The dynamics of working at intersections: Reflections from exploring inequalities

Abstract

This commentary provides a first-hand account of a year-long collaborative academic–policy synthesis project – Exploring Inequalities: Igniting Research to Better Inform UK Policy – between University College London (UCL) and the Resolution Foundation. We brought together leading experts from over fifty organizations, convened six roundtables and conducted additional in-depth interviews. This collaboration resulted in a series of action notes and a final report, Structurally Unsound (Morris et al., 2019). By reflecting on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of doing this type of project, we reveal the hidden realities of knowledge exchange and open up new possibilities for understanding successes and failures for future projects of this kind.