A: Thematic Research Leads are academics who work part-time in Parliament alongside their academic day jobs, acting as a bridge between research and Parliamentary communities. Our aim is to help facilitate and grow the use of academic research evidence within Parliament, to support things like scrutiny and advice for MPs.
I became a TRL through applying to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) open call, which included an application, interview, and written task. I’ve always been interested in politics and the policy process, so when the call opened to work at the heart of our democracy and see how it all works in practice, it was such an exciting opportunity.
A: Our days are really varied, which is one of the fun parts of the job. For example, one day you can be helping identify experts for a committee enquiry, another helping to write a policy brief for the library, and on another providing engagement advice to fellow academics. There’s a group of eight TRLs, so we regularly meet to share information and ideas, and we work across a lot of different teams, so of course there are plenty of meetings to attend!
A: Ah, that’s so difficult. Parliament is such a unique place, and you get so many opportunities to see and do things you never would if you weren’t lucky enough to work there. For example, I got to shadow Hansard and sit in the press gallery at Prime Minister’s questions, which was such a great experience!
All the teams you work with really value your opinion, so it’s also really rewarding just to see your advice being taken on board and used, and it makes the day-to-day full of mini highlights.
Dr Louise Reardon pictured in the hallway of Portcullis House.
A: First thing – know why you want to engage! It sounds obvious, but it’s something people tend not to think too much about and it’s really important for engaging effectively. Think about what your end goal is and then that will help you to think about why and which teams in Parliament should/would/could care about your research.
I’d also try and keep on top of what’s happening in Parliament so you can more easily identify opportunities to engage. Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit has a weekly newsletter that’s really helpful and definitely worth signing up to. There is so much going on in Parliament and issues move quickly. There are lots of opportunities to hook in your research interests, but there’s also a lot of draws on people’s time. If you can be clear about how your expertise and research links in to the issue of the day, then that can be really powerful.
A: Ah, so many! Doing things for the civic good is a core value of mine (I know that sounds cheesy, but its true)! I’ve always wanted to do research that matters and wanted to help fix problems. Working across the boundaries of policy and research means I’m more likely and able to do that kind of research and make that kind of contribution than if I was working in isolation.
Working outside of academia has also helped me identify what my strengths and weaknesses are and pushed me out of my comfort zone to try new things. Again, sounds cheesy, but it’s made me learn a lot about myself and helped me think about what things I want to do in the next stage of my career.
It’s also meant I’ve met so many interesting and inspiring people doing roles I never knew existed and really expanded my horizons in terms of how research can add value, how you can work with different people across institutions to effect positive change, and given me a better understanding of what role I (and fellow researchers) can play in that.
Professor of Governance and Public Policy
Louise is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV). Her research is principally concerned with transport governance and the politics and policy of wellbeing.
