parliament and devolved bodies by facilitating academic-policy knowledge exchange. They are a valuable gateway for policy colleagues to reach out to the wider research community, and for researchers to access opportunities and training.

We work with UPEN to amplify colleagues’ work, share information on our approaches to policy engagement, support events and co-produce content.

Resources

Get in touch

Email Juliet Jopson, Public Policy Engagement Manager, at S.J.Jopson@leeds.ac.uk for more information.

Institute for Government (IfG)

The IfG is an independent think tank that aims to improve the effectiveness of the UK government. They work with senior civil servants and all the main political parties in Westminster to improve policymaking and support the civil service’s efficacy.

We collaborated with IfG to develop our Policy Engagement Kickstart programme. The programme involves unpacking the landscape of government and policymaking. University colleagues can find out more about the Policy Engagement Kickstart programme on the staff intranet (login required).

In addition, the IfG delivers a workshop for Leeds researchers on understanding the political dimensions of policymaking. IfG tutors Catherine Haddon and Katie Thorpe explore this further in our blog: Why having empathy for MPs may help your policy engagement.

Get in touch

Email Juliet Jopson, Public Policy Engagement Manager, at S.J.Jopson@leeds.ac.uk for more information.