Engaging with Parliament Workshop
This workshop was organised to promote greater understanding and ultimately interaction between scientists at the Univeristy of Sheffield and the UK Parliament via the Parliamentary Outreach organisation.
http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/outreach-and-training/
It ran on the 25th April 2014 with presentations from Mr Daniel Wood (Parliamentary Outreach) and Dr Adam Glen (TUOS - Kroto Centre), was advertised to all academic and research staff at TUOS with 50 attendees present - and received overwhelming support with ~90% of attendees stating that that were more likely to engage with parliament as a result of the workshop.
The workshop was open to all who wanted to know more about how to engage with Parliament and increase the impact of their research by helping to inform government policy in the UK., and attendance ranged from Junior Researchers to senior Professors, and covered all faculties and schools / departments at Sheffield University.
What is the Parliamentary Outreach Office?
Parliamentary Outreach spreads awareness of the work, processes and relevance of the institution of Parliament, encouraging greater engagement between the public and the House of Commons and House of Lords.
What was covered in the Workshop?
• An introduction to Parliament;
• Contacting MPs and Lords;
• How Bills progress through Parliament;
• Parliamentary questions;
• Select Committee inquiries;
• Using the Parliamentary website to track particular subjects;
• Accessing the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).