Graduate students and policymakers collaborate to tackle health inequalities in Oxfordshire

Postgraduate researchers, academics and policymakers in Oxfordshire came together to share findings and insights from the 2025 Local Policy Lab Fellowship programme, which concluded earlier this month.

The Local Policy Lab, an alliance between Oxfordshire County Council, the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, provides an opportunity for students and researchers to engage with their local communities and to better understand the public policy context in Oxfordshire. 

The 14 Local Policy Lab fellows have spent the last three months working on projects in partnership with policy officers from Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council. Their work helps bring academic insights into local policymaking focused on improving wellbeing and tackling inequalities in the county.

Fellows shared their findings with an audience of academics, local policymakers and community partners at the event on 10 July at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

Dr Foyeke Tolani, Head of Research at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The Local Policy Lab Fellowship programme is laying the groundwork for real change and opportunity. Our partnership draws on the talents and knowledge of some of the brightest and best students in our local universities, working with council officers, to improve health outcomes for residents and address inequalities in our county. We are prioritising high-quality, people-centred research to ensure Oxfordshire becomes a fairer, greener, healthier county.”

Building on last year's pilot programme, and integrating fellows and researchers from both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, the projects ranged from exploring how family hubs could strengthen family care provision in Oxfordshire to understanding the factors that influence fair pay and workforce diversity.

Each project supports one of three Oxfordshire priorities as a Marmot Place:  supporting a best start in life, creating fair employment, and ensuring a healthy standard of living for all.

Professor Alexander Betts, Pro-Vice Chancellor of External Engagement, Sport and Community​ at the University of Oxford, said: “It’s wonderful that we can combine the academic assets of Oxford’s two universities and share these with the county and city councils to support evidence-based policymaking in these key areas.

“These projects, which are guided by real and pressing policy issues, have been co-created between our fellows, policy mentors and advisors, along with community partners and participants, so that together we can improve the quality of policymaking and meaningfully address the socio-economic underpinnings of health inequality in Oxfordshire.”

About the Local Policy Lab

As the home to two large universities – the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University – Oxford (and Oxfordshire) can access a wealth of cutting edge, impact driven research that could inform solutions to public policy challenges facing the city and county.

The Local Policy Lab aims to:

• Connect University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes researchers with county and district council policymakers, local volunteer and charity organisations, and with communities to support evidence-based public policy in key areas. The initial focus is on the socio-economic underpinnings of health inequalities.
• Create opportunities for graduate students, supervised by academics and county officers, to work on existing datasets, collect new qualitative data and undertake impact evaluations.
• Support stronger long-term relationships between Oxfordshire’s councils and universities.

Find out more by visiting the Local Policy Lab’s website.  

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