The PSA's Trustees are delighted to launch our new Strategic Plan for 2025-28. You will find the full Strategic Plan here.

 

For the PSA Team of trustees and staff, there is an understanding that this plan is not set in stone and there is scope for it to evolve. If recent times have taught us anything, it is that we need to be agile in the face of challenges as well as open to change and seeking new opportunities.   

We will report our progress annually, including at our Annual General Meeting (held at the PSA Annual Conference). We will also seek to continue the conversation with you, and your fellow members, as we tackle each of the five strategic goals towards cementing our role as the home for the Political Studies discipline.   

If you wish to comment further on the plan, we would love to hear from you. Please do email us at strategy@psa.ac.uk.

And a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to consider and share their views and suggestions with us during the strategic plan consultation period.

You can read more on the consultation process and how we incorporated your responses here.

 

What you told us & how this has shaped the Strategic Plan

We have reflected these areas in the final plan document and also in the action plans to take the five strategic goals forward:

  • A need to talk more about what makes the PSA special. We are a community where you can flourish; a place where others care about your growth and development.
  • You have informed how we may implement the strategic plan especially advocacy, membership, specialist groups, inclusion and diversity, and achieving research excellence.
  • We need to better reflect our international focus.
  • A need for debate on the breadth of our discipline and its boundaries.
 

Many also shared their concerns about the future of UK Higher Education. Although the PSA as a small charity has constraints on what it can do in the face of this, there was widespread support for a renewed focus for the PSA to advocating for Political Studies, investing in historically marginalised scholars and for tailoring support to career stages and roles.

Our vision is for the PSA to play a leading role in enabling the research, teaching, and study of politics and related disciplines in the UK to:

  • Be valued
  • Be well-resourced
  • Be practiced by a diversity of students, teachers, and scholars
  • Be internationally renowned for its excellence
  • And, to inform positive change in the world.
 

As the home of Political Studies, the PSA will be a vibrant community where everyone is welcome to join its membership and feel supported to give their best towards this vision.

PSA’s 5 Strategic Goals for 2025-28

 

Our values:

 

We will implement these strategic goals by striving for:

  • Inclusivity and diversity
  • Excellence
  • Community
  • Collaboration
  • Sustainability.
 

The PSA will continue to provide a space for people to come together and be supported to grow and develop as students, scholars, and practitioners of Politics.

Early progress towards this plan includes:

 
  • New analysis of the health of Politics and International Relations: Launched on 22 January 2025, the PSA has partnered with the British Academy to produce a new deep dive into the make-up of our discipline and the state of play with research and post-graduate outcomes.
  • Research Excellence Framework 2029: We are advising the REF 2029 team as they shape the Unit of Assessment panel for Politics and International Studies.
  • Academic Publishing: We have started work on shaping a new publishing agreement for 2026-30 to secure our suite of journals and vital income for the association.
  • Digital developments: We have also started work on developing our new and improved customer relationship management system and website which will boost the member experience and the impact of our specialist groups and networks.
  • EDI: The Diverse Voices programme for historically marginalised PhD students is under way and the Women & Politics Specialist Group pilot work in support of mid-career women scholars will kick-off in January too.
 

The PSA Team of trustees and staff look forward to working with you to achieve this strategic plan in the years ahead. Watch this space for opportunities to get involved and news of our progress.