The Knowledge Exchange Unit supports the exchange of information between UK Researchers and Parliament. They prepare a list of opportunities for researchers each week, which we will be disseminating in part through this blog.

If you are engaging in any of these opportunities, please email Glenn Harris or Suzi Edwards

These opportunities have been compiled by UK Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit (KEU).

Take a look at the KEU’s webhub of information and resources for researchers. 

These opportunities and resources have been sent to members of the KEU’s informal network for knowledge mobilisers, for circulation to the research community (find out more about the network).

Select committee inquiries launched in the last seven days (since 03 February 2022)

Please click the title of any inquiry listed below to be taken to a summary of that inquiry and the full call for evidence.

Remember that you don’t have to answer every question posed in each call for evidence. And you can also explore all select committee inquiries currently open for submissions of written evidence. 

Select committee inquiries launched since 27 January 2022

Please click the title of any inquiry listed below to be taken to a summary of that inquiry and the full call for evidence.

Why should I engage? Submitting evidence to a select committee can lead to further engagement, such as an invitation to give oral evidence. Your submission will be published on the Committee webpage. Your insights may inform the Committee’s conclusions or recommendations it makes to the Government. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament. You can also read more on engagement for impact.

More information: Explore all select committee inquiries currently open for submissions of written evidence. 

Support resources: Find guidance on submitting evidence to select committees on the KEU’s ‘how to guides’ page. Watch our 30 minute online training session “How to work with select committees”.

Other opportunities to contribute to parliamentary scrutiny through select committees

Common Frameworks are a way for the UK and devolved governments to agree together some amount of regulatory consistency for policy areas where EU powers that are being returned to the UK (as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU) currently intersect with the competencies of at least one of the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish administrations.

Common Frameworks are sector specific and are jointly agreed between the UK Government and Devolved Administration(s).

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC) has recently launched a Call for Evidence on the provisional draft Common Framework for Public Procurement. This Common Framework has been devised and agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland. You can find out more on this webpage. The deadline for written submissions is Monday 14 March 2022 at 17.00.

Researchers/experts can contribute expertise to support the Committee’s scrutiny of the Common Framework. Your insights may inform the Committee’s scrutiny of the appropriateness, effectiveness and extent of the Common Framework.

Why should I engage? Your insights may inform the Committee’s scrutiny of the appropriateness, effectiveness and extent of the Common Framework. Your submission will be published on the Committee webpage. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament. You can also read more on engagement for impact.

More information: Find out more about Common Frameworks

Search for Common Frameworks with open Calls for Evidence

Directed Call of the Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme – 13 projects now open for applications, including a new project announced this week

The Directed Call of the Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme is now open for applications. The Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme gives university-based researchers and staff working in knowledge exchange the opportunity to participate in a fellowship project with an office in UK Parliament. Each fellowship project in the Directed Call has been proposed by a team at Parliament as a project on which academic input is needed. 

Last week, we announced 12 fellowship projects that had opened within the Call. This week, we are pleased to add a 13th project to the list of projects open to applications. The project is ‘Scenario analysis of climate risks and their impact on the functioning of Parliament’ and will be hosted by the House of Commons Governance Office. Find out more about the project.

There is plenty more information about the Directed Call on our Parliamentary Academic Fellowships webpage, including details on eligibility, funding, key dates and the application process. The webpage lists all fellowship projects open to applications, and links to more information about – and the application pages for – each project. We’d be delighted if you would consider applying for any relevant project, and please do feel free to share details of the Directed Call with your networks.

The deadline for applications is 23.55 on Sunday 13 March 2022. 

Each Fellowship details its proposed location, timeline and working arrangements. We encourage flexible working, and applicants can discuss this with host teams at interview stage.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether or not they have a disability.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us on keu@parliament.uk.  

Why should I engage? Fellowships offer the opportunity to work closely with a team in Parliament, supporting and informing its work, building capacity or helping evolve processes, or delivering a unique project. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament here. And find more on engagement for impact here.   

More information: Find out more information about the Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme here. And find information about the outcomes and impacts arising from previous fellowships here.

Call for expertise in public service broadcasting topics!

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee is currently seeking experts in the following topics to feed into written and oral evidence for a future inquiry. This is likely to take place in late February to late March:

  • Changing UK consumer habits, needs and expectations in consuming broadcast content, both in traditional linear television and online streaming.
  • Changing and contested definitions of public service broadcasting.
  • The economics of public service broadcasting and its sustainability in a globally competitive market. How will the media landscape change over the next 10-15 years?
  • International variations in the funding of public service broadcasting.

If you would like to recommend relevant experts from your institution, or put yourself forward as an expert, please complete this form. Please do pass the link to the form to others to complete also. The deadline for recommendations is 23:55pm on Wednesday 16 February 2022.

The Committee are very grateful for all expressions of interest. They may not be able to reply to everyone who is recommended.

Please consider how you could ensure diversity when recommending experts or passing this opportunity to your contacts.

Why should I engage? Giving oral evidence to a select committee, or taking part in a round table with committee members, is a great opportunity to present your expertise directly to MPs or Members of the House of Lords. If you give oral evidence, the session will be broadcast online and a transcript of your evidence session will be published on the Committee webpage. Your insights may inform the Committee’s conclusions or recommendations it makes to the Government. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament. You can also read more on engagement for impact.

Support resources: Find guidance on submitting evidence to select committees on the KEU’s ‘how to guides’ page.  Watch our online training session on ‘Exploring select committee evidence’.

ICYMI – Five new POSTnotes announced – contribute your expertise!

Following approval from the POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) Board, POST has announced it will be working on five new POSTnotes, ranging from biosecurity to cyber warfare. You can find the POST work programme here.

The POSTnotes are on the topics of:

You can get in touch with the POST team if you would like to contribute your expertise to a briefing POST are producing – the links above include contact details for each POSTnote along with lots more information. 

Find out more about how to contribute to these POSTnotes as an expert.

Why should I engage? POSTnotes are used by Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords and UK Parliament staff to navigate complex research. Contributing to a POSTnote is a good way of feeding your expertise into the UK Parliament as part of a trusted, impartial publication. All contributors are acknowledged online when the POSTnote is published. On publication, you and your organisation’s communications team will be notified to publicise the POSTnote and your contribution. Therefore your contribution can help raise your profile and promote your research. 

More information: Find out more about contributing to a POSTnote. For queries about POST or POSTnotes contact POST.

A fact about the records of Parliament

You may know that the Parliamentary Archives collects, preserves and makes accessible the records of UK Parliament.

Did you also know that the Parliamentary Archives hold the records of many Acts of Parliament? An Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law.

The earliest Acts of Parliament were written on parchment rolls.

These might consist of a single goatskin membrane, or more frequently of a membrane sewn to another membrane, head to foot, meaning rolls could become quite large in size.

The longest Act of Parliament held by the Parliamentary Archives is nearly a quarter of a mile (348m) long. It is about the raising of taxes and was passed in 1821.

So what?
You might find the Parliamentary Archives an interesting way to explore the history of Parliament, including the history of legislation.

You may also be interested in applying for the Directed Call Parliamentary Academic Fellowship in the Parliamentary Archives, on ‘Researching records held in the Parliamentary Archives relating to the Commonwealth’, for which applications are open until 13 March 2022. Find out more about the fellowship and about the Directed Call of the Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme.

More information