Policy Fellowships

Engineering better policy

The Policy Fellowships programme inspires policymakers to think differently and to use engineering and systems thinking to frame complex and wicked problems, and design resilient solutions.

The programme has grown a unique network of policymakers, engineers and other experts who are working together to develop fresh insights and approaches to economic, social and technical problems.

Twice a year the Royal Academy of Engineering will select exceptional policymakers to become Policy Fellows.

We welcome applications from civil and public servants who have a variety of insights, expertise and backgrounds from across the policy community.

Watch our programme trailer to learn more

“The Policy Fellowship is transformative. Working with a fantastic cohort and team at the Royal Academy, I delved into an issue I care about and found new and exciting ways to approach problem-solving.”

Louise Dunsby, Deputy Director Innovation at BEIS

“I was blown away by the quality of the experts I was able to share my challenges with. Their openness to help identify and talk through new ideas has been invaluable.”

Louise Owen, Head of National Security Tech and Innovation Exchange at UK Civil Service

“I wanted to reach beyond the NIC’s usual pool of stakeholders, learn from other sectors how they analyse and manage risk across complex systems, and enable government to learn from the private sector. I was able to successfully use the valuable insights from my Policy Fellowship to inform the analysis of systemic resilience and vulnerability, which underpinned the NIC’s 2019 Scoping Report for the Resilience Study.”

Matt Crossman, Team Leader, National Infrastructure Commission

“I got so much from my Policy Fellowship… it really helped me solve a particular knotty policy challenge. It provided me with generous access to a set of experts, which allowed me to work through my team’s ideas and tap into their years of experience. It gave us a completely different perspective that we would not have otherwise had.”

Alex Holmes, Amazon Global Business Development

Policy Fellowships

Managing complexity report

Support for policymakers

Engineering better policy

Applications system

Download our programme brochure and annual report

“The Policy Fellowship is transformative. Working with a fantastic cohort and team at the Royal Academy, I delved into an issue I care about and found new and exciting ways to approach problem-solving.”

“I was blown away by the quality of the experts I was able to share my challenges with. Their openness to help identify and talk through new ideas has been invaluable.”