Fellowships and placements

A public policy fellowship or placement gives you first-hand experience of working with policymakers. Aimed primarily at early career researchers and DPhil students, these can help you to understand what key questions are facing policymakers; how governments, parliaments and public bodies work; and develop networks with policymakers and other policy engaged academics.

Some fellowships and placements are offered by public institutions, and some are offered by the University of Oxford.

For any questions regarding applications or funding for fellowships and placements please contact: [email protected]

Click to expand the current and upcoming fellowship opportunities, below:

OPEN Fellowships

OPEN connects researchers across the University with opportunities to engage with the policymaking community locally, nationally and internationally.

Since 2018, OPEN Fellowships have enabled Oxford researchers with a passion for improving public policy to:

understand better the relevance of their research to local, regional, national and international policymakers;
work with policymakers to identify and explore mutual interests;
and develop and leverage networks and other resources to generate benefits to research, policy and the wider world.

Previous OPEN Fellows have worked on policy challenges ranging from climate change to conservation; from regional development to international maritime security, and from smart energy to smarter healthcare. Their partners have come from local authorities; central government departments in and outside the UK; and intergovernmental organizations. You can meet some of our OPEN Fellows here.

OPEN call for applicants to the Fellowship programme annually, around October. To find out when the opportunity is open see here.

UK Research and Innovation Policy Internships 2020–2021

The research councils organise the Policy Internships Scheme for current research council-funded doctoral students to work at host partner organisations on one or more policy topics relevant to both the student and the host. The student will be expected to produce at least one briefing paper, participate in a policy inquiry and/or organise a policy event, or equivalent piece of work.

Internships are available with a number of parliamentary departments, government departments and non-governmental bodies, learned societies and other organisations.

The host partners for the 2020/21 competition round are:

For further information on the scheme please visit the UKRI website.

POST | Parliamentary Academic Fellowship Scheme

POST is excited to be seeking a Parliamentary Academic Fellow to conduct a study of different organisations and mechanisms around the world that provide science advice to parliaments. The aim of the project is to learn about how others provide science advice to parliaments globally, and how other parliaments engage with scientific information. Through this project, POST would also like to strengthen its connections with those organisations, to be able to conduct two-way knowledge exchange.

Although the project focuses on science advice, applicants from non-scientific background are also strongly encouraged to apply. The project may appeal to researchers or knowledge exchange professionals working in cultural studies, international studies, geography, political studies, communication studies, or many other areas. Deadline: 23:55 BST, 9 May 2021

Future calls will be advertised here.

POST also advertise open calls, where academics can propose research to deliver with Parliament. For further information on the POST open calls, please contact the policy engagement team at [email protected]

NATO Defense College (NDC) Resident Fellowship Programme

The NATO Defense College currently offers four fellowships in the field of defense and security policy research related to NATO and its Partners. These fellowships are the Eisenhower Defense Fellowship Programme, the Partnership for Peace Fellowship Programme, the Mediterranean Dialogue Fellowship Programme and the Other Military Cooperation/Partners across the Globe Fellowship Programme. The overarching objective of these fellowships is to promote research and policy analysis in areas of particular interest to NATO Member States, as well as to countries that are part of the Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, and Other Military Cooperation / Partners across the Globe frameworks.

Future calls will be advertised here.
Further information: NATO Defense College (NDC) Resident Fellowship Programme

Cabinet Office Open Innovation Team PhD Placements

The Cabinet Office’s Open Innovation Team (OIT) has been established to generate analysis and ideas for priority projects by helping officials collaborate more intensively with outside experts.

The OIT is inviting PhD students to join their team on placement for a minimum of 3 months to help UK government departments deliver projects on health, welfare reform, industrial strategy, digital transformation and various other priority areas.

PhD students working with the OIT on placement will be expected to carry out a range of tasks, including:

Reviewing evidence to inform policy discussions and help scope out projects
Generating analysis and policy ideas working alongside officials and outside experts
Developing project plans to ensure projects remain on track
Pitching new projects to Whitehall departments and non-government partners
Managing stakeholders inside and outside Whitehall
Organising engagement activity, including arranging meetings, university visits and
Whitehall policy seminars

For further information please contact [email protected]