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).

Jump to:

Select committee inquiries launched in the last week (since 06 July 2023)

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 two weeks (since 29 June 2023) 

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”.

Call for experts on young disabled people and work 

The House of Lords Public Services Committee is currently seeking experts on the challenges young disabled people face accessing work, including in:

  • The transition from education to work;
  • Government support schemes for disabled people and employers;
  • Best practice within and beyond the public sector on recruiting and employing young disabled people; and
  • Enforcement mechanisms where relevant duties are not met.

If you have expertise in one of the above areas, or know a researcher who does, we would really appreciate you sharing a few details on your expertise on this short form, or forwarding it on to them to complete themselves, so that parliamentary staff conducting work in this area can more easily draw on your expertise and research.  

The form asks you or the researcher to outline their expertise (100 words maximum), provide a link to their university profile, provide a link demonstrating their public speaking (optional), and to provide their contact information.

The opportunities for researchers to feed into Committee’s work include:

  • Submitting written evidence
  • Giving oral evidence
  • Working as a Specialist Adviser for the Committee. For the Specialist Adviser role, the team are looking specifically for people with expertise in disabled people’s experience of transitioning from education to employment

 The deadline for expressing interest in being a Specialist Adviser is Monday 21 August 2023.

Register your expertise on young disabled people and work.

Why should I engage? Making yourself known to committee and Library staff can lead to opportunities to contribute your expertise and insights to Parliament. These may include being called to give oral evidence, contributing to a briefing, or participating in a roundtable or seminar. 

More information: Find out more about why to engage with Parliament here. And find more on engagement for impact here.   

Reminder: Apply to be a Specialist Adviser with the Scottish Affairs Committee

The Scottish Affairs Committee is seeking to appoint a Specialist Adviser for its inquiry into Scotland’s Space Sector.  

As a Specialist Adviser, you will be working with Committee staff on an ad-hoc basis to provide authoritative advice in relation to this subject. A successful applicant may be asked to:

  • Work with the Committee secretariat, and in particular the inquiry manager, to analyse issues raised during the course of the inquiry;
  • Comment on drafts of written material produced by the Committee secretariat;
  • Advise on sources of information and evidence;
  • Contribute to briefing material for the Committee; and
  • Attend Committee meetings and provide oral briefings when required

The role will involve attending some of the Committee’s meetings in Westminster. You may be asked to accompany the Committee on visits connected to this inquiry.

The role is likely to last until Spring 2024 and the overall commitment across this period will be around 10 days of work. The role is hybrid and will include both remote and onsite working in Westminster, London. The Adviser will be paid a daily honorarium on the basis of work done and necessary in-role expenses will be met.

The Committee values diversity and encourages applications from people from a wide range of backgrounds. 

To find out more about the Committee, the kind of work involved in the role, the knowledge and skills required, and how to apply, visit the Scottish Affairs Committee website.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 17 July.

Why should I engage? Being a special adviser provides a great opportunity to work closely with a committee, informing its work and approach to an inquiry – such as inquiry focus, selection of oral witnesses, and report development and conclusions. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament here. And find more on engagement for impact here.

More information: watch a short video with researchers who’ve been specialist advisers talking about their experience  

Petitions at Parliament: Getting your voice heard 

On 17 July 1866 John Stuart Mill MP delivered a speech in the House of Commons in support of the first women’s suffrage petition that was presented to Parliament.

Organised by the Kensington Society, a discussion group for middle class women, the petition had 1521 signatures. It was delivered to Parliament by the Society’s leaders Emily Davies and Elizabeth Garrett (later Elizabeth Garrett Anderson) in June 1866, and to ensure that it wasn’t intercepted before it could be presented to Stuart Mill the women hid the petition under the cart of a women selling apples in the Palace of Westminster. The petition had been organised and signed exclusively by women, and Stuart Mill showed that this clearly demonstrated for the first time that women wanted the vote.

Overall, more than 16,000 petitions for votes for women were received by the House of Commons and House of Lords between 1866 and 1918.

So what?

Today, anyone can start a petition – and they don’t have to hide it underneath an apple cart! Petitions are a great way to campaign for change, and to raise awareness of, an issue that matters to you (or your research).

British citizens and UK residents can start a petition on the UK Parliament petitions website, and you need just 5 signatures to get your petition started. When starting a petition you must call for a specific action, and it must be something that the Government or the House of Commons is responsible for.

Petitions will remain on the site for six months, and you can share your petition on social media. If a petition receives 10,000 signatures it will get a response from the Government, and if receives 100,000 signatures it will be debated by Parliament.

Petitions on Parliament’s website have received more than 105 million signatures since the site was created in 2015.