The Centre for Public Policy is part of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow and is at the forefront of innovation in academic-policy engagement.

This is an excellent opportunity for a social science doctoral student to work at the forefront of applied research, knowledge exchange and impact, during an intense period in Scottish politics.

The Research Assistant will work closely with the Directors and be part of a dynamic CPP Team, forming an integral part of our enhanced Election team. The Election is a key moment for the CPP to inform debate, raise the profile of academic expertise and analysis, and increase our reputation as an impartial and authoritative voice on key policy issues of the day.

The role will involve a broad range of activities, including:

• conducting analysis of party manifestos, to identify and analyse core campaign commitments, and produce comparative summaries of party positions;
• fact-checking of claims made in campaign speeches, debates and other key interventions. As well as making their own pledges, political parties in an election campaign often make claims about their own successes or their opponents’ failures. Such claims are rarely wholly true or false but are often overly simplistic and decontextualised. The RA will unpack the claims, assess them against evidence (where necessary procuring relevant academic expertise), and provide nuance and context in succinct analytical summaries for the CPP website
• producing additional content for the CPP website, such as blogs, briefing notes, and Election insights
• supporting the design and delivery of webinars designed to inform voters on key election issues
• research assistance for the UofG Spotlight podcast, in particular for a dedicated series on the devolved elections.
• providing research assistance to senior members of the team as required, e.g. ahead of major media appearances.

The intern will be given an opportunity to raise their own profile in their area of expertise, and supported to connect with other researchers when drawing on a broader knowledge base. They will also have the opportunity to work with our outstanding professional services team, including specialists in communications and policy engagement, to support the design and delivery of a range of engagement activities, including social media content, infographics and video reels.