Researcher Emilie Stokeld Embarks on Government Secondment

In an excellent demonstration of bridging the gap between academia and government policymaking, Emilie Stokeld, a research trainee with SEI York, is embarking on a secondment with the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

The Climate Adaptation Evidence team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has organised eight academic secondments with different policy teams across government, all related to complex climate adaptation problems. These secondments are designed to enrich the government's understanding of relevant academic literature, research and thinking while granting researchers and academics hands-on experience in shaping policies within their research areas.

Having first spotted the opportunity in the YESI newsletter, Emilie's secondment, which commenced at the end of October 2023, is part-time and spans two years. During this period, she will focus on the critical issue of climate risk within supply chains and global supply chain resilience. Supporting the team at DBT, this will include integrating climate risk into critical supply chain monitoring and developing an evidence base on the risks and opportunities resulting from climate change events.

Emilie expressed her enthusiasm for this unique opportunity, emphasising the importance of fostering collaboration between research and policy. She welcomes engagement from fellow experts working on climate risk and supply chain issues and encourages interested parties to reach out to her at emilie.stokeld@businessandtrade.gov.uk.

This initiative exemplifies the potential of collaborative efforts between academic institutions and government agencies to drive positive change in addressing the pressing issues of our time, which was recently highlighted in the Government’s Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy. Against a backdrop of increasing international supply chain challenges in recent years, including climate-related disruptions, it is hoped that the secondment will lead to more informed policy solutions and research, and ultimately improve the UK’s adaptation to future supply chain challenges.