Dear PhD Lab,

Greetings from across the pond.

I wanted to send en e-mail with a few announcements.

(1) Please join me in welcoming Gary Birnie – in CC – (who some of you will remember from his time in our MSc Behavioural Science), who will be joining Stirling (and our lab, of course) as a PhD student this Summer. Gary will be supervised by Dave Comerford and Anna Whittaker (who is s colleague in the Psychology Department).

(2) Talking about the Summer: We should meet once a month again to keep in touch. We could make these hybrid event. Those who can make it, meet on campus and the others join remotely. I will be back in Scotland (and in a more compatible time zone) the week of the 19th of May. So we could start that week and meet again in June/July/August. Here are some suggested dates:

May: How about 21st of May?
June: I would suggest 25th or 26th June (see also below)
July: How about 23rd of July?
August: How about 20th of August?

(3) Over the last few months, the Behavioural Science Centre has been touch with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) who are keen to establish collaborations with us. There are several opportunities arising from this, that I would like to share:

(3a): The Behavioural Science Centre has been invited to present its work at the Department for Business and Trade’s Competition and Consumer Policy (CCP) Directorate’s Behavioural Insights Mini-Conference, an online event scheduled for either 25th or 26th of June 2025. This is part of DBT’s wider academic engagement programme and offers a valuable opportunity to showcase our research to policymakers and strengthen our collaboration with the Directorate.

I am attaching the DBT’s Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) so you can gauge what they are looking for
Check it out and if you feel that your research speaks to any of these, you should consider whether you want to present at this conference.

(3b) The DBT also asked us to circulate the following three opportunities with you. Some of these sound really exciting, so please check these out and let us know if you want to throw your head in the ring so we can support you.

I quote:

Please find a short description on each of these three initiatives below. We invite you to submit expressions of interest (EOI) to any (or all) of them on this form by 30 May 2025.

Each form should be filled out by an individual academic, PhD student, or prospective PhD candidate from your University. Our ARIs can be used as a guide for applicants to the EOI to determine whether their focus is a match with that of the directorate.

(A) PhD Placement Programme

We believe there are lots of transferable skills between a PhD and research-based placements. Most PhDs will have had experience scoping a topic when developing their PhD proposal, assessing academic work relevant to their project, prioritising which pieces of literature to read, and using research questions to guide their reading to make sure it was efficient. These transferable skills will ensure that the PhDs can settle quickly and deliver value over the time they are in DBT.

What would the programme look like?

We would anticipate PhDs coming in to deliver research projects to help inform future policymaking. This will include:

A 3-month secondment into DBT – on either a part or full-time basis, dependent on DBT needs.
Potential travel expenses funding only (depending on office attendance needs and journey length) – remaining funding should be identified and secured by applicants to cover day-to-day living expenses during their time on the placement. This is usually expected to be at an equivalent or higher rate to the UKRI national minimum stipend level, pro rata, and we would ask for evidence of this prior to take up of the placement.
Application process – opportunity to apply through a personal statement which sets out why the candidate is best suited to deliver one of the project briefs provided. This would be followed by an interview.

Benefits for PhD students

Development of skills – PhD students will be able to develop skills which would be beneficial for future careers in policy, or which are transferable to other professions. This could include learning how academic evidence can contribute to decision making in Government, collaborating with colleagues with varying skill sets and effective stakeholder engagement and management.
Exposure to policy and Government – the programme will provide invaluable experience for academics in understanding how Government operates and how research and academic literature can support effective policymaking.
Contribution to their PhD – We are aware that many PhD’s have recently heightened focus on the impact of the research in the real world, with some programmes increasing in length (adding an additional 0.5 years) to incorporate additional space for placements such as the one we are proposing. The programme can also help PhDs to better understand how their research connects to both policymaking and the lives of UK citizens. This can both inform their future work in their PhD and help develop and build their networks for future discussions/research.

Timelines and next steps

We are currently sharing this information with academic institutions and would welcome views on:

What times of year would be most sensible to have existing PhD students seconded into DBT
Whether 3-months would be an appropriate timeframe to deliver a research paper on the one of the above topics
What other information you may need/would be helpful to advertise this to PhD students

Once we have agreed timelines, we will send out application packs for PhD student to apply along with an offer to discuss the opportunity with people within CCP.
We will then review the applications and invite a number of PhDs to interview for each of the research questions, before selecting candidates, arranging security clearance and onboarding them to start within CCP/DBT.

(B) CCP Forum

This is an exciting opportunity for early career researchers (ECRs) interested in the field of consumer and competition policy.

We are launching the Consumer and Competition Policy (CCP) Forum, aimed at bringing together ECRs and members from our policy and analysis teams to foster innovative policy development on current and emerging issues within this domain.

The CCP Forum provides a unique opportunity for ECRs to contribute their expertise, engage with policymakers, and potentially shape future policy initiatives. It also offers a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration between academia and government.

The Forum will hold bi-annual meetings of 15 selected ECRs. It will be an opportunity for:

Collaboration and Networking. Bringing together policy makers and ECRs can bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical policy implementation.
Knowledge Exchange. Policy makers can share insights on current regulatory challenges practical constraints, while researchers can present the latest findings and innovative solutions.
Innovation and Policy Development on emerging challenges: ECRs can gain insights into the policy-making process, enhancing their skills and understanding of real-world applications.
Inclusive and Sustainable Policies. Creating a diverse group can lead to more inclusive and equitable policies. Discussions can also focus on sustainable practices and long-term impact.

(C) The CCP External Speaker Series

This aims to expose CCP to interesting and challenging external ideas that could develop our policy and freshen up our thinking.
Once a month, a thought leader in competition and consumer policy speaks to our directorate about a policy idea or issue, followed by Q&A. The topic must be broadly relevant, but needn’t be topical or on an existing area of CCP work.

Best wishes,

Till

Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence

The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159