As part of strategic prioritisation of policy partnership over the course of five years, Public Policy | Southampton, Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have been working together to connect research evidence with policy demand. On 17 November 2025, the Maritime and Coastguard Areas of Research Interests (ARIs) 2025 were published. The ARIs set out the Agency’s priority policy themes and long-term research questions, with a strong focus on emissions reduction, autonomy and regulatory improvement. The document also sets out the MCA’s key questions and gaps in knowledge, creating new opportunities for researchers across the University to provide knowledge and evidence.

In 2020, the University and MCA worked together on a series of collaborative projects, including placements and consultancies. Several University PhD students (Dr Benjamin Craig, Dr Natasha Easton, Dr Lina Zapata Restrepo and Dr Tao Zhu) took up three-month placements at the MCA facilitated and funded by Public Policy | Southampton (PPS), working on high-density batteries, hybrid drive systems, and different approaches to reducing emissions in the shipping sector. Simultaneously (PPS), colleagues from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (Dr Richard Wills and Professor Andy Cruden) provided expert advice to the MCA on the safety of lithium-ion batteries and the feasibility of fully electric vessels.

These projects gave the MCA significant evidence on emerging technologies, whilst giving our researchers a direct route for their work feeds into regulatory decision-making. Together, these projects laid the groundwork for a more structured relationship based on trust and ability to deliver which in November 2020, was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), confirming a shared commitment to work together across engineering, law and the environmental, physical and social sciences.

Like many partnerships, momentum slowed during COVID-19. In late 2023, colleagues including Dr Wassim Dbouk (PPS Specialist Policy Officer for Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute), Dhwani Oakley (a University of Southampton PhD student working part time at MCA), Gareth Giles (Head of Public Policy | Southampton) and Gwilym Stone and Keith Johnston (MCA), came together to review achievements and to decide the partnership’s next steps. By October 2023 an action plan was created, setting out new opportunities for placements, knowledge exchange projects and explore how the UK Government’s “Areas of Research Interest” (ARI) model could be adapted for the MCA.

From there, collaboration between the University and MCA only grew. In 2024, a Research England–funded secondment saw Dr Alice Booth (SMMI) spend four months at the MCA, working on MCA first set of ARIs and fostering new collaborations with the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) and the Government Office for Science (GO-Science) ARI team. By 2025, Head of Public Policy | Southampton, Gareth Giles, completed an EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account secondment with the GO-Science ARI team. This brought insights on how different departments across government share their research needs.

The University’s Vice-President Research and Enterprise, Professor Mark Spearing, reflects on the significance of this:

“I am delighted that we have been able to work in partnership with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to help define their Areas of Research Interest, particularly regarding emissions reduction and autonomy. These are areas of research strengths for the University and align closely with the objectives of our Centre for Green Maritime Innovation (cGMI) and broad expertise in autonomous systems research. In addition to the national impact of this engagement, it is also great to be working with an important civic partner such as the MCA within the City of Southampton and the Solent region.”

For Public Policy|Southampton, the ARIs are part of a broader effort to make it more efficient for researchers to connect with policymakers. As Gareth Giles notes:

“Areas of Research Interest are an excellent mechanism to identify and share ‘known unknowns’ from policy making bodies with academic partners. It has been a pleasure working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to develop this infrastructure and I look forward to researchers from the University of Southampton actively utilising it to inform future applications for research funding, share relevant evidence from current research projects and offer understanding from previous studies.”

What this means for you

• If your work focuses on the following the themes: maritime, transport, regulation, safety, cyber-security, emissions and autonomy, the MCA ARIs may be relevant to you. You can review the MCA’s ARIs here
• They can help you identify knowledge gaps and focus your research where it will have the greatest policy relevance and impact, informing funding bids and giving you the chance to offer your expertise directly.
• Public Policy|Southampton can help you navigate the ARIs, make connections with MCA colleagues, explore placements or secondments, and plan collaborative projects. Contact us via publicpolicy@soton.ac.uk

The MCA ARIs now act as a bridge between maritime policy and academic research. They show what’s possible when staff work with University policy engagement units such as Public Policy|Southampton to connect their expertise to real-world questions, offering a model that can be replicated with other partners and policy areas across the University. If you’re interested in exploring similar opportunities, get in touch with us at publicpolicy@soton.ac.uk to discuss how your research could link to policy needs, whether with the MCA or policy partners.

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