The IPR's Policy Podcast Series brings listeners expert insight into the worlds of policy and academic research with a collection of the best IPR Public Lectures, Policy Seminars and other events captured in audio format.

Institute for Policy Research (IPR) Policy Podcast Series

This event saw the launch of our policy brief on girls' education and language of instruction, produced in partnership with the University of Bath Department of Education and UK government Girls' Education Challenge (GEC).

In this event we hear from co-editor Dr Lizzi O. Milligan (University of Bath), and supporters and contributors including Alicia Mills (GEC), Aline Dorimana (University of Rwanda), Aloysie Uwizeyemariya (University of Rwanda), Fadimata Walet Inorene (CARE USA) and Amira Salama (Africa ELTA).

This event took place on 24 May 2022. View and download the policy brief via: https://www.bath.ac.uk/publications/girls-education-and-language-of-instruction-an-extended-policy-brief/.

Girls' education and language of instruction

In this lecture Dr Graeme Garrard (Cardiff University) discusses the ideas behind his new book 'The return of the state and why it is essential for our health, wealth and happiness', published by Yale University Press: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300256758/the-return-of-the-state/.

This event took place online on 21 June 2022.

Dr Graeme Garrard: The return of the state

In this webinar, Professor Jaideep Roy joined us to discuss his research on automation, displacement and democracy.

This webinar took place on 22 June 2022.

Prof Jaideep Roy: Automation, displacement and democracy

In this lecture, Professor in Political Theory, Chris Armstrong, discusses his latest book ‘A blue new deal: Why we need a new politics for the ocean'. He explores existing governing institutions and makes the case for a powerful World Ocean Authority, putting equality, democracy, and sustainability at the heart of ocean politics.

This lecture took place online on 29 June 2022 and is part of the series 'Our oceans: A deep dive': https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/our-oceans-a-deep-dive/.

Prof Chris Armstrong: A blue new deal: Why we need a new politics for the ocean

In this event, Dr Ana Catalano Weeks (University of Bath) joined us to discuss her new book 'Making gender salient: From gender quota laws to policy'. Featuring contributions from Professor Rosie Campbell (King's College London) and Dr Peter Allen (University of Bath). 

This event took place at the University of Bath on 14 July 2022. For further information on the book, visit: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/making-gender-salient/2D3D592FC6C6B1182203FAA84149E09D.

Making gender salient: From gender quota laws to policy

In this masterclass Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE and Pete Dyson discuss how policymakers can use behaviour change evidence in practice, with examples of what works in environmental and transport policy.

Lorraine Whitmarsh is Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Bath and Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST). Pete Dyson is a Doctoral Researcher in Transport & Travel Behaviour at the University of Bath and former Principal Behavioural Scientist at the Department for Transport. 

This public event took place on 7 February 2023. It was hosted jointly by the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR) and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST).

Prof Loraine Whitmarsh and Pete Dyson: Putting Behaviour Change Evidence Into Practice

In this lecture, Professor Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake join us to discuss their latest book ‘Restarting the future: How to fix the intangible economy’. 

Our economies have become increasingly reliant on intangible assets that derive their value from ideas, knowledge and relationships rather than material properties. Haskel and Westlake explore how intangible assets differ from tangible ones and why it is important that the institutions that govern our economies keep up with the intangible revolution.

This public event took place on 28 February 2023. It forms part of the ‘Polycrisis!’ event series hosted by the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR).

Prof Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake: Restarting The Future - How To Fix The Intangible Economy

The oceans are vital to life on this planet. But they are under threat from unsustainable levels of exploitation. In this lecture, Professor Guy Standing discusses his latest book 'The Blue Commons', arguing that in addition to the already established ‘green politics’, we urgently need a ‘blue politics’ that is grounded in the principle of the commons. 

Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London and a founding member and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN). 

This public event took place on 13 March 2023. It was jointly hosted by the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR), the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) and the Bath Earth System Governance (ESG) Research Centre. It forms part of the IPR's ‘Polycrisis!’ event series.

Prof Guy Standing: The Blue Commons - Rescuing the Economy of the Sea

In this special IPR lecture, Professor Barry Eichengreen joins us to discuss his latest co-authored book, In Defense of Public Debt, which explores the origins, management, and uses and misuses of sovereign debt through the ages. This event took place on 24 April 2023. It forms part of the IPR's 'Polycrisis!' lecture series.

Prof Barry Eichengreen: In defense of public debt

Energy transitions in line with climate targets are often framed as largely technological challenges. But decarbonisation processes are affecting all aspects of human life. How can they best be managed, especially in regions that are still heavily dependent on fossil fuels?

In this lecture, Professor Ricardo Garcia Mira (Professor of Social Psychology at the University of A Coruna, Spain) joins us to discuss the social aspects of the clean energy transition in Europe.

This event took place on 16 May 2023. It forms part of the IPR's 'Polycrisis!' lecture series.

Prof Ricardo Garcia Mira: The social dimension in transitions to clean energy in Europe

In this IPR lecture, Stefan Eich (Assistant Professor of Government at Georgetown University) joins us to discuss his book "The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes". 

Money appears to be beyond the reach of democratic politics, but this appearance - like so much about money - is deceptive. Even when the politics of money is impossible to ignore, its proper democratic role can be difficult to discern.

In "The Currency of Politics", Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning.

Recovering foundational ideas at the intersection of monetary rule and democratic politics, "The Currency of Politics" explains why only through greater awareness of the historical limits of monetary politics can we begin to articulate more democratic conceptions of money.

This IPR lecture took place on 24 May 2023.

Prof Stefan Eich: The Currency of Politics

In this lecture, Dr Stephen Hall (Lecturer in Russian and Post-Soviet Politics at the University of Bath) joins us to talk about his new book "The Authoritarian International: Tracing How Authoritarian Regimes Learn in the Post-Soviet Space." He is joined by discussants Prof Gulnaz Sharafutdinova (Professor of Russian Politics and Acting Director of Russia Institute at King's College London) and Prof Thomas Ambrosio (Professor of Political Science at North Dakota State University). 

This lecture was hosted by the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR) on 12 September 2023.

Dr Stephen Hall: The Authoritarian International

Originally recorded for the University of Bath Youtube channel, this podcast is the result of an exploratory study conducted by researchers working in education, policy studies, psychology and medical humanities across the universities of Bath, Bristol and Exeter, from 2022-23. This project was made possible through funding from the GW4 Alliance. In this podcast, the research team talk to young people, teachers and school leaders about what their schools are doing around mental health and their experiences of these initiatives. They share their analysis of government policies that say what it is schools should be doing, and share findings from the archives about historical perspectives on the role of schools in addressing mental health.
 
The research team: Dr Katie Howard, Lecturer, University of Exeter, Dr Rachel Wilder, Lecturer, University of Bath, Dr Naomi Warne, Research Fellow, University of Bristol, Dr Eleni Dimitrellou, Lecturer, University of Exeter, Dr Chris Sandal-Wilson, Lecturer, University of Exeter, Nai Lang, doctoral candidate, University of Bath and Lisa Wojahn, doctoral candidate, University of Exeter.

Dr Rachel Wilder: The Mental Health in Schools Podcast

In this IPR lecture, Financial Times public policy editor Peter Foster discusses his book "What Went Wrong With Brexit: And What We Can Do About It".

Six years after Brexit, Peter Foster argues that it’s time that we stop having the same conversations over and over again. We need to move on, because in the meantime so much has changed. The economic realities that are making the UK less competitive, less productive and less well-off are ever more obvious - and more and more people are finding out the Brexit they were sold was based on falsehoods and fantasy.

So what exactly went wrong with Brexit?

Peter Foster's book dispels the myths and, most importantly, shows what a better future for Britain after Brexit might look like. With clear-headed practicality, he considers the real costs of leaving the EU, how we can recover international trust in the UK, how to improve cooperation and trade with our neighbours, and how to begin to build the Global Britain that Brexit promised but failed to deliver.

This IPR lecture took place on 9 November 2023.

Peter Foster: What went wrong with Brexit and what we can do about it

Over the last 12 months, we’ve witnessed an explosion of discussion and debate on artificial intelligence among UK Members of Parliament. But what do they think about AI, and what are their concerns? 

James Boyd-Wallis from the Appraise Network, an AI policy forum, explains the findings of its survey of how MPs feel about AI. The research reveals to what extent MPs feel regulators have the necessary skills and expertise to regulate AI, how optimistic and pessimistic MPs are toward the technology, and their concerns about jobs, society, and the speed of development.

This IPR event took place on 24 January 2024.

James Boyd-Wallis: What Do MPs Think of AI?

Britain is facing a teacher retention and recruitment crisis which has the potential to severely impact schools' ability to provide quality education to all students. The latest workforce survey by the Department for Education (DfE) indicates that record numbers of teachers working in state schools – about one in ten – left the profession for reasons other than retirement in 2021-22. In a recent survey conducted as part of Education Support’s Commission on Teacher Retention, more than one in five secondary teachers expected to leave the profession within five years’ time. Meanwhile, new national data on the teacher labour market shows that across the vast majority of secondary subjects, recruitment targets are not being met, suggesting that teacher shortages are likely to intensify in the future.

In this IPR event, Professor Simon Burgess, Evelyn Forde MBE and Jack Worth discuss the factors influencing teacher retention and recruitment – such as excessive workload, insufficient pay, lack of career development opportunities, and challenging working environments – as well as the policy interventions that could improve the attractiveness of teaching as a profession. Hosted by Matt Dickson.

This IPR event took place on 22 February 2024.

Addressing Britain's teacher retention and recruitment crisis

Devolution to nations, regions and cities has been a feature of British politics since 1997 - to the nations of the UK, Greater London and more recently to other English counties and city regions. It has led in some cases to significant change and the rise of powerful national institutions and city leaders, but it has also been a messy, incomplete process that has produced inequalities of power between different parts of the UK.

Not all areas have seen substantive devolution, devolved authorities have different powers, considerable power is still hoarded in the central UK state, and the consequences of devolution for the constitution of the UK, and relations between its constituent nations, remain fraught and contested. Some argue that England should be formally recognised as a partner nation in the UK; others that devolution has gone too far. How has devolution worked in practice? What should the next government do? What can places ask for? Can we move from an overly centralised state to one where true power rests with elected representatives and local communities? Should we consider a federal future for the UK? 

In this IPR panel discussion, Zoë Billingham (IPPR North), joins Michael Kenny (Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge), Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, and Hannah White (Institute for Government). Hosted by Nick Pearce, Director of the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) and Professor of Public Policy.

This discussion took place on 27 February 2024 and was hosted with Bristol Ideas.

How Do We Make Devolution Work Better?

Science and politics have collaborated throughout human history, and science is repeatedly invoked today in political debates, from pandemic management to climate change. But the relationship between the two is muddled and muddied. 

In this IPR lecture, leading policy analyst Geoff Mulgan calls attention to the growing frictions caused by the expanding authority of science, which sometimes helps politics but often challenges it. He dissects the complex history of states’ use of science for conquest, glory and economic growth and shows the challenges of governing risk – from nuclear weapons to genetic modification, artificial intelligence to synthetic biology. He shows why the governance of science has become one of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century, ever more prominent in daily politics and policy.

This IPR event took place on 26 March 2024.

Institute for Policy Research

Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan: When science meets power

This event marked the launch of the new Institute for Policy Research report: "Coping and hoping: Navigating the ups and downs of monthly assessment in universal credit".

The report, written by Dr Rita Griffiths and Dr Marsha Wood, explores how the system of monthly assessment in Universal Credit – used for assessing entitlement, recovering debts and calculating payment – is affecting income security and financial well-being in working households. The research, funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, tracked changes in earnings and household income, in real time, between 2022 and 2023 tracked changes in earnings and household income, in real time, between 2022 and 2023, among 61 Universal Credit claimants in 42 working households with one or two earners in paid work or self-employment.

The specific research questions the study sought to answer were:

- How stable or volatile are monthly household incomes and what are the key drivers?
- To what extent does Universal Credit dampen or accentuate income insecurity and help with household budgeting?
- Is the adjustment to the Universal Credit payment in response to changes in earnings timely and smooth?
- Is household income sufficient to generate a buffer and cover reductions in the Universal Credit payment when earnings rise?
- What budgeting strategies do participants use to manage fluctuating payments and variations in household income?
- To what extent does monthly assessment incentivise employment, longer working hours and higher earnings?
- What conclusions and policy implications can be drawn from the findings and what policy recommendations can be made?

The event included a presentation from the report authors, Dr Rita Griffiths and Dr Marsha Wood, and audience questions. It took place on 16 April 2024.

Dr Rita Griffiths and Dr Marsha Wood: Coping and hoping: monthly assessment and Universal Credit

Economic growth in the UK has been sluggish ever since the global financial crisis. More recent large-scale disruptions caused by Brexit and Covid-19 have created additional challenges to growth and the vital public services, institutions, and fiscal measures that underpin it. Productivity and public investment remain low. Meanwhile, stalling wage growth and the cost-of-living crisis continue to eat into households’ disposable income, discouraging spending while also deepening economic inequalities. What policies might underpin a new vision for prosperity – one that focuses not purely on growth but also ensures that economic gains are widely shared and environmentally sustainable?

This IPR panel discussion featured Torsten Bell, Professor Dame Diane Coyle and Dr Anna Valero. 

It took place on 25 April 2024. 

Hosted with Resolution Foundation.

Overcoming stagnation: A new strategy for economic prosperity in Britain?

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