How to engage with Parliament
Find out how to engage with the parliamentary process - through MPs, Peers, select committees, APPGs and more.
Below, we outline some of the key ways to engage with the parliamentary process and change the debate on a particular issue.
Submitting evidence to parliamentary committees
When parliamentary Select Committees announce an inquiry, they invite the public – including academics – to submit written evidence. Find out more in our guide to working with Select Committees. Public Bill Committees, which scrutinise Bills being debated in parliament, may also invite evidence.
See a list of open calls to submit evidence to committees.
The regular Policy@Sussex engagement email includes information about current inquiries. To sign up to our emails, please contact: policyteam@sussex.ac.uk
All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs)
All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal cross-party groups that focus on specific subjects – from air pollution to zoos. They are run by members of the Commons and Lords, often with the involvement of individuals and organisations from outside Parliament. APPGs carry out their own inquiries for which they sometimes use evidence.
You can find out how you can contribute by getting in touch with the APPGs relevant to your area of expertise. Search the register of APPGs here.
Parliamentary libraries
The House of Commons Library and the House of Lords Library provide a politically impartial research and information services for their members. Library staff often draw on academic research to draft briefings and debate packs for parliamentary debates or to respond to an enquiry from an MP or Peer.
You can send papers or summaries of any new or topical research to papers@parliament.uk (Commons Library) or hlinfo@parliament.uk (Lords Library)
The House of Lords Library also publishes a weekly current affairs digest, which summarises articles from a variety of sources.
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)
POST (the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) produces regular POSTnotes - short briefing papers on a broad range of topics to provide impartial analysis to the UK Parliament. When producing the notes, POST staff seek input from stakeholders from industry, government and academia.
See POST's work programme for current topics, or look out for details in the regular Policy@Sussex engagement roundups.
You can contact post@parliament.uk to suggest future POSTnotes in your area of expertise.
MPs and Peers
Members of the House of Commons (MPs) and the House of Lords (Peers) use research to inform their scrutiny of the Government. Contacting an MP or Peer is a good way to raise political awareness about research or issues flowing from your research.
Raising issues with a local MP can be an effective way of ensuring an issue gets on the radar of Parliament as a whole. It can also be effective to contact MPs who have a particular interest in your area of research. Peers are not elected, and do not directly represent citizens in the same way as an MP. However, because they devote much of their parliamentary time to considering specific policy issues in detail, it can be very useful to contact a member who works on a relevant area. Aim to contact members from different parties to achieve cross-party support.
You can find out about members' interests by checking the membership of relevant All-party Parliamentary Groups or committees, or searching Hansard (the official record of parliamentary debates) or theyworkforyou.com to find out which members have taken part in debates or asked questions on relevant topics. You can also search for a member of the House of Lords by policy interest.
When you make contact, have a clear aim in mind. Summarise the issue and your recommendations succinctly (see How to write a policy brief) and be clear what action you would like the member to take. You might want to ask them to meet with you to discuss the issue further. You could also ask them to raise a matter in the House of Commons, for example, by asking a question, applying for a debate or putting forward a Private Member's Bill. Find out more about the various steps members can take to raise awareness about your issue.
Find out how to contact a member of the House of Lords
Before making contact with an MP or Peer, please get in touch with policyteam@sussex.ac.uk as colleagues in the University may already have useful contacts with particular members.
Devolved administrations
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislative authorities, and each of these draws on academic research. Our regular Policy@Sussex roundup emails share details of engagement opportunities with these administrations.
- Find out more about how to engage with the Scottish Parliament
- Read about knowledge exchange in the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament
- Find out about how to work with the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service.
Help Parliament find your research
Parliamentarians also discover research through the media and via third sector organisations. You can increase your visibility through blogging, social media (see How to turn your research paper into a blog or social media post), working with NGOs (see How to identify key policy stakeholders) and engaging with their media (contact the University of Sussex media team at press@sussex.ac.uk to find out more).
UK Parliament Knowledge Exchange Unit (KEU)
The UK Parliament's Knowledge Exchange Unit (KEU) supports the exchange of information and expertise between researchers and the UK Parliament.
Working with higher education and beyond, the KEU offers online training and resources, a weekly round-up email of policy engagement opportunities, and facilitates placement opportunities including academic fellowships.