UK in a changing Europe - Assessing UK membership of the EU: insights on influence and impact

Insights from scholarship is only rarely brought to bear in public discussion or media coverage of the UK's place in the EU. As a consequence, comment is often uninformed, and important knowledge about the UK's influence on the EU, interaction between the UK and the EU, and the impact of EU action on UK policies and institutions is overlooked. Drawing on the applicant's research expertise, impact record, engagement experience and network of professional contacts in the UK and Brussels, this project proposes a programme of activities aimed at bringing research insights to international, national and regional audiences. It will provide evidence and analysis across the broad range of issues and policy areas affected by the UK's position in the EU, and thereby contribute towards the development of an authoritative and independent reference point for groups and individuals in search of high quality social scientific research on the UK's relationship with the EU, allowing debate about the UK's future to proceed on a more informed basis.

The envisaged activities will address three main themes:
- Getting its Own Way? The UK in Europe, which will assess the UK's record in securing its favoured outcomes
- From Whitehall to Brussels: The UK's influence in EU institutions, which will focus on the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council of the European Union
- Beyond the "Red Tape": EU regulation and the UK, which will examine the effects of EU rules on UK institutions, interests and policies
The project will deliver outputs designed for a diverse range of audiences, using formats with which the applicant and his home department have considerable experience:
- Research briefings to be posted on the ESRC 'UK in a Change Europe' website at King's College London for those in need of authoritative research-based information in relation to the above themes
- Shorter briefings, written for the public, for quick reference on aspects of UK-EU relations
- Short blogs for 'The UK in a Changing world', LSE 'European Politics and Policy' or 'Eastminister'
- Press releases, where timely, on aspects of the three themes identified above to be disseminated by the UEA press office
- An event in London on 'Reviewing the record: UK membership of the EU', held at the British Academy, for parliamentarians, businesses, NGOs, and embassy staff
- An event in London on 'Reporting Europe: What the UK media does and does not communicate about Brussels', with a panel of representatives from academia, EU institutions, the UK diplomatic service and the media to discuss the role of the media in the UK's EU debate and to reflect on potential future developments, and aimed at journalists, civil servants, MPs, embassy staff, think-tanks and students
- An event, 'The EU and its Member States: star pupils, good soldiers and awkward partners', to review changing relations between the EU and national elites
- Meetings and seminars on the UK and Europe with think-tanks in London, Paris and Brussels
- A briefing in London to members of the Labour Party, then offered to other parties
- A workshop in Norwich, to be held at UEA, to which representatives of local public sector institutions, businesses, charities and other interest groups are invited
- A panel discussion in Norwich, open to the public, bringing together representatives of the four main political parties to debate the UK and Europe with academic specialists, recorded for podcasting
- Between four and six talks on the UK and the EU to sixth-formers in Schools and Colleges in the region

The proposed project also includes a key international element. Using the applicant's network of contacts in the EU institutions, notably the Commission., the project will achieve impact by making presentations to senior staff on current debates in the UK concerning EU membership.

Finally, the applicant will work closely with the Director and the other Senior Fellows.

The planned activities have been designed to communicate evidence and analysis of world-class research on the changing relationship between the UK and the EU through a series of outputs, targeted at a range of audiences at local and regional, national and international levels. They draw on the applicant's established networks among practitioner communities, as well as his experience of dissemination, impact and engagement activities. The proposed activities draw also on the local and regional profile of his home department, which over the past few years has created an infrastructure of contacts with politicians, political parties, public institutions, economic interests, NGOS, and schools in Norwich and Norfolk. The envisaged activities are directed towards four main audiences:
1. National stakeholders: Four pathways are planned for delivering impact among these constituencies: evidence briefings, based on the format developed by the ESRC 'The UK and Scotland' programme, to deliver syntheses of world-class research; shorter briefings - printable guides, using the terminology of 'The UK and Scotland', on specific topics; the organization of two events - 'Reviewing the record: UK membership of the EU' and 'Reporting Europe: What the UK media does and does not communicate about Brussels' - for politicians, businesses, interest groups, journalists, NGOs, foreign embassy staff, and students at the British Academy in London; and blogging on 'The UK in a Changing Europe', the LSE 'European Politics and Policy' or the UEA politics 'Eastminster'. Building on an earlier initiative, the applicant will use his contacts on the Labour Party front bench to explore the possibility of holding dedicated events on the UK in Europe for the shadow cabinet and MPs. If successful, the same will be offered to other political parties.
2. Regional audiences: The regions are often overlooked in major funding initiatives, but a core objective of the current project is to target public institutions, businesses, interest groups, NGOs, schools and the University of the Third Age, as well as media outlets, in the locality and the region. As well as utilising existing networks and writing to local bodies and business associations to offer talks on the UK and Europe, Kassim will host two events drawing on the profile and mailing lists developed by the Politics department at UEA: the first, will be on the UK and EU membership, and the second, to be held at the Epic studios in Norwich, where a panel composed of representatives from the four main parties in the locality, will be respond to research-based questions. Both events will be chaired by the Rt Hon Charles Clarke.
3. International audiences: If appointed, Kassim will draw on contacts developed as part of 'The European Commission in Question', as well as the ongoing project, 'European Commission: Facing the Future', to engage top officeholders in the European Commission, the School of European Administration, and other EU institutions to offer two or three briefings on the UK debate on Europe in the course of 2015-16. He will also write to colleagues in Universities in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, Japan and the US to offer talks on the same.
4. General public: As well as ensuring that accessible briefings are available on 'The UK in a Changing Europe' website for those interested in the UK's relationship with the EU, Kassim would issue press releases to accompany the publication of the most significant evidence briefings, send opinion pieces to broadsheet newspapers in the UK, prepare summary articles, and actively seek opportunities to discuss the UK and 'Europe' on local radio and in the national media.
More generally, he would work individually and in collaboration with the Director and other Senior Fellows to participate in public discussion, discuss research issues, disseminate findings to relevant stakeholders, develop discussion networks, and otherwise work to further the aims of the call.