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 16 June 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 in the last 2 weeks (since 9 June 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”.

Exciting opportunity to join the Knowledge Exchange Unit (yes, another one!)

We are very excited to say that the Knowledge Exchange Unit is expanding!  

The Knowledge Exchange Unit (based in the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) is the team which connects Parliament to the research community to help research feed into scrutiny, legislation and debate. Activities include: training researchers, promoting Parliament’s research evidence needs, and delivering academic fellowships. We work with colleagues in all parts of Parliament, as well as lots of different external stakeholders, and consider ourselves a high-energy and innovative team! 

We are looking for someone to join our team as Knowledge Exchange Officer as soon as possible! This is a new, permanent role we have created, to help support and grow our fellowship programmes, including the exciting new work with Thematic Research Leads (see item below). 

Deadline for applications is Wednesday 20 July 2022.
Interviews are due to take place remotely in early August.  

Find more information on the role and apply. 

For an informal chat, please feel free to contact: Sarah Foxen, Knowledge Exchange Lead, on the KEU’s email address: keu@parliament.uk

We’re very keen to reach a diverse range of applicants with this opportunity, and to encourage them to apply. To help us to reach as many people as possible with the opportunity, we would be very grateful if you are able to share this announcement with your networks. 

Great job opportunity for international law researchers!

We don’t often promote jobs in this round-up, but this is a particularly relevant and exciting one for researchers! The House of Commons Library have a fantastic opportunity for a researcher in International Law to join the International Affairs and Defence Section of the Research and Information Team.

This is a permanent part-time role.

If you have excellent communication, organisational and people management skills, together with excellent or expert knowledge of international law and the ability to lead a team to work on international law this may be the ideal role for you!

Find more information about the role, and apply.

Deadline for applications is 1 July 2022 at 23:55pm.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. Please consider how you could ensure diversity when passing this opportunity to your contacts.

Areas of Research Interest open for contributions

There are currently two Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) which are open for your contributions to help to support select committees’ scrutiny of government.  You can register your interest and expertise in the following topics:

Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) are lists of policy issues or questions. They are a way for select committees to express interest in seeing more research evidence in certain topics.

Academics at all career stages, research institutions, and experts are encouraged to register their interest in the ARI, add their existing research in the topic areas to the ARI repository, provide their insights, and suggest questions that the Committee could be asking the Government. 

Why should I engage? ARIs, and the research and insights which you contribute in response to them, help to support committees’ scrutiny of government. When you register on the repository, parliamentary staff will be able to access your research to inform their work. They may also contact you when they are seeking experts to contribute to the committee’s work. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament. You can also read more on engagement for impact.

More information: Find out more about select committee ARIs, and register your expertise and research insights .

Reminder – 2022 Call: Thematic Research Leads

As we announced last week, from the end of 2022, through the Knowledge Exchange Unit, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) are piloting an exciting role as part of a new partnership to place research evidence at the heart of UK Parliament.

Thematic Research Leads (TRLs) will be mid-career university researchers, who will work three days a week (0.6FTE), embedded in pilot thematic policy hubs of parliamentary staff. They will do this whilst retaining their substantive academic post for the remaining two days a week.

Thematic Research Leads will work alongside POST, library and select committee staff at UK Parliament to help ensure the best available research evidence feeds into scrutiny, legislation and debate. They will also strengthen and diversify connections between Parliament and the research community. We are delighted that the ESRC are committing to fund these roles.

We are so very excited to be seeking three mid-career university researchers to take up three different one-year Thematic Research Lead pilot positions (0.6FTE), starting from January 2023.

These roles are generously being funded by the ESRC.

We are looking to appoint to the following roles:

The deadline to apply for these roles is 11.55pm, 1 August 2022.

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

This webpage contains more information on the Thematic Research Lead Call, the shared ambitions of POST and the ESRC for this activity, as well as information on how to apply.

You can share a LinkedIn post about this here.
You can share a Twitter thread about this here.

Please do share this opportunity widely, and please be inclusive in those you share it with.

Why apply for this role? These roles, if proven, could become highly influential, prestigious roles at the heart of Parliament, somewhat akin to the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisers, but shaped for a parliamentary context. The role offers an exciting opportunity for you to see first-hand how research feeds into policy, through shaping parliamentary work with your research expertise and participating in core parliamentary processes. You will be uniquely placed to build connections with parliamentary and government stakeholders to take forward through your career, and participation will provide you with rich and varied experiences to support you on an upward professional trajectory.

A Parliament fact to use next time there’s an awkward pause in the conversation

Who on earth is the Serjeant at Arms?

The current Serjeant at Arms is Ugbana Oyet. He is responsible for the order and security of the House of Commons including maintaining order in the chamber, galleries and committee rooms of the House and controlling access to the parliamentary estate.

The Serjeant at Arms also performs ceremonial duties including carrying the mace in the Speaker’s Procession each day. The Serjeant at Arms is the only person in the House of Commons allowed to carry a sword.

So what?
You’re probably not going to be engaging directly with the Serjeant at Arms as a researcher! But it can be interesting to consider the mixture of traditional ceremony and modern responsibility which make up many roles at Parliament.

More information Find out more about the Serjeant at ArmsMore about who works in Parliamentary offices