What’s it like to engage with Parliament as a researcher?
There are lots of different ways to engage with UK Parliament as a researcher.
Engaging with Parliament as a researcher is for everyone, from every demographic and research discipline. You don’t need to be a senior academic to engage with Parliament. Parliament is keen to hear from researchers at all career stages and from a wide range of institutions.
On these pages, researchers who have engaged with Parliament talk about how they got involved, and what the experience was like for them.
Click on the names of the researchers below to learn about their experience.
- Dr Alisha Ali, Associate Professor, Sheffield Hallam University: engaging with a House of Commons select committee.
- Nicole Kennard, PhD Researcher, Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Sheffield: completing a PhD fellowship in POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology).
- Dr Ems Lord, Research Fellow and Director of NRICH, University of Cambridge: engaging with an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
- Dr Gbemi Oluleye, Assistant Professor/Lecturer, Imperial College London: engaging with an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
- Dr Seema Patel, Senior Lecturer in Law, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University: engaging with a House of Lords select committee.
- Professor Simeon Yates, Professor of Digital Culture, University of Liverpool: engaging with parliamentary select committees and POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology).
Please note that the video interviews occasionally feature minor glitches in the recordings, due to being recorded remotely. These are very brief and if you keep the video playing the content will resume playing as normal very shortly.
Why should I engage with Parliament as a researcher?
Your research could help Parliament to carry out its role of holding the Government to account and passing legislation.
This might be getting involved in Parliament’s scrutiny work, checking and challenging the work of the Government. You could help parliamentarians to better understand a topic, supporting them to debate the important issues of the day. You might suggest recommendations for Government action on an issue. You could signpost parliamentary staff to your own and others’ research and expertise. Or you might get involved in another way.
Engaging with Parliament about your research can expand your networks and help you to shape the policy agenda and generate impact.
Our webhub contains a range of resources for engaging with Parliament as a researcher, including information on how to stay up to date on opportunities to engage, contact details and ‘how to guides’.
For more information about engaging with UK Parliament as a researcher, contact the Knowledge Exchange Unit on keu@parliament.uk.
In this section
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Ways to engage with Parliament
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What’s it like to engage with Parliament as a researcher?
- Dr Alisha Ali, Associate Professor, Sheffield Hallam University
- Nicole Kennard, PhD Researcher, Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Sheffield
- Dr Ems Lord, Research Fellow and Director of NRICH, University of Cambridge
- Dr Gbemi Oluleye, Assistant Professor/Lecturer, Imperial College London
- Dr Seema Patel, Senior Lecturer in Law, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University
- Professor Simeon Yates, Professor of Digital Culture, University of Liverpool
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What’s it like to engage with Parliament as a researcher?