“I highly recommend the POST fellowship – you’ll learn so many valuable skills which are applicable to your PhD and future career” 

Every year, the BPS and Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) offer one psychology PhD student a place on their joint Fellowship, where they receive hands-on experience at the House of Lords Library, House of Commons Library and Select Committees.  

Shelley Cathers is the current fellow taking part in the scheme. Here, she shares her experience (so far) of the fellowship and her words of encouragement for anyone thinking of applying for this year's scheme. 

Can you tell me where you're studying and a bit about your PhD? 

I am completing the final year of my PhD in Forensic Psychology at the University of Liverpool. My research explores multi-agency response to child criminal exploitation (CCE). CCE is the incitement, coercion, or manipulation of a child into criminal activity.  

I adopted a co-participatory approach to understand the perspectives of those intimately involved. I completed interviews with police, partner agencies, and parents/caregivers to understand what factors that can help or hinder a multi-agency response to CCE.  

Why did you decide to apply for the BPS/POST fellowship? 

I applied for the BPS/POST fellowship to better understand how we can bridge the gap between academic research and policy. This fellowship aligns with my personal goals of ensuring that academic research on complex issues, like child criminal exploitation, can inform parliamentary discussions and decisions to make real-word change.  

POST plays a key role in ensuring this happens as they provide impartial, non-partisan, and peer reviewed briefings (called POSTnotes) that will inform Members of Parliament and peers about a relevant topic. 

What does a typical day on the fellowship look like?  

At the beginning of the fellowship, my advisor and I discussed the timeline of the role; developing the scope, conducting a literature review, completing interviews with experts, frequent drafting, and the review process. Fellows follow a busy timeline, each week hitting a new target and constantly editing their POSTnote. Having this strict guideline helped to tailor my workload and ensure that the project stays on track. 

Things get a bit quieter when the POSTnote is sent out for external review, and the POST advisors help tailor this period to areas that interest the fellow. For example, some fellows use this time to work on other projects within POST, other research hubs or committees. This encourages us to learn about the wider structure and diversity of work in parliament.  

So far, what's been your favourite part of the role?  

There has been a lot of great aspects to the role, including exploring the parliamentary estate, learning more about the inner workings of Parliament, and delving into a completely new area of research.  

My favourite part of the process has been working as part of a collaborative team who are so keen to share their knowledge. The POST advisors have been forthcoming with sharing advice on how to manage the project, provide frequent feedback on your writing, and can signpost you to training and events that will support your knowledge and skill development.  

Some fun things that fellows can do in Parliament include attend debates (that are either relevant to your POSTnote or PhD topic), attend Prime Minister's Questions, or All-Party Parliamentary Group events. The POST advisors really encourage fellows to make the most of being within Parliament and help signpost us to relevant, fun events.  

The fellowship is open again for applicants – what advice would you give for someone considering applying to the scheme? 

I highly recommend the POST fellowship to students at any stage of their PhD as you will learn so many valuable skills which are applicable to your PhD and future career. For example, when writing for POST we have to be very succinct (as a POSTnote is only 3,600 words). Therefore, we have to assess what is most relevant for policymakers, how to synthesise this information while ensuring key parts are included. This a skill that I know will support future academic writing. 

I would also advise applicants not to be intimidated by the timeline or the fact that you might be working on a completely new topic area. You are guided throughout and there is a lot of satisfaction to see the POSTnote come together. It has also been really interesting to learn about something new and branch out beyond my research area.  

I also encourage potential applicants to connect with POST fellows on LinkedIn so you can ask any questions you might have. The whole POST team (fellows and advisors) have been really supportive, so I know they would be keen to share their experiences! 

Joint Postgraduate Award with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 2026 

Applications are open now until 4 May 2025 to apply for next year's Fellowship. Visit the Fellowship's webpage to find out more information and apply online.