Call Open for Parliamentary Thematic Research Leads 2027 – 2029
UK Parliament are pleased to announce the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) will continue to collaborate with UKRI to place a third cohort of Thematic Research Leads in UK Parliament from April 2027 to March 2029.
They are looking to appoint TRLs to the following areas:
- AI, Digital and Technology
- National Security and Resilience
- Infrastructure, Planning and Land Use, including Clean Energy Industries
- Health and Life Sciences
- Education, Children and Young People
- Criminal Justice
- Place-Based Economic Growth
An information session about the role will be held on Thursday 18 June from 1pm to 2.30pm.
What are Thematic Research Leads
Thematic Research Leads are researchers embedded three days a week in Parliament, whilst retaining their substantive academic post for the remaining time. They are based in policy-relevant teams in Parliament and operate in a network facilitated by POST’s Knowledge Exchange Unit.
The purpose of the Thematic Research Lead is to facilitate and enhance the use of research evidence and expertise in Parliament (in both the House of Commons and House of Lords) through effective knowledge exchange, collaboration and processes.
Each TRL leads on a specific policy area. To achieve this, TRLs conduct three primary activities:
- strategic support for the production and delivery of research evidence for Parliament, within a broad policy area
- support to develop a research and innovation landscape that facilitates and encourages knowledge exchange between Parliament and the research community
- participation in a network of Thematic Research Leads to share intelligence and insights across policy areas.
For full information and to apply, please visit the UK Parliament website.
Applications close on 11:55pm on Sunday 9 August 2026