Policy Connect is offering placements for PhD students part of LISS DTP. Our placements are either 3-months full-time or 6-months part time and provide students with hands-on experience in the world of policy research, politics, and parliamentary engagement.
About Policy Connect
Policy Connect is a cross-party think tank. We specialise in supporting parliamentary groups, forums and commissions, delivering impactful policy research and event programmes and bringing together parliamentarians and government in collaboration with academia, business and civil society to help shape public policy in Westminster and Whitehall, so as to improve people’s lives.
Our work focusses on five key policy areas which are: Education & Skills; Industry, Technology & Innovation; Sustainability; Health; and Assistive & Accessible Technology.
We are a social enterprise and are funded by a combination of regular annual membership subscriptions and time-limited sponsorships. We are proud to be a Disability Confident and London Living Wage employer, and a member of Social Enterprise UK.
About the Placements
PhD placements at Policy Connect are divided into two ‘routes’: The Research Route and The Policy Route. Once the successful candidate has been slotted into one of our six teams, they will take either the Research or Policy Route.
The Research Route:
- The successful candidate will join a specific long-term policy research project and will work with the related policy manager and team to deliver the research.
- Depending on the timeline, this could include:
- conducting interviews with stakeholders,
- organising evidence sessions in Parliament,
- drafting a public Call for Evidence,
- analysing quantitative and/or qualitative data from evidence submissions,
- desk-based research,
- participating in internal Policy Connect meetings, and
- report writing.
The Policy Route:
- The successful candidate will work across several smaller projects within the relevant team and support the various events, research, and communications functions.
- Depending on the timeline this could include:
- organising events in Parliament,
- drafting policy briefs,
- desk-based research,
- responding to parliamentary consultations,
- meeting with stakeholders and parliamentarians,
- writing OpEds and blogs for press and the Policy Connect website,
- participating in internal Policy Connect meetings, and
- support with political monitoring and intelligence gathering.
These are the six teams at Policy Connect:
- Health,
- Sustainability,
- Accessibility,
- Industry, Technology & Innovation,
- Education and Skills, and
- Communications and Events.
Current Projects:
Policy Connect is currently running several research inquiries with planned publications between December 2025 to September 2026. In addition, we run an active events programme with high profile meetings in Parliament. Successful candidates would be able to get involved in the following projects:
- Health Education and Training
- Earning or Learning: A New Agenda for NEET youth reduction
- Access to Primary Care
- Industrial Strategy
- Water reuse and resources
- Accessible Transport
- ATech Skills for Adult Social Care
- Artificial Intelligence and Health
Practical Details
Commitment: Policy Connect offers both full-time and part-time placement opportunities.
Full-time: 35 hours per week (5 days) for 3 months.
Part-time: 2-3 days per week for 6 months.
Location: Hybrid. We ask candidates to be in our Westminster office at least one day per week; otherwise, remote working is possible.
About you
Requirements:
- Pursuing a PhD funded through the LISS DTP
- Interest in UK public policy, the UK political system, and the role of think-tanks
- Ability to synthesise research into clear written communication for a wide variety of audiences
- Ability to quickly process written and quantitative and qualitative data
- Good understanding of research methods
Desirable skills:
Experience in event organisation
Good knowledge of one of Policy Connect’s focus policy areas or ability to quickly learn about complex policy areas
How to Apply
To apply, please send your CV (max 2 pages) and a cover letter (max 1 page) to Careers@policyconnect.org.uk.
Your cover letter should include:
- Why you are interested in a placement at Policy Connect
- What you hope to learn from the experience
- Any relevant skills (e.g. event organisation, communications, research)
- When you would like to complete your placement and whether it would be full-time or part-time
- If you have a preference for the Research Route or Policy Route
- If successful, the Team and Route will be dependent on preference, expertise and experience of the candidate along with the capacity, timelines and needs of Policy Connect.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Capacity is limited, so we strongly encourage early applications.
Past example of Placements at Policy Connect:
Most recently, Policy Connect hosted a PhD placement student at the start of 2025 who were in their second year for 3-months full time. They were pursuing a PhD in Urban Planning but had an interest in education and skills policy and prior background working in research and civil service in another country. They had some understanding of the UK political system from keeping up with national news.
After submitting their CV and Cover Letter, we had a successful interview and offered them a Fellowship role part of our Earning or Learning inquiry. They helped conducting the necessary desk-based research and liaising with funders, stakeholders across industry and civil service, and parliamentarians (including a Minister) to begin the inquiry formally in February 2025.
The Fellow drafted policy papers and responses to parliamentary consultations related to the research within the Education and Skills Team, supported the data collection for the inquiry by drafting the Call for Evidence, attended internal meetings and shared their expertise in research and quantitative data analysis, and drafted articles for the Policy Connect website and news outlets.