In this month’s newsletter, we have the following announcements/information:
- Ideas for 2020 wanted
- Communications Officer vacancy
- #Parl19 – Cardiff 2019
- Essay Competition 2020 – now open
- Recently on our blog
If you have any notices / messages you would like us to circulate to the group, please let us know.
Best wishes,
Marc (@marcgeddes), Louise (@LouiseVThompson) Alex (@A_Meakin) and Seán (@S_Haughey)
1. Ideas for 2020 wanted
We are still gathering ideas and suggestions for how the group can support its members in 2020. In particular, please get back to us about:
- Where should our annual conference take place next? We have received nominations including Birmingham, Jersey and Dublin
- What events do you want us to support in 2020, alongside (or instead of) our standard events? We normally run an essay competition, methods workshop, contribute to PSA Conference and our annual conference.
Please email marc.geddes@ed.ac.uk and louise.thompson-4@manchester.ac.uk with your suggestions.
2. Communications Officer vacancy
Want to get more involved with PSA Parliaments? We’re looking for someone to take on the group’s Comms Officer role from December 2019 to June 2020 (with potential for extension). The main responsibilities are commissioning and editing posts for the group’s blog (usually uploaded weekly during term time), occasional website updates and maintaining the @psa_parl Twitter account (but with scope to take on more tasks if you wish). The role offers a fantastic opportunity to build and develop valuable skills (social media and CMS proficiency for example) and, through the blog, gives you a chance to explore and disseminate the latest and best research in the field. As such, it is a great way for early career researchers to build relationships with colleagues and practitioners and to learn more about the specialism. No experience is necessary (WordPress/Tweetdeck are the main tools and are easy to pick up).
For an informal chat about what the role entails or to indicate your interest, contact Alexandra Meakin on a.meakin@sheffield.ac.uk
3. #Parl19, Cardiff 2019
A huge thank you to everyone that came to our conference in Cardiff earlier this month. We might be biased, but we think it was a huge success! Please see the Twitter hashtag #Parl19 to keep updated on how the day went, and also our brilliant Communications Officer who has written a recap that’s available here.
We want to thank the officials of the National Assembly for Wales for hosting and welcoming us to Cardiff.
Finally, thank you to all those who presented papers, chaired panels, or contributed to the conference.
4. Essay Competition 2020 – Now Open!
We’re very pleased to announce our annual undergraduate essay competition for 2020 is now open!
The winner will be presented with a prize of £100 and the runner-up with a prize of £50. The winners for 2019 were presented the award at the National Assembly for Wales. Previous winners have also been awarded by the Clerk of the House of Commons and the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. The deadline is 31 May, with a 3,500 word limit.
We would like to thank the panel for supporting us and judging the entries over the last years. We are currently looking for an academic chair of the competition, who would look at entries and oversee the judging process. Please email us.
All of the details about the competition can be found on our webpage.
5. Recently on the blog
Some of our recent blogs include:
- The government’s refusal to release the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report into Russian activities against the UK is part of a worrying pattern of obstruction and delay Andrew Defty (Lincoln)
- The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee: campaigning for the scrutiny of science at Westminster Emmeline Ledgerwood (Leicester and British Library)
- Combating discrimination and human rights violations through Post-Legislative Scrutiny Franklin De Vrieze (Westminster Foundation for Democracy)
If you are interested in publishing a blog, please get in touch with our Communications Officer Alexandra Meakin (a.meakin@sheffield.ac.uk) for a chat about how to get involved.