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 committees currently accepting written evidence (compiled 9 October 2024)
  • Share your research and expertise to inform a POSTnote
  • Horizon scanning goes live! Emerging policy issues for the next 5 years   
  • Last call: Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship 2024
  • Whitaker takes on Parliament: A parliamentary game of musical chairs
  • Parliament for Researchers with Baroness Young of Old Scone – 22 October 2024
  • Fellowship opportunity for natural science or social science PhD students and ECRs

Select committees currently accepting written evidence

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.

New calls for evidence launched since 9 October 2024:

All inquiries currently accepting written 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 the 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. 

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”

Share your research and expertise to inform a POSTnote

POSTnotes are short, peer-reviewed evidence briefings on emerging areas of research produced by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). POSTnotes are widely read by Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.

POST welcomes contact from researchers with relevant expertise or evidence on the POSTnote topics below.  

POSTnotes accepting contributions:

How can I contribute?
If you are interested in contributing to an upcoming POSTnote, email the relevant contact listed above to introduce yourself and your research:

  • state which POSTnote you are responding to
  • briefly outline your area of expertise and the research that’s relevant to the POSTnote
  • you may also mention skills, experience and knowledge if relevant
  • provide a link to your online profile
  • provide open access links to your most relevant published papers and blogs 

A few paragraphs are all that are needed. The POST colleague will be in touch if they need further information.

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 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 as an expert. For queries about POST or POSTnotes contact POST.

Horizon scanning goes live! Emerging policy issues for the next 5 years   

In a fast-paced world, where unexpected events can dominate the news cycle and demand an immediate response from parliamentarians, horizon scanning is ever more important. By identifying and understanding emerging trends, decision-makers can anticipate future events, manage risks and set the agenda.  

In early 2024, POST asked hundreds of experts like yourselves from across the UK to identify future issues that parliament may need to address in the next three to five years. The horizon scan was led by Parliamentary Academic Fellow, Anne Adams, alongside POST’s legendary Climate and Environment Adviser, Jonny Wentworth. The Open University’s nQuire engagement tool was used to gather the horizon scan information, and artificial intelligence (and humans!) processed the consultation responses. Click here for more information about the approach used.

Over 100 major issues were identified, from prison reform and tackling extremism, to trust in public institutions and preventing disease. The issues are grouped under the following headings: 

  • Business, Economics and Trade 
  • Climate, Energy and Net Zero  
  • Crime and Justice 
  • Culture, Media and Sports 
  • Digital, Innovation and Science   
  • Education, Skills and Work 
  • Environment, Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs 
  • Health and Social Care 
  • Housing, Communities, Local Government 
  • International Affairs and National Security  
  • Parliament, Public Administration and Constitution 
  • Transport and Infrastructure 

Short articles are being written on many of the issues to help parliament identify what action it may take. To keep you informed we’ll publish links to newly added horizon scan articles in our future round up newsletters.

Get ahead of the horizon
If your research touches on an area or issue identified within the horizon scan considering preparing material to get in touch with parliament. For example, you may wish to write a short 1-2 page policy brief to share with select committees, the parliamentary libraries, POST advisers or a parliamentarian.
Coming soon: We’ll bring you top tips on drafting for a parliamentary audience in a future round up.    

Last call: Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship 2024

About the scheme
POST and the Nuffield Foundation are offering a 13-week fellowship to PhD students who are undertaking or have recently completed their PhD study.

Successful applicants will be based in UK Parliament, supporting its use of research evidence. Most fellows assist POST in providing briefing material for parliamentarians on emerging science topics. Work may include:

  • Producing a POSTnote or POSTbrief (briefing documents to help inform the work of MPs and Peers) or contributing to a longer briefing report.
  • Assisting a select committee in an ongoing inquiry.
  • Organising a seminar to inform or disseminate research.

Who is eligible to apply?
The Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship is open to any PhD student working in a social science (or natural science) field. They may be undertaking or have recently completed their PhD study. 

How to apply
To apply, follow the guidance and download the necessary forms found on this page. The deadline for applications is 20 October 2024, by 23:59. Interviews will be held in November 2024.

Why should I engage?
Fellowships at parliament offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to view the epicentre of policy-making from the inside. By the end of their time within their parliamentary host team fellows learn how to write for policy with balance and impartiality, how select committees are structured and run inquiries, and how research and evidence is utilised in parliament. They also develop a unique understanding of Westminster and forge important relationships with key stakeholders, while often delving into a novel and exciting topic of research or a hot policy topic. Find out more about what a POST fellowship is like and the opportunities it can lead to.

More information
Find out more about POST fellowships.
Watch an interview with a previous POST fellow to learn about her experience.

Whitaker takes on Parliament: A parliamentary game of musical chairs

The chairs of Commons departmental select committees are elected in a secret ballot of all MPs. The results were announced on 11 September. This follows a process in which the number of chairs for each party is agreed, based on the distribution of seats among parties in the House of Commons. MPs must agree which committees will be chaired by which party before the elections to chairs of the committees can take place.  

Committees in the House of Lords for the new Parliament have been nominated and some have already published calls for evidence, such as the Built Environment committee with its inquiry on the grey belt.

The new Commons select committee chairs
You can see the results of the 2024 elections for select committee chairs in the Commons here. The Hansard Society has published some useful analysis of those elected. They show that these are the most contested chair elections since these contests began in 2010! In these most recent elections, only 30% of chairs stood unopposed. The new parliament also sees the highest proportion of select committees run by women MPs, at 59%.

So what?
While we cannot know what the newly formed committees will focus on until they publish their first inquiries we can gain some ideas from the nomination papers of those winning the chair elections. Nomination statements for each of the candidates are on each committee’s webpage under News, ‘Nominations open for [committee name] chair’.
Can you spot your research area within the nomination statements?

As an example, see the relevant page here for the Business and Trade committee. Some themes from the winning candidates include:

  • the adequacy of military support for Ukraine (Defence committee),
  • how well the new Great British Energy company will work (Energy Security and Net Zero committee),
  • the impact of changes to winter fuel allowance payments (Work and Pensions committee),
  • dentistry and social care (Health and Social Care committee), and
  • the impact of the 2025 review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the agriculture and food sectors (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee).

The members of select committees are being elected now. Once this process is complete and the committees have had a chance to work out their plans, we will see calls for evidence for the first inquiries of the new Parliament being announced. 

Watch this space!

More information 

With thanks to Professor Richard (Rick) Whittaker, University of Leicester, for this guest fact. 

Parliament for Researchers with Baroness Young of Old Scone – 22 October 2024

Later in October, we’ll hear from Baroness Young of Old Scone, whose work with a substantial range of key science and health organisations gives her a unique perspective on the importance of research evidence for parliamentary scrutiny.

This session will be led by Clare Lally, POST’s brilliant Biological Sciences and Health Lead Adviser. Clare will be guiding us through the work of different research users in Parliament, and answering your questions about how POSTnotes are produced.

About the session
During the session, you will find out about how research evidence is used in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and how you can work with Parliament as a researcher. You will also be able to pose your questions to our speakers.

Who is this for? 
This session is suitable for early career researchers, PhD students and researchers who are new to engaging with the UK Parliament as well as those who would benefit from a refresher. The session will be relevant for researchers of all academic backgrounds, and may be of particular interest to those in the life sciences and health related disciplines. 

Register to attend

Why should I engage? 
Parliament for Researchers with the House of Lords training sessions offer a unique opportunity to learn more about the UK Parliament and how it uses research from the perspective of a Member of the House of Lords. The sessions also contain practical information and advice on how to engage with Parliament as a researcher, including details on select committees, the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries, POST, and working with individual Parliamentarians.
 
 More information: Find out about upcoming sessions and how to sign up here. You can also find recordings of previous training sessions here.

Fellowship opportunity for natural science or social science PhD students and ECRs

POST and the Nuffield Foundation are offering a 13-week fellowship to natural or social scientists who are undertaking or have recently completed their PhD study. 

About the fellowship
Successful applicants will be based in UK Parliament, supporting its use of research evidence. Most fellows assist POST in providing briefing material for parliamentarians on emerging science topics. Work may include:

  • Producing a POSTnote or POSTbrief (briefing documents to help inform the work of MPs and Peers) or contributing to a longer briefing report.
  • Assisting a select committee in an ongoing inquiry.
  • Organising a seminar to inform or disseminate research.

The fellowship can be carried out full-time for three months, or a part-time option can be arranged if required.

More information and how to apply
Find out more about the fellowship, eligibility criteria, and how to apply on POST’s website. The deadline for applications is 20 October 2024, 23:59. Interviews will be held in November 2024.

Why should I engage?
POST’s PhD fellowships offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to view the epicentre of policy-making from the inside. By the end of their time at POST, fellows learn how to write for policy with balance and impartiality. They also develop a unique understanding of Westminster and forge important relationships with key stakeholders, while often delving into a novel and exciting topic of research. Find out more about what a POST fellowship is like and the opportunities it can lead to.

More information
Find out more about POST fellowships.
Watch an interview with a previous POST fellow to learn about her experience.