The Bridge Project

Abstract

The BRiDGE project supports the European Union aim to bridge the gap between research and policy. To be effective, education policy research and development needs to be supported by collaboration and critical reflection. The project will address existing gaps between the knowledge and expertise of Higher Education institution-based researchers, practitioners in civil society organisations, and policy-makers, that prevent the effective connection of evidence with policy making. The project will develop a collaborative pan-European professional learning community to support development of competences for policy research. It will use the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) Science for Policy Competence Framework as a foundation for piloting stakeholder seminars and a bespoke training programme for Early Career Researchers in five European HE institutions. It will also develop online publications targeted to all three parts of the research-civic-policy knowledge triangle. The project will contribute to more active civic engagement in education policy by supporting collaboration between and among different stakeholder groups. It will build their capacity to critically reflect on, interpret and contribute to education policy research. In addition, with its focus on Early Career Researchers, the project is promoting Higher Education international connectivity and future capacity for innovative, high-quality research.