As we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary, it’s an opportunity to reflect on Policy Connect’s history and impact as we look to build on our past to develop cross-party solutions and consensus for present and emerging policy challenges. 

Policy Connect’s current form as a cross-party think tank that supports parliamentary groups, forums, and commissions evolved gradually, with our story beginning in the launch of a 1993 report by the London Business School.

This research, suggesting that only 4% of British companies were world class and two thirds were likely to fail, led Conservative MP John Butcher and Labour MP Barry Sheerman to form the Associate Parliamentary Manufacturing Industries Group to address these issues and communicate the reality to Parliament so that legislation and policy could assist in the improvement of this dire situation. 

With manufacturing proving to be such a vast policy area, the group’s work spawned the creation of additional parliamentary groups for Sustainable Waste, Design and Innovation, and Health. 

Whilst uncommon at the time for all-party groups to be run like independent organisations, the creation of these groups led Barry Sheerman to form Policy Connect’s first incarnation in 1995 – Networking for Industry, a not-for-profit organisation which was to be the umbrella for all the above four groups. 

By 2007, with the size and nature of the organisation having changed considerably, Networking for Industry was reformed and its name changed to Policy Connect, with the company now operating as a cross-party think tank undertaking its own thought leadership role while retaining and expanding its Secretariat role for parliamentary groups, commissions, and forums.  

In the early 2010s, as Britain’s economy and industry sought to recover from the 2008 financial crisis and adjust to Britain’s first coalition government since the Second World War, our work focussed on providing evidence-based insights on policy areas affected by coalition government reforms. 

Alterations to university funding and market regulation led to work examining student protection and innovation in higher education, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Manufacturing (APMG) was active throughout this parliament in advocating for UK industrial policy and engaging on issues such as supply chains, skills gaps, and regional manufacturing capacity. 

Our focus on bringing together parliamentarians and government in collaboration with business and civil society came to the fore during the Brexit years, where we eschewed the Leave/Remain divide to propose practical policy responses on how leaving the EU would affect domestic policy areas. 

In the run-up to and aftermath of the referendum, our sustainability team examined how Brexit might reshape UK waste, resources, and environmental regulation outside the EU framework, with our Education and Skills research considering how Brexit would impact talent mobility, funding, and regulation affecting universities, colleges, and creative industries. 

Across the Brexit years, Policy Connect, and our parliamentary groups provided a neutral forum where parliamentarians from different parties could engage with key stakeholders on Brexit-related policy detail to deliver evidence-based recommendations for domestic policy after Brexit. 

A substantial research programme has followed in the early years of this decade, with impactful inquiries being delivered across our core policy areas of skills, higher education, tech and AI, sustainability, health, and accessibility. These include:

Education & Skills – Arriving at Thriving (2020); Transition to Ambition (2021); Empowering Innovation (2022); Higher Technical Qualifications (2023); Digitally Enhanced Blended Learning (2024); Skills 2030(2024). 

AI & Tech – Our Place Our Data (2021); An Ethical AI Future (2023); Skills in the Age of AI (2025). 

Accessibility – Smarter Homes for Independent Living (2022); Connect to Success (2025); Joined Up Policies, Joined Up Journeys (2025). 

Bricks and Water – Building Resilience for England’s Homes (2020); Managing Flood Risk and Accelerating Adaptation in a Climate Emergency (2023); Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Policy for a New Government (2025). 

Sustainability – No Time to Waste (2020); Connecting the Watts (2021); Unpacking the Circular Economy (2023). 

Manufacturing – Level Up Industry (2020); Manufacturing Resilience (2021); Upskilling Industry (2023). 

Our work also expanded in 2023 with a new focus on accessible transport, as we established the Accessible Transport Policy Commission as part of the Motability-funded National Centre for Accessible Transport consortium that includes Coventry University, the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC), Designability, Connect Places Catapult, and WSP UK.

Whilst Policy Connect’s name, shape and focus may have changed over the past 30 years, our commitment to delivering cross-party solutions to pressing policy challenges has remained consistent. 

In this spirit, we are pleased to be entering a fourth decade with an exciting collection of new inquires that are set to report in 2026 – Industrial Strategy; NEET Youth; Primary Care; Medical Education and Training. 

Thanks for your support and contributions across the past 30 years!