Develop your skills in policy
As a professional body, the IES wants to support the development of our members. Keeping you ahead of the skills you’ll need in the future is essential, which is why “evidence-informed policy” is one of our strategic themes for 2024-2027. It’s also why we continue to develop resources for members to accelerate your journey towards effective policy engagement.
Policy short courses
Our new on-demand training programme is designed to support environmental professionals as they develop key skills in policy. Our first training course, Understanding Environmental Policy, covers all the basics to give you a foundation for policy engagement, while our intermediate course, Influencing and Engaging, focuses on the skills and techniques that will help you to become an impactful influencer or to carry out effective evidence-based engagement.
Case studies and key skills
So that you can learn from the experts already influencing policy, the IES has published a collection of policy engagement case studies: 'Speaking up for science', which is publicly available and covers best practice on key topics like:
- Using evidence to shape decisions
- Building coalitions to set the agenda
- Handling uncertainty in policy
- Strategic engagement to achieve impact
- Effective policy evaluation
We have also published our 'introduction to environmental policy' series of briefing papers, which handles some of the topics that will help new professionals to understand the complex policy landscape, including:
Horizon scanning briefings
Another key challenge is keeping up with the latest policy developments, which is why we publish annual briefings covering recent and upcoming policy changes that affect the environment, as well as some key topical policy issues:
More ways to get started with policy
- To learn where environmental science and policy interact, check out our recommendations for the UK Government across 11 environmental topics, which signposts to additional resources and includes insights on the gap between current policy and the recommendations of our Communities.
- If you want to stay up-to-date with the latest developments, learn more with Essential Environment, which provides policy and regulatory monitoring through a free monthly bulletin, articles on the implications of the most important policy changes, and horizon scanning briefings.
- For all the latest reports, briefings, analysis, and updates on our work in environmental policy, you can visit our main policy page.
- If you want to learn more about environmental policy or the training we offer for members, please contact Joseph Lewis, Head of Policy (joseph@the-ies.org).
If you want to support the work of the IES to stand up for science and nature, become an affiliate, or if you’re an environmental professional, join the IES.
Header image credit: © Ludmila Smite | Adobe Stock
