Contributing to POST research as an expert

What is POST?

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is an impartial research service based in the UK Parliament. It makes cutting-edge research evidence and expertise available to UK Parliament.

What are calls for contributions?

Some POST research projects include calls for contributions. These enable experts to send POST literature that is relevant to its research. They also help POST to understand who is working on the issue. Experts may include researchers, academics, people representing stakeholder groups (such as charities and NGOs), industry representatives, and policymakers.

POST handles the contributions it receives in line with its Privacy Policy. Contributions are subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Can members of the public respond to a call?

Members of the public are welcome to answer calls for contributions.

However, please note that POST cannot receive personal or unpublished information.

Calls are simply used to identify published literature and to enable POST to understand who is working on the issue.

If you are personally affected by an issue, please contact your MP or feed into a relevant select committee inquiry.

Guidance for contributors

Contributions are received through the form linked to each project page. Please do not email your contribution.

The information normally requested on the form includes:

• your name
• a link to your online research/expert profile, if you have one
• a short statement describing your relevant skills, experience and knowledge, and any information about the research project that you would like to make POST aware of
• a list of links to any papers, publications, or blogs that are relevant to the project topic (open access where possible)

Please note:

• POST cannot accept contributions after the deadline listed on the project page. Deadlines cannot be extended.
• POST only accepts contributions relevant to the project scope. Irrelevant contributions are not considered.

What happens after submitting my contribution?

POST values and carefully considers all contributions received. POST is not normally able to discuss contributions with individuals.

All information that is used in the briefing will be referenced. POST is unable to personally acknowledge every contributor in its briefings.

POST may contact a small number of contributors to request an interview, obtain further information, or to act as a peer reviewer. These contributors are listed at the end of the briefing with their permission.

When will the briefing be published?

Approximate publication dates can be found on the relevant call.

Please sign up to POST alerts to receive a copy of the briefing when it is published.

Finding out about future projects

Calls are advertised on the Future research page. You can subscribe to POST’s mailing list to be notified of new research projects.

You can also subscribe to the UK Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit’s weekly round-up to hear about new projects and other parliamentary engagement opportunities.

Suggesting topics for us to research

Experts can suggest topics that they believe POST should research by emailing post@parliament.uk. POST is interested in topics that are relevant to the following issues, as described in POST’s Editorial Policy:

• parliamentary business
• questions from parliamentarians
• new and topical issues
• research advances and developments
• developments in policy areas

POST receives a significant number of emails. While POST will carefully consider your suggestion, it is not always able to engage in discussions about it. POST cannot guarantee that suggestions will be selected for a future research project.

Why contribute to the work of POST?

Responding to a call for contributions or suggesting a topic is a good way for experts to feed their research and expertise into the policy making process.

The evidence POST receives helps to support the important work of parliament.

Contributing to the work of POST may also help to raise the profile of your work. For academics, contributing to POST research may lead to research impact as understood in the context of the Research Excellence Framework. Find more information on types of parliamentary impact and ways to evidence this

If you have any queries about POST or our research please contact us.