We have been asked to share with you that the Open Call of the Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme is now live. The window for Expression of Interest applications is open and will close on Friday 26th June 2020. 

The Open Call enables academics to propose projects to conduct at UK Parliament. These projects might include contributing to the core work of an office, filling gaps in expertise, helping to grow Parliament’s academic networks, informing parliamentary scrutiny, analysing and evaluating parliamentary practices, or building staff capacity and skills. The application process involves up to three stages – submission of an Expression of Interest application, submission of a Detailed Application, and an interview.  

Applications are open to all UK-based university researchers who have a PhD or are employed in a university on an academic contract, or university staff working in impact or knowledge exchange (including university libraries), and who are eligible for a parliamentary pass. If researchers aren’t sure whether they are eligible to apply, they can always get in touch with the Knowledge Exchange Unit at Parliament to ask.  

Applicants will be asked to give consideration to the relevance and timeliness of their project to the Host Office with which they apply to conduct their project as part of the application.  

You can find information here about the scheme, and how to apply.

POST’s Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme: Open Call 

Where and when will fellowships take place?  

Projects will vary in proposed duration and Fellows may propose projects lasting up to a year, beginning at any time in 2021. Fellowships can be part time or full time. Fellows will likely spend part of their time in Westminster (dependent on impacts of COVID-19 on working practices) however, for many projects, it is likely to be possible for fellows to be based outside of Westminster and to work on projects remotely for a majority of the time. Working patterns may be discussed at interview.   

Support for applicants 

We’ll be encouraging applicants to contact the policy/ impact teams at their university who may be able to support applicants, or offer advice in shaping applications. We’re also signposting applicants to a range of resources we have put together to support them in making their applications, which you can find on the Open Call webpages. Because of limits of parliamentary staff capacity, applicants are asked not to contact participating parliamentary offices for support in shaping their project at Expression of Interest stage or with questions about the scheme. 

Key dates 

·       Expression of Interest applications open on Monday 8th June and close at 11.59pm on Friday 26th June 2020 

·       September 2020 – outcomes of Expression of Interest applications communicated, and Detailed Applications invited from applicants successful at this stage  

·       October – November 2020 - Applicants notified of outcomes of Detailed Applications, and applicants successful at this stage invited to interview  

·       November 2020 – Interview outcomes communicated and Fellowships offered to successful applicants  

·       From January 2021 – Fellowships commence 

It is expected that some fellowships will commence from January 2021 (the earliest possible start date), with others starting later in the year. 

The application process can all take place virtually and applicants will be notified if they have or haven’t been successful at each stage of the application process.   

How is the scheme funded?   

Fellowships (time, teaching cover, travel, subsistence, accommodation and any other associated expenses) will be funded by funding streams from research institutions or research funders. Funding should be sought by the applicant. Confirmation that the applicant has started to consider the source of their funding needs to be given in the Expression of Interest application. Confirmation of approval from the budget holder must be given in the Detailed Application. It is expected that funding will mainly come from impact funding sources such as Research Council Impact Acceleration Awards or specific university impact budgets. Applicants may also seek funding from other research organisations or funders, for example research networks, charitable funding, learned society funding, or professional association funding. Fellowships may not be funded with private funding or funding from industry. We encourage those interested in a fellowship to begin conversations about possible funding with prospective funders as soon as possible.  

Contact 

Please direct all queries to Dr Laura Webb, Knowledge Exchange Manager, Knowledge Exchange Unit, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology: webblj@parliament.uk