Research for Parliament: Preparing for a changing world

This document builds on POST's previous publication, Topics of Interest 2018 (POSTbrief 27). The subjects are listed under under six category headings based on the drivers of change identified in POSTnote 500: demographic change and healthcare; social and cultural trends; geopolitical and governance challenges; environmental pressures and climate change; resource security and sustainability; and technological advance.

These summaries are intended to help sketch out the implications of possible areas of change, which may or may not be desirable, to help inform policy priorities and debates and to identify priorities for POST’s future work programme.

Acknowledgements

POSTbriefs are based on literature reviews and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:

Robert Joyce, Institute for Fiscal Studies 

Office for National Statistics 

Leo Ewbank, The King’s Fund 

Professor Shane Johnson, Dawes Centre for Future Crime, UCL 

Professor Jonathan Shepherd, Crime and Security Research Institute, Cardiff University  

Professor Tony Dundon, Department of Work & Employment Studies, University of Limerick 

Professor Nicholas Pleace, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York 

Nerys Thomas, College of Policing 

Dr Alex Wood, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University 

Dr Jo Ingold, Leeds University Business School, Leeds University 

Professor Louise Manning, Royal Agricultural University 

Professor Jim Watson, UK Energy Research Centre & UCL 

Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, University of Plymouth 

Antony Froggatt, Chatham House 

Ross Harris, Cranfield Defence and Security, Cranfield University 

Professor Mark Briers, Cranfield Defence and Security, Cranfield University 

Professor Mark Richardson, Cranfield Defence and Security, Cranfield University 

Professor Steve Schneider, Surrey Centre for Cyber Security, University of Surrey 

Professor Jakub Bijak, Social Statistics and Demography, University of Southampton  

Dr Martin Robson, Strategy and Security Institute, University of Exeter 

Kate Cox, RAND 

Dr Jessica Pykett, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham 

Dr Will Leggett, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham 

Dr Richard Whittle, Future Economies University Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University  

Professor Achim Dobermann, Rothamsted 

Professor Jules Pretty, University of Essex 

Professor Ottoline Leyser, University of Cambridge 

Professor Tamara Galloway, University of Exeter 

Professor Roy Harrison, University of Birmingham 

Dr Jo House, University of Bristol 

Professor Dan Osborne, University College London