Policy Connect


Policy Connect is an independent, cross-party not-for-profit organisation with two decades in policy work, overseeing the research and delivery of more than 50 key publications. The organisation has a long history of success in running engaging forums, commissions and All-Party Parliamentary Groups and is based in London. The organisation works to inform and improve the formation of public policy in the UK through its programme of evidence-based policy research and collaborative events and seminars.
Founded in 1995 by Labour MP Barry Sheerman, it conducts research across a range of policy areas, most notably: sustainability, education and skills, design and manufacturing, health, and energy safety. Sheerman is the current Chair of the Board of Policy Connect, and Chris White was formerly the Vice-Chair. Both have been also Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group.
It works closely with leading politicians, civil servants, academics and heads of industry, many of whom chair specific Policy Connect groups or research inquiries.
Its head office is located in Southwark, near the Tate Modern.

Organisational structure

Policy Connect runs over 17 political groups, fora and commissions, each working within a different policy field, as well as providing the secretariat to several formal All-Party Parliamentary Groups. As such, the organisation has at times been described as a ‘network’ of policy groups, a term that reflects both the independence yet interconnection of the various groups that comprise Policy Connect as a whole. Policy Connect works in five primary policy areas:

Sustainability