One of the ways in which academic research can have an impact on the world is by informing public policy decisions. This area of impact is often overlooked due to the difficulty of finding and building relationships with people in the right areas of influence.
Commissioned by Public Policy|Southampton, Policy|Mappa is a platform to support the sharing of contacts between researchers. Relationship networks are built using records of publications, and users may request an introduction to their colleague’s contacts. These introductions are provided by the relationship owner, maintaining a human element and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations. The tool integrates with the Elsevier Pure system to access publication data.
Policy|Mappa began testing with a small number of Southampton academics in Autumn 2020.