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 21 May 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:

**This is a private or hybrid bill which you can petition against, not a 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 here. And find more on engagement for impact here.  

More information: all inquiries currently accepting evidence are found here  
Guidance on submitting evidence to Commons select committees
Guidance on submitting evidence to Lords select committees

Engineering opportunity: Ashok Kumar Fellowship

POST are recruiting for a three-month* fellowship.

This funded fellowship is open to engineers who are studying or have recently completed a masters degree (or above) in a discipline related to chemical or process engineering, including materials science, applied chemistry or a related discipline. Individuals without a masters degree but that have equivalent industry experience are also eligible to apply.

The fellow will gain real-world experience of how research evidence is communicated to decision makers. They will be based in POST supporting the use of research evidence such as preparing 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)
  • assisting a select committee with an inquiry
  • supporting one of the parliamentary libraries to produce bespoke briefings for parliamentarians
  • organising a seminar to inform or disseminate research.

Fellows are encouraged to interact closely with people and activities across the two Houses of Parliament, including select committees, MPs and Peers, All-Party Parliamentary Groups, and a range of other parliamentary activities.

*The fellowship can be carried out full-time for three months or part-time over a longer period. The fellow may be based on the Parliamentary Estate in London, may work remotely from home, or a combination of the two. The fellowship will start during the period from January 2026 to May 2026, with the exact start date agreed with the successful applicant. POST (and UK Parliament more widely) is committed to increasing diversity and to maintaining an inclusive workplace culture. We welcome and encourage applications from underrepresented groups.

Full details about the fellowship including the funding arrangements, full eligibility requirements and the application pack are available here.

The deadline to apply is Sunday 29 June 2025, 23:55.

Applications should be submitted through the recruitment portal, however, it’s essential you read the guidance and download the application pack from the fellowship information page before applying. 

Interviews will be held on Monday 18 August 2025.

Why should I engage? A fellowship in UK Parliament offers 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. Explore POST’s work on their webpage. 

Violence against women and girls – call for contributions

New POSTnote alert! 

Violence against women and girls in schools and among children and young people is calling for contributions. 

Violence against women and girls (VAWG), including sexual harassment, coercion, and abuse is recognised as a public health crisis and human rights issue and the UK government aims to half VAWG within a decade. 

This POSTnote will collate research evaluating existing interventions, including whole-school approaches, consent education, teacher training, peer-led programs, and safeguarding protocols. It will identify existing challenges and barriers to effective implementation amongst school-aged populations with national and international examples.

Please note: this POSTnote focuses only on understanding and safeguarding school-aged girls from gender-based violence in schools, care homes, justice settings, and online spaces. It does not cover evidence relating to forced marriages, trafficking, exploitation, child labour or FGM. 

POST welcomes contributions on issues relevant to the project scope. However, they are only able to consider contributions directly related to research evidence on violence against young women and girls/gender-based violence among children and young people. 

To share your research or expertise to contribute to the POSTnote email post@parliament.uk. This link provides guidance on what to include in your email.

There is a short window for contributions to be received – respond by 30 May 2025. 

Reminder: these POSTnotes continue to welcome an approach from researchers who would like to share their research to contribute. 

Regional differences in healthy life expectancy. *closing tomorrow *  
Contribute to this POSTnote by emailing post@parliament.uk. This link provides guidance on what to include in your email. Deadline: Friday 23 May

Defending UK airspace will examine the airborne threats from missiles, drones and aircraft and consider defence measures. Contribute to this POSTnote by emailing post@parliament.uk. This link provides guidance on what to include in your email. Deadline: Friday 30 May

Winter mortality: The team have not received many submissions for this POSTnote which summarises the evidence for causes of winter mortality, including social, economic and geographical vulnerability factors and the evidence for effective health and social care interventions, alongside international comparisons. Please share your research to contribute to this POSTnote via this form. Deadline: Wednesday 4 June

Multifunctional land use decisions: what roles could collaborative governance models play? Contribute to this POSTnote by sharing your expertise and research via this form. Deadline: Wednesday 11 June 

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 and can help flag your research and expertise to parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.

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

Reminders – there’s still time and oodles of variety in here!

The full details of all the below opportunities can be viewed in the 15 May round up. 

UPEN is establishing a Community of Practice (CoP) for educators interested in using policy or science communication as an assessment method for undergraduate or postgraduate students. We, the Knowledge Exchange Unit, are pleased to be partnering with UPEN to support educators to ground the assessments to reflect authentic, real-world policy communication practices. UPEN invites lecturers, programme leaders, and others with an interest in this innovative form of student assessment to express interest in the CoP. Contact the lovely Laura Bea at UPEN on secretariat@upen.ac.uk with any questions about the CoP. Complete this form to express your interest in the CoP by Wednesday 28 May. 

The Environmental Audit Committee is seeking an expert to appoint as their Specialist Adviser to help them examine how well equipped the UK is to address the health and environmental risks from PFAS chemicals for the duration of the committee’s inquiry. The role is fractional over a short period (approx. 3 months) and can be performed alongside the post holder’s substantive role. View the full details for the specialist adviser role. Apply by 12 midday on Thursday 29 May.

UK Parliament’s Restoration and Renewal team are calling for experts in cultural, heritage and tourism to share their research to contextualise and enrich the decision-making process as different options for restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster are considered. The team is seeking research on the value of cultural and heritage institutions, and recognises that not all societal benefits need to, or can, be meaningfully monetised. They’d love to hear from experts with research insights on the following:

  • Understanding the value of cultural and heritage institutions (including cultural and social value, and non-economic measures)
  • Measuring the tourism value of cultural and heritage institutions
  • The cultural, social, heritage and/or tourism value of the Palace of Westminster
  • Any other relevant research

Complete this form to share your insights with the R&R programme by Thursday 5 June.

Commi- commi- commi- commi- commi- comm-i-i-ttee*

*to the tune of Culture Club’s ‘Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon’

Did you know, ‘committee’ comes from the word committen meaning ‘to entrust’, from the Latin committere meaning ‘bring together, from com- ‘together’ and ‘mittere’ to send?

Through the Standing Orders (rules) of our Parliament, a body of MPs or peers is brought together as a select committee, and then sent off together to scrutinise areas of government’s policy, work, or spending. In our representative democracy (remember last week’s fact), we, the citizens, entrust select committees to act on our behalf.

So what? You might be wondering the extent to which we can trust select committees to act on our behalf. Well, here are three good indicators we can.

  • First, when select committees conduct inquiries, they invite evidence from anyone who has a stake in the topic, and they consider it. And they really do consider it: we in KEU share open office space with select committee staff and see and hear them working their way through evidence submissions.
  • Second, there is a lot going on in Parliament to help strengthen select committees and the way they represent citizens. There’s a whole team dedicated to helping committees hear from those whose voices are not so commonly heard, many of whom have important lived experience.
  • Third, select committees are effective at doing what they are supposed to: holding the government to account and, in so doing, getting it to do a good job. A 2010 study found that government accepts and acts on around 40% of select committee recommendations. If those were the odds of winning the lottery, I think there’d be a whole lot more of us heading down the corner shop for a ticket!