There are opportunities throughout the year for academics of all career levels, as well as PhD researchers, to take part in schemes offering placements within government and parliament.

Why are they worth engaging with?

Some opportunities are funded, others are not but all will give a useful insight into how policy makers work and can be useful for furthering your research as well as being great for your CV.

How to find if there is a position relevant to your area of expertise

You can find a useful page of information here: Directory of exchange schemes from academia to policy - GOV.UK. Opportunities will also be signposted in the Policy Newsletter – sign up by emailing policy@lancaster.ac.uk (OR A SIGN UP BUTTON)

You can also find senior advisory positions here: Search all public appointments.

How to apply

Read everything in the guidance and start the application in plenty of time.

Before applying for an advisory position on a government or other board, it may be worth checking who else is on the board and whether their skills and level of experience match with yours.

Mirror the language used. If the person specification or essential criteria mention key words or phrases, relate your application to areas mentioned.

Keep it concise but don’t be too modest! Highlight all your main relevant achievements.

Get all your online profiles up to date eg Google Scholar, LinkedIn and your University public profile pages.

It is important to get the sign off from your department and talk to research development team before applying.