Amy Woodward, Research Postgraduate on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP, discusses her experience working in the UK House of Commons as part of the UKRI Policy Fellowship scheme.
Back when I first chose to study geophysics as an undergraduate, I wanted to better understand processes on Earth and how they affect people. Seven years later, I was approaching the end of my PhD in earthquake seismology and realised that while I love the research I do, I wanted to spend more time thinking about how scientific findings affect people – particularly through policy. Wanting to gain more experience working in policy and science communication, I applied to be a Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Fellow in Parliament.
The POST is a bicameral (i.e., across the House of Commons and the House of Lords) office in Parliament. The POST Fellowship scheme offers PhD researchers a chance to spend three months working in Parliament. I was offered a Fellowship and seconded to the Environmental Audit Committee in the House of Commons.
Environmental Audit Committee
The Environmental Audit Committee is a House of Commons select committee formed of Members of Parliament (MPs) from different political parties. The Committee scrutinises the government’s work on a broad range of environmental protection and sustainability challenges, such as flood resilience, marine governance, and airport expansion. The Committee is supported by a fantastic team of clerks, policy specialists, and media and operations officers. The Committee regularly choose topics of inquiry, and I joined just as the inquiry into the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget was beginning.
The UK’s carbon budgets are the total permissible greenhouse gas emissions, which are legislated for five-year periods, 12 years in advance. The Seventh Carbon Budget will cover the years 2038-2042, which might sound very far away, but requires the infrastructure and preparation to begin far in advance so that the UK can be ready to meet its carbon budgets.
The Committee meets weekly, usually for public evidence sessions that are broadcast live on Parliament TV. During these sessions, the Committee hears from experts from academia, industry, and government. For the Seventh Carbon Budget inquiry we heard from the Climate Change Committee, industry representatives, academics, and local governments. The wide range of topics covered in the inquiry made it a great insight into how complicated and cross-cutting policy is, especially as just about everything we do affects greenhouse gas emissions. At the end of the inquiry, the Committee takes all the evidence it has received and writes a report with policy recommendations for the government. My day to day involved writing briefings for MPs, talking with witnesses, reading written evidence submitted by the public, and planning upcoming evidence sessions. Another highlight was contributing to a brief for an evidence session with the Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero, Ed Miliband, on COP30.
Behind the scenes
Parliament is a beautiful place to work. Even in my last week it still felt surreal to be allowed to wander around (and get very lost in) the Palace of Westminster. Working in Parliament over Christmas was a highlight – particularly attending a carol service on my lunchbreak in Westminster Hall, surrounded by Christmas trees. I also got to go on a tour of the tunnels, to see how such a historic building is being renovated and maintained.
What Parliament taught me as a researcher
As a PhD student, most of the communications I have are with other researchers, such as presenting at conferences and writing papers. The Fellowship gave me an insight into the various ways in which academic research is used, and how I can better communicate what I do so that it can be more widely useful. Reading written evidence submitted to the inquiry by experts from a wide range of disciplines showed me how research findings are translated into real policy decisions, something I think is important to understand as researchers.
It was great to work in with people who are passionate about environmental issues. I learned so much from the people I worked with and wholeheartedly recommend the experience to anyone interested in applying.
