Since we’re all likely to be working from home for the foreseeable future, we present our guide to influencing policy in your pyjamas (note: these tips work just as well if you do decide to get dressed). Social distancing may be the order of the day, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop your … Continue reading “Four ways to influence policy in your pyjamas”
Tag: Parliament
Encouraging gender equality by supporting working fathers
The Equal Parenting Project at the University of Birmingham launched a new Fathers in the Workplace Toolkit in the House of Commons this week. The Toolkit helps organisations to better support working fathers and ultimately foster working environments where mothers and fathers have equal opportunities. Whilst the introduction of Shared Parental Leave in 2015 sought … Continue reading “Encouraging gender equality by supporting working fathers”
Engaging with All-Party Parliamentary Groups
Engaging with All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) is an accessible way of connecting with policy makers about your research. However, APPGs are little-known outside of policy circles. So, what are they exactly, what are they not, why are they a useful route for policy engagement, how can you get started? APPGs are informal cross-party groups. There … Continue reading “Engaging with All-Party Parliamentary Groups”
Ta-da! How to be a whizz at policy engagement
How to stay up-to-date with debates, look for opportunities and engage with policy makers. In the 2013 film Now You See Me, four magicians pull off a series of heists during their performances, taking money from the rich to give to ordinary people in the audience. Like Robin Hood, but with stage lighting. The question … Continue reading “Ta-da! How to be a whizz at policy engagement”
Working for the Education Select Committee
Richard Ward, Clerk of the Education Select Committee in the House of Commons, reflects on his role in Parliament. From Birmingham to Westminster I studied Philosophy at Birmingham between 2004 and 2007 and attended a couple of events run by the careers centre during my second and final years, one of which was a practice … Continue reading “Working for the Education Select Committee”
What academics really think about policy engagement
In May 2018 I began a parliamentary academic fellowship with the House of Commons Select Committee on International Development. This committee, like many others, hears mainly from a small group of universities, mainly in London and the South East, and wanted to know how to engage a wider range of academic expertise across the country. … Continue reading “What academics really think about policy engagement”