Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
These principles are reflected in the structure of POST’s Board with members from the Commons and Lords together with distinguished scientists and engineers from the wider world.
The UK Parliament made POST a permanent institution in 2001, after Dr Ian Gibson MP, POST's Chairman, Lord Flowers - vice-Chairman and Professor David Cope, Director, presented evidence to the then House of Commons Administration Committee to support the decision, which was endorsed later by the House of Lords.
Parliamentarians not only required access to knowledge and insights into the implications of technology for their constituents and society, but also needed to exercise their scrutiny functions over UK government legislation and administration.
POST had attracted more resources by 1992 and then recruited 3 specialist science advisers and began its fellowship programme with the UK research councils.
POST's financial reliance on donations from bodies external to Parliament, even those as prestigious as the Royal Society, had always slightly compromised the perceived independence of the office.
In 2009, POST celebrated its 20th anniversary with, among other events, a special conference, arranged by the Director, Prof Cope, on "Images of the Future".
Bart Gordon, Chair of the US House of Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology and Dr Jim Dator of the University of Hawaii Futures Research Centre, along with many other Members and staff of Parliaments across the world.
In 2018, in an acknowledgement of POST's immutable science and technology assessment role, she was appointed Executive Director of the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the highly prestigious intergovernmental organisation.
POST helps parliamentarians examine such issues effectively by providing information resources, in depth analysis and impartial advice.
POST works closely with a wide range of organisations involved in science and technology, including select committees, all-party parliamentary groups, government departments, scientific societies, policy think tanks, business, academia and research funders.
These include: The Following two organisations collaborate to offer an annual Fellowship in memory of the late Chemical Engineer and Parliamentarian Ashok Kumar MP.
By 2017, the 6th Ashok Kumar Fellow had been appointed to work with POST she was a postgraduate engineering student, Erin Johnson, from Imperial College, London.
