Jakob Kasper reflects on his secondment experience at Public First

One of the Many Faces of Research Outside Academia

Over the past few months, I paused my PhD work at the University of Amsterdam for a secondment at Public First (https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/), a strategy and policy research consultancy based in London. The company uses qualitative and quantitative public opinion research to inform both public and corporate policies. For three months, I joined their data and polling team, working alongside data analysts, economists and policy advisors.

My main goal going in was to understand how research is used outside academia, in policy-making, consulting, and public communication. While the tools for handling data are largely the same (good news for me and other PhD students, as there are job opportunities outside the increasingly competitive academic job market), I also learned that the way questions are framed, results are written up, and priorities are set changes when the audience is policymakers or company stakeholders rather than fellow researchers. Messages have to be more concise and straightforward, the pace is faster, priorities shift more often, and projects are adapted to client needs rather than focusing for long stretches and in more detail on a smaller set of research questions and theories determined by one’s own interests.

My usual workday was split between analyzing polling data, designing survey questions tailored to different target groups, reviewing academic and non-academic literature, and contributing to client reports. I also worked on presentation materials, learning how to adapt content both visually and narratively for different audiences (e.g., NGOs, policymakers, company representatives), each with individual goals and requests. This often meant turning data into clear, actionable messages supported by charts, quotes, and concise takeaways - not the easiest task for me, as I’m used to having more space to explain myself and to report on every decision I’ve made in more detail. I also had the chance to work out a pipeline with large language models to analyze large sets of open-ended survey responses, which added a qualitative edge to our reports.

Overall, the most valuable part for me was seeing how a consultancy operates and, more broadly, having insight into the many lives research can have beyond universities. It showed me that research is not only published in academic journals but can be applied in other contexts to shape policy, public debate and support private sector decisions. It also made clear to me that the skills gained during our PhDs are valued beyond academia in the policy world, in private industry, and in many spaces in between.