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Emma Lawrence, Policy Connect, 2021 (4 months)
Emma worked on a project with Health Fellow for Policy Connect centred on raising awareness of cell and gene therapies amongst parliamentarians.
22 June 2021
鈥�鈥淲hether or not you want to work in policy, this Fellowship is an invaluable experience in how to make your work impactful - in bringing together key stakeholders, in raising awareness of your work and yourself. It鈥檚 really good for expanding your network and building confidence in working with policymakers.鈥澨�
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What was your Fellowship about?听
As part of my Fellowship, I worked as a Health Fellow for Policy Connect in their Health team. My project centred on raising awareness of cell and gene therapies amongst parliamentarians.听听
When I started the Fellowship, I focused on conducting a stakeholder mapping of people and organisations working across this space, as cell and gene therapies were听a new topic area for Policy Connect. We then conducted a survey of Members of Parliament (MPs) to understand their awareness of cell and gene therapies. Subsequently, I helped to organise a roundtable event with key stakeholders identified in the stakeholder mapping, hosted by Daniel Zeichner MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences. It was great to see how engaged some of the MPs were on the issues.听
I helped contribute to the development of the outputs from our activities, including assisting with the publication of an article and infographic. You can read more about my experience on the placement here.听
What did you learn during your Fellowship?听
The Fellowship gave me access to some of the Policy Connect training and to the insights available through DeHavilland, a team of political intelligence specialists. Being mentored by a colleague within Policy Connect, attending APPG events and report launches enabled me to learn about current issues going on in the policy space and to better understand how a think tank functions.听听听
The placement really highlighted the value of interpersonal relationships, networking, and the visibility of your own work and activities. I also gained a lot of insights into Government strategies and papers, and how to talk more confidently about APPGs and their work. Lastly, I gained experience speaking with MPs and their offices, which has been very helpful to get to my current position!听
How did the Fellowship contribute to your career development?听
Throughout my secondment, I was able to observe the day-to-day work of my colleagues and I was exposed to the practicalities of policy generation and the sort of reports and events that are conducted as part of this. My Fellowship really furthered my interest in working in the policy industry and I was able to translate my experience into my current role with the Bioindustry Association, a trade association for bio-tech companies. I now work as the Policy and Public Affairs Manager covering Genomics, Data, Digital and Artificial Intelligence where I am able to apply the skills that I developed during the Fellowship.听听