Parliamentary research services: mapping the territory

There is growing interest in the relationship between parliaments and research. Researchers are increasingly viewing parliaments as key sites for studying the use of evidence and achieving research impact. Meanwhile, parliamentary practitioners are beginning to call for improved evidence regarding science advice systems and processes. There is, however, a relative lack of information on how parliaments engage with research. There is even less information on how research services within parliaments operate. This article addresses these issues by reporting on the first stages of a project mapping and describing global parliamentary research services. Drawing on publicly available data gleaned from a rigorous mapping exercise alongside documentary and survey data, it makes two key contributions to this emerging field. First, in the absence of clear criteria for explaining or understanding the role and function of PRS, the article introduces a typology to categorise and compare these services. Second, recognising that information on PRS is fragmented and difficult to obtain, especially for those working within these services, the article presents a global map of PRS. The map does not claim to provide a definitive picture of PRS but is a resource for facilitating further analysis of what PRS are and do, enabling PRS to connect with and learn from each other.