Most of POST’s publications take the form of
one of its well-known four-page »POSTnotes«. After considerable
experimentation, this format was chosen largely because busy parliamentarians
do not have the time to read lengthier documents. A great deal of effort is put
into compressing information into this limit, and in meeting the challenge of
making a publication at the same time accessible to non-specialists but
commanding the approval of experts in the field. Several other parliamentary TA
units have adopted a similar style of summary as part of their publication
programme – and POSTnotes have even been translated by them for circulation in
their own countries.
POST also produces longer reports. The most
recently published was on »Living with Environmental Limits«, while an ongoing
longer report is a »Decadal Review of Stem Cell Research«, examining
developments in the area over the past ten years, as recommended by a special
House of Lords committee that reviewed regulatory legislation. Even with these
long reports, one or more »POSTnote« style summaries is produced to make the
key findings accessible to those who cannot examine the main report.
All POST publications are subjected to
extensive external peer review by government departmental, academic, enterprise
and NGO specialists before release. This is a key feature of POST’s publication
process.
Either at the start of a study, during its
course, or after publication, POST frequently organises parliamentary seminars
to discuss its studies. These are complemented by other conferences and
workshops. Recent examples include sessions on the Future of Food and Farming
and on the Implications of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Incident. Both filled some of
the largest meeting rooms in the UK Parliament to capacity.
POST also collaborates with external
organisations to hold interactive exhibitions and presentations at the UK
Parliament. Notable recent events have covered the future of energy research;
robotics futures and polar research.
Chapter Communication and publications - all countries
© EPTA, version 20 Oct 2012; provided by ITA |