Parliament for Researchers: how to work with select committees

This training session gives a brief overview of the UK Parliament and then explores the role, work and structure of select committees in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It outlines opportunities for researchers and experts to contribute to the work of select committees, including advice on submitting evidence to inquiries.

This training session is aimed at academic researchers and focuses on practical information and advice. The presenter is Naomi Saint, Knowledge Exchange Manager, UK Parliament, and the expert speaker is David Slater, Clerk of the Liaison Select Committee, House of Commons.

Please note that during some short parts of the video, the audio is out of sync with the picture. This is due to connection issues at the time of recording. The audio will sync with the video again after a short period if you continue watching.

You can also access other training sessions from UK Parliament's Knowledge Exchange Unit, including "Parliament for Researchers: exploring select committee evidence".

Training resources

Here are the training slides used in the session.
Here is a transcript of the session.

Introductory videos about Parliament

You may find these short videos useful before watching the training session, to refresh your knowledge on the structure and role of the UK Parliament.

The structure of Parliament video (1 min 47 secs to watch)
How Parliament holds Government to account video (1 min 13 secs to watch)
What are select committees? (2 min 12 secs to watch)

Useful links

The links below accompany information presented in the training session.

General advice on engaging with Parliament as a researcher

Here is a webpage containing 'how to' guides, including guidance on submitting evidence to a select committee
Here is where you can sign up to email alerts on topics which you choose (this will include select committee inquiries and other opportunities and news)
If you are interested in engaging with Parliament around the COVID-19 outbreak and its impacts, please see this COVID-19 researcher engagement webpage outlining the most targeted, impactful ways that researchers can engage at the moment
Here is more information about Parliament's Knowledge Exchange Unit, including contact details for further queries

Engaging with select committees

Here is the A-Z list of all UK Parliament select committees
Here are all current open calls for evidence from UK Parliament select committees