“We should expect more, not less of our profession”: responsesto ‘Should academics be expected to change policy?’

James Lloyd’s recent post “Should academics be expected to change policy? Six reasons why it is unrealistic for research to drive policy change” has received considerable attention in research and policy circles since it was first published two weeks ago. Drawing on their respective experiences with research impact in policymaking, Chris Neff, Paul Smyth and Luke Craven each offer responses to Lloyd’s post. While they each recognise the difficulties inherent in the process, setting up impact as impossible or unrealistic fails to recognise the responsibility academics have to engage. Furthermore, fatalistic discourse devalues the engaged or applied work being done by academics the world over.