Welcome!

We are the University of York’s own student think tank!We offer students the unrivalled opportunity to make a meaningful impact and contribute to the public sphere, while developing sought-after skills to broaden their horizons.Through the lens of policy, we celebrate an evidence-based and open engagement with politics and all that comes with it.

So, what is a think tank?

‘Think tank’ is quite a loose term, but it can be refined as an institute or organisation which produces research to influence government policy.

In reality, the meaning of a think tank adopts the mission and goals of the people who make up the organisation, like a chameleon!

Most specialise in a certain area of expertise, such as Chatham House does in international affairs. Others focus on political advocacy, like the Women’s Budget Group who aim to advance gender-equality through feminist economics.

Where do we fit in this spectrum?

As a student-run think tank, our mission is to promote an evidence-based approach to policy.In lacking affiliation comes the strength of our members having the freedom to research and write on the full range of political and policy issues.Both our policy projects and Civitas Journal give the opportunity for our members to investigate matters demanding public policy attention, with the scope to self-specialise or keep it as broad as you wish.

Write for Civitas

Civitas, meaning 'art of government', is YSTT’s own Journal!Writing and editing positions are open to all students, all year.

Write on a weekly short-form basis, reflecting an editorial format.

Or on a long-form bi-annual basis, producing more of a classic academic article.

Want to write for us? Prefer to edit?Email our Director of Journals, Louis Kent at [email protected], or our Editor-in-Chief Tom Caston at [email protected].

Research for our Policy Papers

At the core of any thinktank lies policy.Each academic year at YSTT we aim to publish at least one student-led ‘policy project’, critically assessing a societal issue, the policy produced so far, and the lengths yet to go.Participation in these reports is completely open to all students! Regardless of year or degree type.

Read our latest policy paper on the cost of living crisis below!

Cover page of the latest policy paper

Want to write for us? Prefer to edit?
Interested in joining a project team? Contact our Policy Project Officer, Cassie at [email protected]

Events

As a student society, we also hold a range of events!

Pub Politics

Our weekly informal politics debate/discussion group.Hosted in Courtyard, Derwent’s on-campus bar.

Socials

Because YSTT isn’t just about policy.Take a break and meet like-minded people at our social events throughout the semester.

Speakers

We aim to bring politics and policy to you on campus in the form of external speakers.Watch our social media to find out more.

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Sign up for our newsletter for our weekly roundups!

About Us

Keeping it short and sweet, we are a think tank.The short is that our DNA is that of a classic think tank: we are evidence-based researchers and writers who seek to influence policy.The sweet is that we are student-run! Meaning our events and culture are centred upon catering to the student experience.

Our mission is simple:

1️⃣- To conduct student-led, evidence-based research into a full breadth of policy issues.
2️⃣- To provide an open and welcoming approach to politics through an inclusive culture.

Our history

Established in 2012, the foundations of the society we know today were formed in 2019.As a new team of students led a re-branding mission to uplift YSTT after a period of stagnancy, creating core components of the society which still bear influence today.This branding mission included:

  • The Cortado journal, a concise briefing journal adopted from the Economist’s ‘Espresso’.

  • Socrates Cafe, an open political discussion forum inspired by groups in Barcelona and hosted in the Ippuku teahouse in York city centre.

  • Student-led policy projects and papers.

YSTT today

To continue our mission, in 2024 we embarked on a re-branding of our own, building upon and expanding the central structures as mentioned above.

  • We introduced ‘Civitas’ as our new platform for weekly news briefings, with the addition of a long-form policy journal for expanded analysis.

  • ‘Pub Politics’ emerged as our weekly debate and discussion platform, hosted on-campus with a topic pre-loaded.

  • We continued our tradition of policy projects, publishing our longest policy paper yet with a team of 9 students.

  • We are also looking forward to publishing our ‘Policy School’, an 11-episode YouTube series focusing on policy, you, and the wider world.

Meet the 24/25 committee below ⬇️

Lucy

President
3rd Year BA History and Politics

Tasha

Director of Publicity
3rd Year BA History and Politics

Jack

Secretary
4th Year BA History and Politics (with Placement Year)

Louis

Director of Journals
3rd Year BA Politics with International Relations

Cenza

Treasurer
3rd Year BSc PPE (on Placement Year)

Julia

Pub Politics Officer
2nd Year BA Politics and International Relations

Tom

Editor-in-Chief
3rd Year LLB Law

Cover page of the latest Civitas News Article

Read our latest article!

Last year's policy project team pictured

About

Civitas News is our weekly news journal! As a concise briefing, our writers have full editorial autonomy to follow any stories of national and global note.As a weekly roundup of the news, it provides an evidence-based digestif, keeping you up to speed with the past 7 days of the 24-hour news cycle in under 300 words.Want to write for us? Prefer to edit?Writing and editing positions are open to all students, all year. Get in contact with us if you’re interested!Louis Kent, Director of Journals - [email protected]Tom Caston, Editor-in-Chief - [email protected]

Check out older editions below!

Cover page of the latest Civitas News Article

We are looking for writers!

With the first ever edition of Civitas Policy up and coming, we are searching for the people who make these publications possible: writers!No previous experience, year or degree type is required. Like Civitas News and Cortado before it, we are always excited to draw upon a wide range of backgrounds in life and academia.For more detailed information, please consult further below on this page.Let us know soon! Our registration deadline is the 15th of November.Email our Director of Journals Louis at [email protected] to register your interest!Or, DM our Instagram ⬇️

About

Introduced in 2024 as the newest branch of YSTT, our Civitas Policy journal gives students the opportunity to engage in long-form policy analysis!This can either be in the form of:

  • A classic academic article

  • A policy proposal - Containing an executive summary, analysis of current policy and the following recommendations.

The analysis must remain primarily evidence-based.This does not mean political neutrality, rather, conclusions need to be properly substantiated based on the evidence at hand!The article length must be between 1500-3000 words.Topics you choose to focus on could be, but are not limited to:International relations and foreign policy; democracy and governance; human rights and justice; gender; health and social care; poverty; race and ethnicity; youth; education; market regulation; immigration; housing; drug usage; disability rights.

Policy Papers

Read our latest policy paper!

Cover page of the latest Civitas News Article

About

Each academic year, we aim to publish at least one policy paper!Our policy papers involve a detailed analysis of current societal issues, alongside the current policy initiatives relevant to that issue.From this, we produce policy recommendations!For example, in our latest paper analysing inflation-driven price rises and the tangible benefits of supermarket loyalty schemes, our team recommended two key points for immediate recommendation:

  • To update the Price Market Order

  • To review the use of VAT to define essentials.

Last year's policy project team pictured
Project lead giving a presentation on the team's findings

Join our policy project team!

We will be looking for a new team in semester 1!Keep an eye out for our social media, or email our policy project officer Cassie at [email protected] ahead of time to register your interest!No previous experience is needed to take part.

Reasons you should join ⬇️

  • Work experience - a fantastic addition to any professional or academic CV, including presentation skills, time management, collaborative working, attention to detail and stakeholder analysis.

  • Creative freedom - all topics are chosen through an open ‘brainstorming’ session, pitch what you are most passionate about to us!

  • Leadership opportunities - each team needs a lead to coordinate with the committee, delegate tasks, and ensure deadlines are met.

  • Inclusive environment - feel part of a team where your voice is always heard. With no previous experience needed, our positions are open to everybody!

Events

The core of any student society is the events! At YSTT, we have a mix of social and politics-centric events.

Click through our events below!

Pub Politics

Every Monday evening during term time, you will find us in Courtyard running a session of Pub Politics.If you are interested, just turn up!No membership or weekly commitment is needed to join Pub Politics!

But, what exactly is Pub Politics?

Good question! It is an open debate/discussion group centred around a new and relevant weekly topic, posted on our Instagram below!

Accompanied by a pint (or soft drink), it uses more of a Socratic and informal dialogue, think of a casual roundtable, or just talking politics between friends who share your interests!The lack of set structure involving a set proposition and opposition allows our arguments to flow with the general movements of the discussion.

What do we actually talk about?

Examples of past topics have included:

  • “Was the Brexit vote fueled by racism?”

  • “The North/South divide: How prevalent is it, and does university affect it?”

  • “LIFE360: Do these tracking apps go too far?”

Have a question you want to propose? We want to discuss it!

Message us on our instagram, or contact our Pub Politics Officer Julia at [email protected]Julia is there every Monday as a familiar face to facilitate the conversation, her email is open for any other questions or interests you may have related to Pub Politics.

Social Events

Being a society made up of university students, we run socials throughout the year to relax and take our minds off work.Watch our Instagram below for these events! They are always free to join - no membership is required.

Last year's policy project team pictured

Politics and Policy Events

In addition to student voices, we want to bring experienced figures in the politics and policy space to the York campus.

OTT Consulting

In 2023, YSTT was lucky enough to secure a sponsorship from OTT Consulting, as part of their ‘Building for the Future’ initiative!In sponsoring British student think tanks around the country, including the University of Glasgow’s ‘The Security Distillery’ and Cambridge University’s ‘The Wilberforce Society’, the aim is to re-frame European policy with ideas from international initiatives.Watch our Instagram below for upcoming events connected to this sponsorship!

Women, Poverty and Social Policy: A Global Perspective

On 3rd October 2024, it was a pleasure to welcome Professor Maxine Molyneux and Susana Berruecos to speak at 'Women, Poverty and Social Poverty: A Global Perspective' on behalf of the York Student Think Tank!We were delighted to see so many new faces interested in this particular area of policy. With students requesting the PowerPoint afterwards, we are thankful that we were able to raise the profile of gender inequality within the Latin American region.As chapter 2 of 3 in our continuing collaboration with On Think Tanks, we look forward to bringing international perspectives on Public Policy to the University of York campus.

WPSP compilation
WPSP attendees
Women, Poverty and Social Policy poster

Want to learn more? We have the content!

The fantastic attendance of this event prompted both Professor Molyneux and Susana to provide a reading list, for those who want to learn more about the dynamic role of policy in alleviating poverty for women across the world.

Preview of reading list

Join Us

Join our mailing list

Want to automatically stay up to date with events, writing opportunities or committee positions?Join our mailing list or scan the QR code⬇️

Last year's policy project team pictured

Buy a membership

To make sure we can continue our work throughout campus, we invite you to consider buying a membership for only £5.This funds our events, organisational subscriptions and gives us the confidence that we can continue to grow!To be a writer, editor or a member of the committee, membership is a prerequisite.Click below to support us and buy a membership ⬇️

Any inquiries?

For general inquiries, please contact [email protected] or DM our Instagram account @ystt___For any matters YSTT, internal or external, please contact our President, Lucy, at [email protected]For any Civitas related inquiries, contact our Director of Journals, Louis Kent, at [email protected]For any editing queries, contact our Editor-in-chief, Tom Caston, at [email protected]For anything communications and marketing related, please direct your questions to Tasha, our Director of Publicity at [email protected]Interested in Pub Politics? Contact our Pub Politics Officer, Julia, at [email protected]For information or expressions of interest regarding our Policy Projects, contact our Policy Project Officer, Cassie, at [email protected]For financial inquiries, please contact our Treasurer, Cenza, at [email protected]