Academic fellowships
Parliament offers fellowships in which academics come and conduct projects at Parliament. There are opportunities for academic researchers at any stage of their career.
Parliamentary Thematic Research Leads
In 2023, new pilot thematic policy hubs are being created in Parliament to bring together experts from select committees, library staff and POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology). These hubs will allow parliamentary staff to share and develop expertise to inform scrutiny, legislation and debate which addresses key economic and societal challenges.
POST and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is piloting the creation of a network of Thematic Research Leads (TRLs) in support of this work. TRLs are mid-career researchers embedded part-time in the hubs, bringing their academic expertise and experience of working with research evidence to the policy, research and analysis work which is carried out across Parliament.
Find out more about POST’s Parliamentary Thematic Research Leads here.
Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme
In the Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme, researchers use their knowledge and skills to carry out projects in UK Parliament. The scheme works on a rolling basis, and projects are issued as the needs arise from within Parliament.
A fellowship project might support core work of an office in Parliament, or fill a gap in expertise. It could help to grow Parliament's academic networks, or inform parliamentary scrutiny. It might analyse and evaluate parliamentary practices, or build staff capacity and skills.
Applications are open to all UK-based university researchers who already have a PhD and are employed on an academic contract, as well as university staff working in impact or knowledge exchange.
POST PhD Fellowships
POST offers fellowships in which sponsored PhD students can work at POST for (usually) three months.
Some fellowships are also open to post-doctoral researchers in academia and industry. POST runs this scheme with Research Councils, learned societies and charities. Find out more about POST PhD Fellowships.
Discover how the Knowledge Exchange Unit supports researchers and Parliament to work together.