Westminster Fellowship Scheme

2010 Applications open on Tuesday 1 December 2009 and must reach the RSC Offices in London by Friday 26 March 2010.  The selection of the successful applicant will be made jointly by the RSC and POST during an interview process. 

About the Scheme

The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) collaborate in an initiative for RSC members yearly.

POST is an office of the two Houses of Parliament (Commons and Lords) based on the Parliamentary estate, charged with providing balanced and objective analysis of science and technology based issues relevant to Parliament. 

What does the Fellowship entail?

The initiative will fund one/two candidate(s) to work at POST for 3 months, engaging on work that is intended to aid scientific research into public policy areas, as well as raising public awareness.

The candidate(s) will assist POST in its function of providing timely and objective briefing material for MPs and Peers.  As with all publications, advice from a broad spectrum of experts from relevant disciplines will be sought for any project that the candidate is engaged on to ensure objectivity. It is important that applicants have a clear interest in the public dissemination of findings for scientific research and the ability to present an interesting, concise and balanced summary of research in a given domain.

During, and on completion of the secondment, the candidate will be required to produce updates/reports on their work to present to the RSC Parliamentary Affairs Committee, as well as an article about their time working in Parliament to be published in RSC News. From time to time you may be called upon to speak at public engagements such as Voice of the Future to promote the scheme.

How to apply

All applicants must complete an application form verified and approved by the relevant individuals.

In addition, each applicant must submit a concise summary (no longer than 1200 words) of any aspect of scientific research that you consider and can demonstrate to be relevant to public policy.  This summary should also include a brief explanation of why Parliamentarians would/should be interested in the topic.

This summary is in fact your application and is what we will judge you on. 

Some useful tips:

• Take a look at the POST Website
• This summary does not have to be based on the area you are working in or PhD
• Remember Parliamentarians are not chemists/scientists
• Always check the media 

Who is eligible to apply?

The Westminster Fellowship Scheme is only available to RSC Members.

There are two application forms:

Students  will need to seek, with the approval of his/her Head of Department and supervisor, a 3-month suspension from the relevant university and if applicable, funding body.  The RSC and POST will offer assistance in this regard in the form of letters of invitation and explanation, as appropriate.

General  - all others.

Please note that all applicants are subject to security checks by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.  These are rigorous checks which will require information about you and your parents and can take months to process.

Start Date

At a date agreed between the candidate and the Director of POST.  

Students will need to agree dates with their supervisor/university and the candidate's Funding Body if applicable. 
This scheme will not run during the summer recess.

Please note: The successful candidate will be based at POST during the 3 month secondment, travel to the Houses of Parliament is vital to the fellowship and will give you good insight into how Parliament is run.

Funding Arrangements

The Royal Society of Chemistry gives the successful candidate a £5,000 bursary.

Computing, email and other facilities necessary for the project will be supplied by POST.