Our philosophy

History & Policy is the only project in the UK providing direct access to an international network of expert, independent historians.

We believe that:

  • Too often policy reflects unexamined historical assumptions and clichés
  • History is incorrectly assumed to be less relevant to current policy than the social and natural sciences
  • At best, policy without history fails to learn past lessons and, at worst, repeats past mistakes
  • Given the opportunity, historians can shed light on the causes of current problems and even suggest innovative solutions
  • Historians often have important contributions to make, but need to acquire new information and skills to engage with policymakers
  • There is a reluctance among many policymakers to 'let historians in', which needs to be addressed

The History & Policy website has been providing policy-relevant history since 2002. The site was set up by Cambridge historians Alastair Reid and Simon Szreter as a forum for historians to discuss the policy implications of their research and make it accessible to non-academic audiences.

In late 2005 a grant was secured from the Philanthropic Collaborative for a three-year History & Policy pilot project to build on the growing popularity of the website and bridge the gap between historians and the policy world.

This enabled the appointment of a full-time External Relations Manager for History & Policy, based in the Centre for Contemporary British History, at the Institute of Historical Research. Additional funding from the Philanthropic Collaborative in 2007 has enabled us to recruit a full-time External Relations Assistant.

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