The Agile Initiative | Interview with Peter Barbrook-Johnson
"In this interview, Peter Barbrook-Johnson, Deputy Director of the Agile Initiative, introduces the program and its mission to enhance the interaction between scientific evidence and policymaking. He explains the concept of Agile research sprints and highlights the importance of co-creation, interdisciplinarity, and equality, ensuring that diverse voices shape the research process. He also discusses the continuous improvement and feedback mechanisms within the Agile Initiative, providing practical examples of how the program has influenced policy decisions. This conversation offers insights into how researchers can engage with the Agile Initiative to contribute to impactful, timely research that informs policy.
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - The Agile Initiative
1:30 - Core actions of Agile
2:17 - Agile Sprints
3:23 - Shaping questions
4:40 - Interdisciplinarity management
5:42 - Equity in Sprints
6:51 - Aligning with policy windows
7:52 - Influential Sprint examples
10:09 - Feedback and improvement
12:05 - Getting involved with Agile
Dr Pete Barbrook-Johnson is a Lecturer at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford and Deputy Director of the £10m 5-year NERC-funded Agile Initiative. His research is almost always policy-facing and covers economics, sociology, and complexity and systems science. He uses research methods such as agent-based modelling, systems mapping and network analysis. Pete is the author of ‘Systems Mapping: how to build and use causal models of systems’ (2022) published by Palgrave and has written and worked widely on the use of systems thinking and complexity economics in energy and environmental policy.
This video is part of the ‘Policy Engagement’ training programme delivered by the Institute for Methods Innovation, Fast Track Impact and Walcott Communications Limited on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)."