House of Commons and Lords Libraries
Both the House of Commons and House of Lords have a dedicated Library which provides impartial research and information services to support MPs, Lords and their staff.
Resources from the House of Commons Library include:
- insights (quick-read articles)
- research briefings (in-depth analysis of bills and legislation)
- debate packs (summary reports ahead of non-legislative debates)
- data (interactive data and downloadable datasets)
- explainers to help MPs with constituency casework
These resources are authored by a team of Parliamentary researchers. As a researcher, you can introduce yourself to the House of Commons Library by sending a 250 word introduction to keu@parliament.uk who will pass it to the relevant subject specialist in the Library.
If you have factual updates you could contribute to a pre-existing Library briefing, you can also get in contact with the House of Commons Library by emailing papers@parliament.uk, naming the briefing and the update.
Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology
One significant way of contributing your research and evidence to Parliament is via the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST), which is part of Parliament’s Research and Information team.
POST supports the work of both Houses by ensuring the best available research evidence is brought to bear on the legislative process and scrutiny of Government. It publishes impartial, non-partisan, timely and peer-reviewed research, including:
- POSTnotes (short briefings covering emerging research areas)
- POSTbriefs (shorter evidence syntheses produced quickly in response to policy developments or Select Committee inquiries)
- Rapid responses (short articles produced quickly to brief Parliamentarians on time-critical research developments)
- Rapid Evidence Assessments (reports produced in collaboration with researchers from UK universities).
You can contribute to future research projects by emailing post@parliament.uk with a short introduction. Make sure you:
- introduce yourself and state which project you would like to contribute to;
- briefly outline your area of expertise, relevant research, skills, experience, and knowledge.
Contributors are acknowledged online when POST research is published.
- Learn more about contributing to POST research as an expert.
POST Fellowships
POST also offers various research to policy fellowship schemes, organised with learned societies, professional associations, and funding bodies. They start throughout the year and typically last three months, although part-time fellowships can last for longer.
These opportunities can be from PhD to all academic career levels. Through POST Fellowships, individuals can gain a unique insight into the workings of Parliament and can contribute to new evidence outputs.
- Find out more about a POST PhD Fellowship
- Also see Academic policy secondments and pairings
Recommendations
- Use the resources made available via Parliament’s Libraries and POST to help inform your research. Set up alerts to be notified when new resources become available.
- Use POST’s resources, including its Rapid Evidence Assessments, to build your network of other researchers working on related topics. Contact them and offer to collaborate on future POST projects.
- Connect with POST directly by email (post@parliament.uk). Introduce yourself and state which project you would like to contribute to and briefly outline your area of expertise, relevant research, skills, experience, and knowledge.
- When you author POST resources, work with the IPR and the University press office to promote these to ensure they have a wider reach.
- Stay aware of POST policy engagement opportunities, including POST Fellowships and events.
Further information
- Parliament and policy engagement
- Select Committees and APPGs
- Communicating research for policy audiences
- Policy briefs
Learning from others
Read about Bath academics who have experience working with POST: