Writing for HEPI

We are thrilled that you are considering writing for HEPI. We are only able to produce such rich content with the support of external authors. 

To write for HEPI, you must adhere to the following rules and the appropriate instruction document (see below for blog authors and for report authors) to ensure consistency and clarity. Following these rules makes the design, printing and production processes simpler and quicker, which benefits authors. 

Charitable purpose

HEPI is a registered charity.  

Our output must keep to our charitable objectives, as outlined in HEPI’s Articles of Association, which are:  

to promote research into and understanding of all aspects of higher education and to disseminate the useful results of such research for the education and benefit of policy makers and the general public in the United Kingdom.  

General rules  

1. Keep HEPI’s key audiences in mind. Above all, these are:  
   • staff in higher education institutions, including vice-chancellors and other senior managers;  
   • policymakers, such as civil servants and politicians;  
   • university governors;  
   • the media and other opinion formers; 
   • students, including students’ union office holders; and
   • the general public. 

2. HEPI has four main outlets for research, which are listed below – each of these is designed to be short enough to be read on a single train journey. Occasionally, we produce reports in other formats too, especially when working jointly with another organisation. All these forms of output are public, with no paywall and are circulated electronically to everyone who has signed up for email updates, as well as being published on our website 
   • Blogs: Entries on the HEPI daily blog should be 600-800 words or less. 
   • Policy Notes (green): These tend to be between 2,000 and 5,000 words and are generally produced online only. 
   • HEPI Reports (teal): These are full-length analytical publications of between 5,000 and 10,000 words. Occasionally, these are collections of essays by different authors, when their length may increase to between 10,000 and 15,000 words. They are produced online and in hard copy. 
   • Debate Papers (yellow): These are also full-length evidence-based publications, but they tend to be more polemical and personal than standard HEPI reports. They are produced online and in hard copy. 

3. We welcome reports written by people employed by other organisations. However, the HEPI Advisory Board is unlikely to agree to publish anything that reads like an advert for another organisation. Blogs that are disguised advertorials will also be rejected – the offer of money will make no difference. 

4. HEPI authors should always write about the work of others with appropriate regard, even when challenging it. Once a piece has been accepted for publication by HEPI, authors are asked to consider how best to engage with any institutions or individuals mentioned substantively in their piece in order to avoid anyone being caught out unnecessarily at the time of publication. The HEPI staff team can help provide guidance on this, but it is generally the responsibility of the author to ensure those who can and should be tipped off in advance know what is coming. As HEPI is a forum for debate, not a lobby group, it may sometimes make sense to offer an institution or person a right-to-reply at – or close to – the time of publication via other HEPI channels. 

Instructions for Authors

The HEPI blog regularly publishes short pieces by guest authors. If you would like to write for the HEPI blog, please get in touch with Charlotte Armstrong at [email protected]. Authors writing for the blog should follow our Instructions for Blog Authors, shown below.

If you would like to submit a policy note, report or debate paper to HEPI, please see our instructions for report authors here.