Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Social Science Section (Phase 3)

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As the emblem of British democracy and an institution with significant policy influence, Parliament fulfils a number of important and democratic responsibilities through its work to make laws, debate topical issues and scrutinise the work of government. Members of Parliament are required on a daily basis to deal with issues that are widely varied, rapidly evolving and increasingly complex, from rising levels of obesity to cyber security and environmental change. These challenges cannot be adequately addressed by simply using common sense, experience, precedent, or ideological principles; information is vital and comes in a variety of formats, from statistics to consultation responses, and from a range of different sources, including individual experts, groups of stakeholders and the wider public. Scientific research has a key role to play in providing decision-makers with the best available evidence to inform their considerations and to hold government to account effectively; however, high quality research in and of itself is not enough to ensure that decision-making - in any setting - is informed by it.In this context, and in recognition of the benefits of scientific research to inform policy, this project aims to further develop structures of science advice - broadly defined here as practices involving individuals, organisations and structures that mobilise knowledge from across the social, natural, engineering and medical sciences - in Parliament. This will ensure that social science research evidence and methods can be harnessed to effectively mobilise multidisciplinary knowledge, enabling parliamentarians to use the insights generated from publicly funded research to inform their considerations of pressing social problems.Realising this requires effective knowledge exchange (KE) to ensure that UK social science research meets the needs of, and is used by, parliamentarians and the staff supporting them. Efforts to enhance awareness and use of social science research within Parliament only gained real traction following the establishment of a Social Science Section (SSS) in the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) in 2013. In partnership with University College London (UCL), and with the support of ESRC, over the past six years the SSS has embedded social science across POST's work and developed a stream of social science work to support parliamentarians. It has conducted research to understand the ways in which research is used in Parliament and used this to enhance knowledge and practice about effective KE; building capacity in Parliament to understand and use research evidence, and increasing engagement between academia and Parliament.This project will build on this foundational work embedding social science research and knowledge at the heart of Parliament, thereby enabling more effective governance of our democratic society. Specifically, it will improve the use of research evidence across UK Parliament, by embedding social science across Parliament to mobilise knowledge from all disciplines and further strengthen capacity across Parliament in research use and appraisal. It will also consolidate POST as the lead body for KE in UK Parliament, brokering relationships with academia and other research stakeholders, and training the next generation of policy-wise researchers, as well as sharing learning and insights to enhance understanding about what is effective KE in policy to support effective KE practice in the UK and internationally. It will also support UK Parliament to collaborate more strategically with UK Research and Innovation, which brings together the Research Councils that distribute public funds for research, to maximise each other's impact in addressing key social and economic challenges.