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POST 20th Anniversary Open Fellowship 2009
supported by the Parliamentary Science and Technology
Information Foundation
Guidance Notes for Applicants
1. Introduction
Parliament passes laws, scrutinises government and acts as a forum for debate on
issues of concern. Science and technology-based issues are relevant to all these areas
of work. Most MPs and Peers do not have a background in science or technology and
look to others for specialist advice and information.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is an Office of the two
Houses of Parliament (Commons and Lords), set up in 1989 and charged with providing
balanced and independent analyses of science and technology-based issues of
relevance to Parliament.
Most of the UK research councils and several learned societies have special
collaborative schemes with POST which enable doctoral students who are supported by
them to undertake parliamentary fellowships. In the past, POST has had numerous
approaches from doctoral students who do not qualify for such support, such as
students on university fellowships.
It is to provide an opening for such persons that the Parliamentary Science and
Technology Information Foundation1 (PSTIF) has decided to initiate, to mark
POST’s 20th anniversary, a special Open Fellowship at POST.
This Fellowship provides the opportunity for a UK-based PhD student to undertake a 3
month placement at POST, with the aim of working on a science policy topic of
interest to the Fellow and POST through the production of a short briefing note
(POSTnote) for Parliamentarians or by other activity, such as assistance to a
parliamentary committee of either the House of Commons or House of Lords.
2. Eligibility criteria
The 2009 Open Fellowship is open to all postgraduate students registered for a PhD in
a science, science policy, technology or an engineering subject at a UK university, who
are in their penultimate or final year of study at the time of application and who are
not eligible under existing POST fellowship schemes. These schemes are funded by the
following organisations:
1
The Parliamentary Science and Technology Information Foundation is a charitable institution, created in
1989, with the aim of providing charitable support for the work of POST.
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
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

British Ecological Society

British Psychological Society

Economic and Social Research Council

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Institute of Food Science and Technology

Institute of Physics

Medical Research Council

Natural Environment Research Council

Royal Society of Chemistry

Wellcome Trust Bioethics Programme (Students funded by the
Wellcome Trust are eligible provided they are not funded by the
Wellcome Bioethics Programme.)
Students whose receive a doctoral maintenance grant from these organisations or who
are members of the learned societies listed above are not eligible to apply for this
fellowship.
Examples of PhD funding arrangements that fall outside existing fellowship eligibility
criteria include, but are not limited to:

other Research Councils not represented (Arts & Humanities
Research Council and the Science and Technology Facilities Council)

direct funding from university sources

charitable organisations (British Heart Foundation, Leverhulme
Trust)

various EU and international research scholarships
3. Details of the fellowship
POST regularly publishes short briefing papers (POSTnotes) and longer reports, giving
Parliamentarians a broad overview of the background to an issue and an analysis of the
policy implications (see www.parliament.uk/post for examples of POST publications).
POST also works very closely with a wide range of parliamentary committees in both
Houses. During his/her time in Parliament, a POST Fellow should expect to produce a
POSTnote, contribute to a longer report, assist a select committee in a current
inquiry, and/or related activities. The topic of the Fellowship will be determined in
liaison between the Fellow and POST, depending on the interests of POST’s
parliamentary Board and the relevance and timeliness of the topic in Parliament. The
overall work programme of POST is determined by its parliamentary Board and Fellows
may be expected to work on something other than their originally proposed topic.
The Fellowship will involve:
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identifying and liaising with a wide range of interested parties including
industry, academia, regulatory bodies, and governmental and nongovernmental organisations;
drafting concise briefing materials;
responding to comments from internal and external peer review.
There may also be opportunities for the Fellow to organise seminars in Parliament or
elsewhere, to inform or disseminate their work. In all cases, the Fellow will be
encouraged to interact closely with people and activities in the two Houses of
Parliament, including parliamentary committees, MPs and Peers, their support
services, ‘All-Party Groups’ (www.parliament.uk/about/how/members/apg.cfm) and
the very wide range of other activities at the Palace of Westminster. The Fellow will
also have similar interactions with interested parties outside Parliament. Access to
conferences, workshops and seminars can be arranged.
POST is a strictly non-partisan organisation - the Fellow will be expected to abstain
from any party political or lobbying activity and generally to uphold the principles of
parliamentary service, including a commitment to confidentiality, during his/her time
with POST. The successful candidate must sign a declaration to this effect.
4. Funding arrangements
The successful applicant will receive a 3 month extension equivalent to his/her
existing PhD maintenance funding up to a maximum of £5,000. PSTIF will make
arrangements to reimburse the student directly.
5. Working arrangements
The Fellow will be expected to spend as much time as possible working in POST's
offices in
Westminster. POST is keen to encourage applicants from all over the UK. If the
successful applicant does not live within daily commuting distance to the Houses of
Parliament, PSTIF is prepared to make a contribution of up to £1000 towards
accommodation costs. POST will cover daily travel costs and the costs of any travel,
subsistence and accommodation required in the course of conducting research.
Computing, email and other facilities necessary for the project will be supplied by
POST
6. How to apply
Applicants should submit:

A Curriculum Vitae.

A completed application form, which has been approved by their Head
of Department or principal supervisor and their PhD funding body,
including a summary of their PhD research (the area of research and its
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relevance to the wider scientific field) and why they are applying for a
Fellowship.

A POSTnote-style briefing NOT LONGER THAN 2 PAGES, INCLUDING ANY
REFERENCES on a theme related to ‘horizon-scanning/scientific
foresight’ issues that they consider of relevance to Parliament (See
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmp
ubadm/123/12302.htm for further information on this). Alternatively,
the briefing should be on a more general science policy theme, such as:
o
a review of the EU Seventh Framework Programme for research
and technological development (FP7) and the scope for its
successor programme, Framework 8.
o
the role of laboratory-based science teaching and scientific field
research in school and higher education and recent policy
developments in this area.
Previous POST publications in the science policy area have included:
Strategic Science, Debating Science, The European Research Area,
Handling Uncertainty in Scientific Advice and Scientific Capacity in
Developing Countries. The relevance of the proposed topic to current
issues, legislation and/or government policy should be implicit in the
summary. Candidates should use the document to demonstrate their
ability to write in a style suitable for a parliamentary (rather than an
academic) audience and organise the content accordingly.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please keep your POSTnote-style briefing
anonymous; just make sure it is attached to your application form.

As noted, the proposal should be no longer than 2 sides of A4 (in Arial
size 11 font). Before preparing the summary candidates should examine
the 'POSTnote style' of writing. POST's publications are available at
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_offices/post.cfm. It is not
necessary to format the document in two columns per page, but
candidates are free to do so.
The application form and POSTnote proposal should be submitted electronically, via
email to post@parliament.uk by 24:00 hrs on 7 December 2008. Late applications
will not be considered.
7. Assessment of applications
Applications and POSTnote proposals will be assessed by POST staff. The criteria for
assessment are:
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relevance of candidates’ CVs and current research activity
content (accuracy and breadth of research) of the proposal
clarity of presentation
writing style (pitched at a suitable level for parliamentarians)
policy relevance
balance and objectivity
structure
awareness of other relevant work in the area
Applicants who are successful at this stage will then be invited for an interview at
POST’s offices in Westminster. Interviews will take place week commencing 12
January 2008. Regrettably, only one Fellowship is available.
8. Start date and length of fellowship
The Fellowship is for 3 months and can start at any time from the end of April 2009.
The successful applicant will need to undergo parliamentary security vetting before
he/she can start the Fellowship. Changes to the start date must be agreed between
the successful candidate and their doctoral supervisor, their university or research
institute and POST. It is inadvisable for the Fellowship to cover the period from
August and September, as this is the parliamentary summer recess.
9. Contacts and sources of further information
Any queries relating to the application process should be directed to
post@parliament.uk. Dr. Michael O’Brien from POST is available on 0207 219 1159 or
obrienmh@parliament.uk to discuss eligibility and other general aspects of the scheme
and of parliamentary activity. Please note that POST cannot advise on the strength or
weaknesses of individual proposals.
For more information on science in parliament see:
POST
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_offices/post.cfm
House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/ius.cfm
House of Lords Science and Technology Committee
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_s_t_select.cfm
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