Making sense of Brexit

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The work of the Deputy Director is to extend and enhance the work of the "UK in a Changing Europe" Programme.The changing structure of the Programme since its inception means there is a clear need for additional capacity to support the work of dissemination and impact, especially as demand for its authoritative and impartial source of information has risen steeply. Moreover, there is also an opportunity to expand that profile outside of Westminster and Whitehall, reaching across the UK.Thus my appointment will allow for a substantial increase in the ability of the Programme to respond to demands from politicians, civil servants, media and the general public for detailed input to their work and debates. This will include a number of more structured interventions.Firstly, there will be an element of original research, on the attitudes and positions of other EU member states to the Brexit discussions, focusing in particular on outputs on social media. This work builds on previous work I conducted during the EU referendum as a Senior Fellow on the Programme, and extends current research being undertaken as a Research Investigator on a Brexit Priority grant. Given the low level of awareness in the UK of the diversity and scope of other member states, this work offers an important part of building any understanding of what might happen in the Article 50 negotiations.Secondly, there will be a series of seven "Synergy Events" to discuss key issues in and around the Article 50 negotiations. These will bring together speakers from different countries and backgrounds - policy-makers, think tanks, journalists, academics and others - to consider how particular parts of the evolving negotiations might work and will be held across the UK, in all four nations, to generate engagement with local stake-holders. Specific topics would be driven by the negotiations themselves, but might cover such matters as any financial settlement, citizens' rights or transitional arrangements. These would be open events, with summaries produced in a variety of media for wider circulation.Thirdly, there will be work to make new connections between the various individuals and projects currently within the Programme. This will include the commissioning of new joint publications, on the lines of those already produced by the Programme, covering topical issues such as transitional regimes, ratification and future paths for the UK-EU relationship. In addition, members of the Programme will be invited to be interviewed - individually or in small groups - for a series of podcasts to showcase the depth and range of their work.Fourthly, there will be a substantial amount of more general dissemination and engagement work, including contributions to public speaking events, media interviews, submissions to Parliamentary enquiries, presentations at party conferences, as well as briefings to politicians, civil servants and the media. One particular area of activity here will be a high level of social media presence, using current strengths in blogging, podcasting and tweeting.Finally, I will work closely with the Director, the new Leadership coordinator and the central team on the overall management of the Programme, to ensure optimal use of the Programme's resources to achieve strategic objectives over the time-frame of the role.All of this work will be grounded in my particular areas of expertise in EU politics, euroscepticism and negotiation practice, all of which are highly relevant to the current political situation and which complement and expand the research activities of the Director.