What the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Refreshed Areas of Research Interest Mean for Researchers

The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recently refreshed its Areas of Research Interest (ARIs), setting out some of the department's key evidence needs and policy priorities for the years ahead. But what do they mean for researchers?

Following the launch of the refreshed ARIs at The University of Manchester in July Professor Dave O'Brien, Professor of Culture and Creative Industries at The University of Manchester and an Academic Fellow at DCMS, reflects on his experience supporting the ARI refresh and the opportunity it presents for researchers to contribute to evidence-informed policymaking:

Since the end of 2025 I’ve been seconded to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part of the University of Manchester’s UKRI Impact Accelerator Account Advanced Scheme. I’ve been working with the Chief Scientific Adviser’s (CSA) team, supporting the launch of a refreshed list of Areas of Research Interest (ARIs). DCMS are planning a series of events and roundtables about the ARIs in the autumn. This blog is going to reflect on the refresh, the launch, and how academics can help to answer some of the ARI questions.

All government departments are required to have ARIs. They, obviously, detail the areas of research interest for a department, signposting and signalling the sorts of evidence needs associated with a department’s medium term (2-3 year) policy plans. They help departments engage with stakeholders, support collaboration with researchers and funders, and strengthen the internal science system within departments too. ARIs form part of a wider evidence ecosystem that brings together government, academia, industry, civil society and citizens to generate and apply knowledge. ARIs help to facilitate this ecosystem, to ensure that policy is informed by the best available evidence.

DCMS’s refreshed list was published in May 2026, updating and developing DCMS’s 2023 ARIs. Much has changed since 2023. The refreshed ARIs have been written to reflect the changing policy and research context for DCMS. The publication of a refreshed list of ARIs is a significant moment for DCMS, as it sets out the department's research needs as well as the areas to expand its evidence base. It is also a significant moment for researchers who are interested in engaging with DCMS.

The ARIs are a unique opportunity for academic researchers to connect with policymakers. DCMS’s 2026 ARIs reflect the breadth of DCMS’s areas, organised into cross cutting themes and a range of specific research questions. DCMS has a huge range of policy areas, and as a result the list of questions is extensive. At the same time, not every single area that DCMS covers is represented, reflecting the way DCMS may have an existing research base, may have commissioned specific research, or may be aware of AHRC or other funded research projects that cover possible research questions.

Some of the ARI questions will be very familiar to researchers! ARI questions that are familiar to researchers, or researchers thinking have very well established answers are not a reflection of ignorance on the part of DCMS analysts and researchers. Rather, these sorts of ARI questions are a reminder to researchers that even well-established academic literatures may not be the accessible format, nor available in the timescale, which policymakers require.

Bridging the gap between the traditional academic outputs of books, peer reviewed papers, or even policy reports, and the research, evidence and science system at DCMS is an important aim for the 2026 ARIs. It is something that has been a part of my IAA project. I’ve been working closely with an academic colleague from UCL, Prof Elizabeth Lomas, who has also been seconded into the CSA team at DCMS. One element of Prof Lomas’ work has been to set up an engagement system for academics to submit answers and evidence to DCMS’s ARIs, in the sort of format that is aligned with how evidence is likely to be used.

This approach to engagement with the ARIs, where academics are steered to the formal engagement tool, rather than engaging by email or other informal channels, is allowing DCMS to systematise the academic networks that are relevant to the many areas covered by its policy teams. This approach also reflects a more general shift in government and academic connections. For example, Government Office for Science has recently published a guide to academic engagement for policymakers.

This sort of guidance is a good illustration of the way that both policymakers and academics are keen to support collaborative relationships. There is now also a formal set of infrastructure, within both universities and government, dedicated to this task. UKRI and the British Academy now have well established fellowship schemes, reaching almost every stage of academic careers. The Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) is almost a decade old (and has done some excellent work on ARIs too). These sorts of formal relationships are crucial to the successful take up of DCMS’s, and other government departments’, ARIs.

What is clear from these structures and relationships is the value of embedded knowledge. Understanding how evidence and research are used within a Whitehall department is one part of these embedded relationships. This understanding is deepened by the knowledge of the agendas that shape academic impact, and the approaches academics use to publish and share their insights. Drawing from, and blending together, these different but complimentary perspectives is crucial for the success of future embedded researcher schemes.

The task ahead is to make sure the next generation of academics and policymakers, with a wide diversity of fields, career stages and demographics, are able to access these embedded roles. The academic and policy partnership delivering DCMS’s 2026 ARIs is an excellent case study in how these embedded relationships can work.