Professor of Development Economics
Dr Panos Panagiotopoulos is a Reader in Information Management and a Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute. He has been involved in several policy-engaged projects.
Project 1 - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Panos’ primary focus revolves around collaborating with government and public sector entities on projects related to data and policy for algorithms. In 2014, Panos participated in a six-month pilot initiative with Defra aimed at leveraging social media data to inform policy evidence. This endeavour entailed mapping Twitter data and other sources, conducting interviews, and researching the value of social media data and monitoring tools in policymaking. Given the novelty of social media at the time, the project highlighted the importance of understanding its potential within policy workflows. In post-project evaluation, Panos gathered feedback from senior social scientists, who highlighted valuable insights regarding his work and how the social media data could be integrated into policymaking processes.
Project 2 – Better Regulation Executive
Between 2015 and 2020, Panos’ policy engagement work centred around regulation and regulatory coordination. He received funding from the Better Regulation Executive unit of the former Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to review alternative regulation instruments that rely on public information disclosure (report). Subsequently, he became a member of the Better Regulation Executive’s network of experts. As part of this collaboration, he researched prominent schemes such as the Food Hygiene Ratings and delivered seminars within the regulatory community, including the Food Standards Agency and the Care Quality Commission.
Panos primarily received funding for his policy engagement work from external sources, such as joint applications with teams at Defra to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and direct support from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Through securing funding and maintaining strong relationships with policymakers throughout different government departments, Panos has published papers and government reports. His engagement informed policy coordination in areas such as data-driven and algorithmic regulation. Working with policymakers has helped increase his recognition and raise his profile.
Brexit has significantly impacted government departments and the broader policy landscape, which has challenged policy engagement activities. The constant changes in leadership and priorities stemming from Brexit did not support stability within the civil service, leading to frequent movement of civil servants between departments. This lack of stability has hindered effective policymaking and implementation and maintain the continuity of projects and relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a disruptive effect further complicating governmental operations. Lastly, despite the wealth of expertise within the civil service, there are challenges in cohesively aligning the right people with the right tasks.
This case study was supported by Audrey Tan (Policy Partnerships Manager, Mile End Institute) and Maja Wawrzynowicz (Policy Associate, Mile End Institute). If you’re interested in learning more about how you can build policy engagement into your own work, check out the Queen Mary Policy Hub’s Learning Resources and Policy Engagement How-To Guides.