Civil Service and Academia: A Model Partnership

Civil servant Tim Lennox writes about his experience seconding to INET Oxford.

In October, I left the familiarity of the civil service for a secondment into academic life at Oxford’s Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET). I was fascinated by MacroCB7’s project proposal of applying cutting-edge Agent Based Modelling techniques to UK decarbonisation policy. Six months later, I have learnt so much from the academic environment and am on a mission to better connect the two organisations. 

Similarities and Differences
Bridging the gap between the University of Oxford and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has highlighted interesting cultural differences. Many INET colleagues impressively juggle multiple research projects and areas of interest, whereas civil servants are often focused on one policy area. There is also a refreshing lack of meetings compared to the civil service. On the other hand, I now appreciate DESNZ’s positive emphasis on team working and project management. Both organisations could learn a lot from the other and I plan to bring back the best parts of academic culture to DESNZ.
Crucially, both organisations share a deep desire to have impact. Civil servants want to understand the evidence base to ensure they are giving the best possible advice to ministers. Academics view policymakers as one of the key routes for their research to improve the world. It is this shared drive to have impact that motivates me to strengthen connections between academia and the civil service.

Working Together
How do we achieve this connection? Fundamentally, I think this relies on good relationships between individuals in the two organisations. But this has the huge challenge of identifying who in the other organisation we should be talking to. As civil servants, we can find published academic papers online and reach out to the authors. I think the reverse problem for academics is more difficult. I would encourage reaching out to civil servants at a relevant department (through networking/policy forums/LinkedIn) and asking if they can put you in touch with someone working in your policy area.
My top tip once you have a contact is for both parties to understand the role of the other. For academics, identify whether your civil servant is a policy colleague (they write policy papers and ministerial recommendations) or an analyst colleague (they produce and collate evidence). For civil servants, identifying how the researcher’s seniority will help guide you as to how much time they can spend on new research.
Building these connections is not easy, but the benefits are substantial for both the individuals and the organisations.

MacroCB7 Update
Our project, MacroCB7, involves implementing INET’s cutting-edge macroeconomic model to the Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7). The wonderful project team has had an impressive quarter. We have now aligned Climate Change Committee data in our modelling framework and are reviewing the results. We model UK decarbonisation through the investment required and the expected energy efficiency improvements. The model then predicts the wider economic impacts of this economic activity.
The project continues to benefit from the close relationships developed between INET and DESNZ. Routine conversations at both a working level and a senior level have enabled the most impactful work being done. Informal meetings and Teams messages unblock technical queries whilst monthly senior meetings provide strategic steers on which policy questions to prioritise.
Overall, we are advancing steadily towards the project’s ambition to provide insights on the macroeconomic impacts of CB7 in time for its parliamentary debate in June.

It is this shared drive to have impact that motivates me to strengthen connections between academia and the civil service. Tim Lennox, Visiting Research Fellow (Macroeconomics of the Seventh Carbon Budget)

Wider Agent Based Modelling
We are also taking the opportunity to boost Agent Based Modelling (ABM) in government. Valentina Antonaccio and I recently presented on a panel of ABM practitioners in a seminar of 500 government analysts. This high attendance resulted from using the civil service modelling network which does a fantastic job of sharing knowledge, pushing modelling frontiers and ensuring that analysis isn’t duplicated. This seminar has built towards our aim of using MacroCB7 to showcase the value of ABMs, and Complexity Economics, in public policy.
Valentina and Tom Youngman also won Oxford Policy Engagement Network (OPEN) Seed Funding, alongside modellers within the Department for Business and Trade, to apply ABMs to a live trade policy question. This project will conclude by May with tangible policy outcomes. While secondment of government analysts proves one way to embed academic expertise into policy, working-level collaborations serve as another route.

Agile Initiative and OPEN
I have been impressed by two Oxford institutions focused on boosting academic and policymaker collaboration. Firstly, the excellent Agile Initiative at the Oxford Martin School who have funded MacroCB7 as part of NERC. I have been inspired by the Agile Initiative’s drive to ensure projects have clear, impactful outputs. Secondly, OPEN who do a commendable job of highlighting upcoming policy priorities that academics can contribute to through the OPEN Alert. They also support policy professionals with a monthly, personalised round-up of policy-relevant research, news and opportunities through the Oxford Briefing.

The Future
With the sprint ending in June, the team is excited to present our final Carbon Budget 7 outputs. We have broken new ground on climate macroeconomics, showcased the value of Agent Based Modelling and created strong, lasting connections. We have built a model UK economy and a model partnership.

This blog also appears on The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School website.