Changing the change-makers' minds and helping the decision-makers decide

PAIS prides itself on being an engaged and socially responsible department of politics and international studies, dedicated to enlightening and informing the work of stakeholders beyond the Ivory Tower and to supporting diverse theoretical, geographical and empirical approaches in our impact work.

Producing research that speaks to, and benefits, non-academic groups is in the departmental DNA: it is encouraged at all career-levels and across all four research clusters. PAIS academics are known for their ability to ask the tough questions and for challenging conventional wisdoms in a variety of governmental and non-governmental settings, around the world.

Impact in PAIS is broad and deep in geographical coverage, achieved at local, national and international levels. It is also heterogeneous in terms of non-academic constituencies influenced. For REF2021, PAIS academics positively impacted UK and overseas governments, the armed forces, intelligence and security communities, international organisations (IOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), business and commercial actors, think tanks, national and international media, the creative industries, as well as groups such as migrants, refugees and care home workers.