These opportunities and resources have been compiled by UK Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit (KEU) to help you understand how to engage with Parliament as a researcher.

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

Jump to:

Select committees currently accepting written evidence (compiled 19 March 2025)

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:

All other inquiries currently accepting written evidence:

The House of Lords Select Committee on UK Engagement with Space wants to hear from you

The House of Lords Committee on UK Engagement with Space has recently published a call for written evidence for its inquiry to consider UK policies relating to space, and both the opportunities and challenges related to the UK’s engagement with space.

The committee is particularly keen to encourage researchers to submit written evidence. 

You can read the call for evidence here. 

The deadline to submit your evidence is 10am on Thursday 17 April.

Evidence needed on child maintenance arrangements

The Lords Public Services Committee is calling for researchers to respond to its new inquiry into Child Maintenance.

Child maintenance arrangements are required for children under the age of 16 who are living in separated families and can be agreed privately by both parents. Where there is no private maintenance arrangement, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can facilitate and if necessary, collect the maintenance payments. However, significant numbers of parents and children are missing vital payments.

The inquiry will explore the barriers to making child maintenance arrangements through the CMS, why many separated families do not have private arrangements, and consider how CMS could better enforce payment arrangements they have set up. 

Read the full call for evidence and find out how to make a submission.

The deadline to submit written evidence is Wednesday 23 April.

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. 

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“. 

Thank you to Dr Kolpinskaya for helping Parliament improve experiences for disabled MPs 

For anyone who’s ever been to the Houses of Parliament, you’ll have seen first-hand the challenges of making this nearly 200-year-old building accessible to all. Nevertheless, UK Parliament is committed to improving the working environment for disabled MPs. That’s why we were thrilled to support Dr Kolpinskaya in her two-year parliamentary fellowship, during which she explored the experiences of disabled MPs, concluding with a report and recommendations to improve things.  

If you’d like to know more about Dr Kolpinskaya’s findings, you can read it here, or find a summary here.   

So what? 

There are two reasons we’re sharing this story with you; both of them good! 

Firstly, we wanted you to know that whilst Dr Kolpinskaya’s research identifies there are various steps that could be taken to improve disabled MPs’ experiences and better meet their needs, Dr Kolpinskaya helpfully provided actionable recommendations. These have already received support from both parliamentarians and staff. In his reflections with the team, Lord Blunkett shared his hopes that those taking decisions impacting on the participation of parliamentarians “will read, and take on board, this study.” 

Secondly, we wanted to take the opportunity to share this fantastic illustration of how collaborations with Parliament can support researchers to have real world impact. Fellowships are one route to impact, but there are others too, which come straight to your inbox every week from us!  

Whilst we aren’t currently recruiting for any fellows, our lovely counterparts in the Scottish Parliament are, so do look at the item below, and consider if there might be something for you.  

Opportunities galore at the Scottish Parliament

Since we are a collaborative bunch, we wanted to share some exciting opportunities to engage with the Scottish Parliament. 

Fellowships 
The Scottish Parliament is currently seeking fellows for three project areas:

  • Research into how people access advice and representation to deal with civil justice issues
  • Council tax and the Scottish Approach to Taxation
  • Unlocking data to support parliamentary business

They are also inviting bids for their open call. 

The deadline for submitting bids for all fellowships is 5pm, Friday 18 April 2025.
Find out more here: Academic Fellowship Scheme | Scottish Parliament Website

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Areas of Research Interest 
The Scottish Parliament has launched its first Areas of Research Interest (ARIs), focusing on supporting access to research expertise linked to climate change. They plan to use the responses received to identify research, expertise and contacts to:

  • inform questions or issues that a Scottish Parliament committee considers as part of its work
  • inform research briefings prepared by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) and used to support parliamentary scrutiny
  • identify potential expert witnesses.

They are currently inviting members of the research community to register their expertise and research insights on the following ARIs:

  • Area of Research Interest: Climate Emissions from Waste Management and Resource Use
  • Area of Research Interest: Understanding the Regional and Sectoral Employment Implications of a Just Transition

The Scottish Parliament plan to review responses at the end of May 2025 and at that point they will decide whether to close the ARIs or keep them open.

Why should I engage? Not everything happens in Westminster! In 1999, UK Parliament devolved some decision making to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The legislatures in these three countries have what are known as ‘devolved powers’. These are powers to make laws on a range of issues, or ‘devolved matters’. These include areas such as agriculture, education, housing and tourism. 

Just like in Westminster, in the devolved legislatures, Members scrutinise, debate and legislate. So, engaging with a devolved legislature is a great way to share your research with a policy audience.

Support resources: Find out more about devolution here. Watch our webinar on engaging with the devolved legislatures here.     

Specialist Adviser opportunity!

The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee is inviting applications for a specialist adviser to support its inquiries into energy policy. They’re looking for someone with:
–  An understanding of the economics of the energy sector, both in the UK and globally
–  Knowledge of relevant UK Government policies and strategies
–  Insight into solutions for the energy transition and its impact on communities
–  Access to a strong network of key individuals and organisations in the energy sector
–  The ability to provide clear, impartial advice
Here are some examples of the types of work a specialist adviser may do:

  • Working with the Committee secretariat on the planning and conduct of scrutiny for a specific inquiry.
  • Contributing to briefing material for an inquiry.
  • Attending relevant Committee meetings and providing oral briefings when required.
  • Drafting or shaping recommendations in reports.

The role is part time and can be conducted alongside part of your substantive role. A daily honorarium is paid. The usual time commitment is 1-2 days per week. The role will likely require some travel to Westminster and some remote working. The Committee will meet connected, necessary expenses.

Visit the committee’s webpage to read the full information about the specialist adviser role.

To apply send a CV, covering letter and a declaration of relevant interests to CommonsESNZ@parliament.uk. Guidance on the length of CV and the content to include within the covering letter is available in the information about the specialist adviser role. The Committee values diversity and encourages applications from people from a wide range of backgrounds. If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the application process, please e-mail Committee staff at CommonsESNZ@parliament.uk so they can help you.

Deadline to respond: Friday 11 April 2025, at 12pm (midday).
Shortlisted candidates may be invited to interview (held virtually) during the week of 28 April.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact the Committee team on CommonsESNZ@parliament.uk.

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.

Reminders

  • The KEU are looking for an Arts and Humanities Research Fellow. This 12-month Research Fellowship (minimum 3 days a week) is kindly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. It is open to junior researchers or knowledge exchange professionals with research skills who are employed by a university or one of UKRI’s Eligible Independent Research Organisations or Research Institutes. In this role, you will develop and deliver a mixed-methods research project, culminating in the production of a report for policy audiences and an academic journal article for the research community. This will help establish and evidence the use of arts and humanities research in the UK Parliament and more broadly, make a valuable contribution in an area where there is a lack of evidence. We will be running a virtual information session on MS Teams on Wednesday 26 March from 1-2pm, for you to find out more about this role, recruitment process and completing a fellowship at Parliament. Sign up here. You can find more information about the role, including information on how to apply here. The deadline for applications is 23:55, Tuesday 6 May.
  • POST and the British Psychology Society (BPS) are offering a 13-week fellowship to PhD students in a psychology-related subject and who are a Member of the British Psychological Society. The successful applicant will be based in UK Parliament supporting its use of research evidence. The fellowship lasts 13 weeks (full-time) or longer if part-time. It may be undertaken remotely, at POST’s offices in Westminster, or under hybrid working arrangements. The successful applicant will start their fellowship by January 2026 or by April 2026. The opportunity will be funded by the BPS and successful candidates will receive a one-off stipend payment of £7,922.50. Read the application guidance document for more information. Application deadline: Sunday 4 May at 11.59pm
  • The House of Lords Select Committee on Home-based Working has recently put out its call for written evidence. They have asked us to let you know that they are very keen to hear from researchers.  You can find the call for evidence here. The deadline to submit evidence is 10 am on Friday 25 April. 

How rude!

Have you ever heard of ‘unparliamentary language’? It is a thing! Unparliamentary language is that which breaks the rules of politeness in the House of Commons Chamber. If an MP uses a word that is deemed impolite (previous examples include ‘coward’, ‘git’, ‘guttersnipe’, ‘hooligan’, ‘rat’, ‘swine’, stoolpigeon’ and ‘traitor’), then the Speaker will direct the MP to withdraw the word or phrase. Members sometimes use considerable ingenuity to circumvent these rules.  

Here’s an example that colleagues have shared with us: 

Mr Dalyell: As the captain of the Conqueror has said in print that he was following the General Belgrano for at least 30 hours and the Government persist in claiming that the General Belgrano was detected on the same day as it was sunk, who is telling the truth or, bluntly, is it the submarine commander or the Prime Minister who is lying?  

Mr Speaker: Order. The hon. Member must not use that word. I am sure that he will rephrase that final comment.  

Mr Dalyell: Is it the submarine commander or the Prime Minister who is telling the truth? 

So what?

Just as it’s important for MPs to use the right language in the Chamber, it’s important for you to use appropriate language when you are writing to or for MPs and other policy audiences. Here are two pointers: 

  • Whilst you might feel really passionate about a topic, using highly political or emotive language may well backfire. It may alienate your reader or undermine the authority that you have as an academic expert on a topic. When you’ve written something, take some space, then re-read it imagining your least favourite politician is reading it. Whilst it’s perhaps unlikely you’ll be sending it to them, it’s a good way to surface any phrasing that might be a bit too ‘dramatic’. 
  • Whilst you are an expert in your topic, the reader is unlikely to be. When you write for a policy audience, they won’t be impressed by long technical words like your academic journal article reviewers might be. Probably, you will just confuse them or put them off. So, don’t feel you need to show off with technical terminology. Rather, show off the fact you understand the policy world, by using simple, accessible terms and explanations.