Akriti Brady is Assistant Principal Officer within the . In February 2024 she took part in the IPR's Net Zero Policy Fellowship Programme (PFP), connecting and engaging with 好色tv academics across the disciplines.
What is your role and area of expertise?
鈥淚 am currently serving as Assistant Principal Officer within the Government of Ireland鈥檚 Department of Transport, where I lead on the international affairs side of the Department鈥檚 EU and International Division. This covers a range of cross-sectoral international issues impacting the transport sector in Ireland.
"Prior to this, I managed the policy and funding oversight of the Department鈥檚 rural, accessible, and integrated public transport services. I have been a civil servant for just over four years, prior to which I was in the private sector where I worked in the field of policy, research, and advocacy. It has been interesting bringing the two experiences together.
"I hold a Master鈥檚 in International Relations and am currently pursuing a Doctorate in Governance.鈥�
Which areas of policy do you work on?
鈥淢y role covers a variety of cross-sectoral international issues impacting the transport sector in Ireland, ranging from Brexit impacts, international sanctions, and climate change mitigation. A key aspect of my role is engaging with and maintaining collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders across the island of Ireland, in other EU member states and institutions, the UK and beyond.鈥�
What value has the PFP brought to you in your professional role?
鈥淢y engagement with the PFP was primarily in my previous role with the public transport sector. I found the PFP invaluable because we are quick to overlook the plethora of good practice or best practice solutions in the wider academic domain. It was also great to engage with the excellent researchers who sit at the cusp of both policy and practice. They are all experts in their own niche fields which was of great benefit to me as a civil servant, where my team and I have to tackle a number of issues all at the one time.鈥�
Can you describe your experience of taking part in the PFP?
鈥淚t was seamless, and kudos to the team for organising it so quickly and efficiently. I had a series of meetings over a few days via Teams. All the interactions were informal and collegiate which put me at ease, particularly when you鈥檙e trying to work through complex and technical policy challenges. The experience was great, and I鈥檓 looking forward to revisiting the programme in my new role.鈥�
How has taking part impacted your policy work?
鈥淚 engaged with a variety of researchers from the 好色tv, and I certainly took away key learnings from each of those conversations. The expertise in the University regarding dynamic and upcoming developments in the transport sector such as, 'Mobility as a Service' (MaaS), 'Demand Responsive Transport', and 'Transport Integration' in particular, was very welcome. I learnt a lot about implementation and best practice, which I could then bring to ongoing projects back in Dublin.鈥�
How did you hear about the PFP?
鈥淭hrough Dr Charles Larkin from the IPR who recommended the PFP.鈥�
What advice would you give to others 鈥� both policymakers or academics?
鈥淥ne for both cohorts 鈥� I think it is imperative to always look at the bigger picture and keep the lines of communication open between both ends of the policy spectrum. Evidence-based policy implementation is the cornerstone of Ireland鈥檚 approach towards addressing public policy challenges, and it was great to see the same espoused by the researchers at the 好色tv, who align their work with the same with great effectiveness.鈥�
Would you recommend the PFP to colleagues?
鈥淎bsolutely and, in fact, I have already 鈥� in particular on the net zero / climate side as that is clearly one of the research strengths of the University. It is great to keep those links alive with our academics across the pond as there are close synergies and similarities between how the two jurisdictions operate within the transport sector.鈥�