SOAS ICOP Project Lead
College of Law
SOAS Influencing the Corridors of Power (ICOP)
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About
About
Influencing the Corridors of Power (ICOP) is an innovative front-line project that addresses the democratic deficit between UK universities and UK politics by connecting ongoing academic research with UK parliamentary decision-making to inform legislation.
ICOP seeks to engage with MPs and Lords so that our evidence-based briefings and recommendations not only inform policy but also drive the policy changes our university community wants to see. ICOP does this by serving as both a platform for academics, researchers, and their supervisors to collaborate on single-page briefings on current and upcoming parliamentary debates and legislation, and a conduit for delivering these briefings to all MPs and Lords.
Since 2020, ICOP has delivered 95 policy briefings to parliamentarians, strategically timed to align with live legislative agendas, covering issues from migration and data protection to economic inequality and the international recognition of Palestine. Our single-page policy briefings, authored by SOAS academics and co-produced with external experts, have gained real traction in Westminster. Parliamentarians have referenced ICOP materials in speeches and committee sessions at least six times in parliamentary debates.
Beyond briefings, ICOP has established two All-Party Parliamentary Groups, for which it provides the secretariat. These include the APPG on Communities of Inquiry across the Generations (COFI) and the APPG on Inter-Generational Inquiry (TIGI), launched in December 2024 with cross-party leadership.
Through parliamentary panels, public forums, and strategic partnerships, we cultivate an interdisciplinary community that connects researchers, policymakers, students, and civil society. At SOAS, our events include panel discussions, book talks, and cross-university workshops that bridge academic research and policy needs and build a vibrant network connecting researchers, policymakers, and members of the public.
With over 100 scholars and experts in our network and 64 events organised to date (42 held at SOAS and 8 at Westminster), ICOP opens direct routes for evidence-based research to inform and drive policy change.
Read how our novel approach to disseminating academic research has significantly impacted policy in our first one-year review.
Full ICOP team
- Professor Alison Scott-Baumann: Project Leader
- Nina Arif: Research Assistant
- Sanjana Deen: Research and Programme Consultant
- Tamara El-Halawani: Researcher
- Professor John Holmwood: Advisor
- Duaa Jamal Karim: Researcher
- Rana Osman: Researcher
- Hasan Pandor: Editor and Research Assistant
Public and policy engagement
Parliament
Members of Parliament use our briefings as a basis for speech-making and debate, such as Alyn Smith MP SNP, regarding Retained EU Law:
Thanks for this, excellently timed as I am writing my speech for tomorrow and am leading for the SNP. Our stance is pretty straightforward in that we like nothing about this or how it is being proposed, but this detailed critique is most useful and I’ll be quoting from it.
Collaborate with ICOP
We invite fellow academics and researchers to contact us so we can help them bring their research to Westminster. Full details are available in our briefing template.
Contact us
- Email: icop@soas.ac.uk
- Website: Influencing the Corridors of Power
- Podcast: 5-Minute Briefings from SOAS ICOP
- Socials: X | LinkedIn | YouTube
