Research Year in Parliament

Are you involved in a parliament-related research project? Do you need access to the knowledge resources of the Austrian Parliament? Would you like to exchange ideas directly with experts from the Parliamentary Administration?

Then submit your idea for the "Research Year in Parliament" which is annually awarded by the Parliamentary Administration. The initiative offers a contract for a scientific research project, in the total amount of EUR 28,500.00 (post-doc-level) or EUR 21,500.00 (prae-doc-level) gross. A particularly innovative and excellent project will be selected by the Scientific Advisory Board (see below).

The "Research Year in Parliament" begins in the autumn of each year. The project is supposed to: (i) use the knowledge resources of the Austrian Parliament ("Digital Bibliography of Parliamentary Research", archive, library, databases, parliamentary materials, etc.) and, thus, contribute to their contextualization and development, (ii) contribute to current scientific debates, and (iii) be relevant for parliamentary processes, the information activities of the Austrian Parliament and the provision of knowledge in and by the Parliamentary Administration. The researcher receives continuous support from experts of the Parliamentary Administration.

During the ongoing "Research Year in Parliament", art historian Julia Rüdiger is investigating how changing ideas of democracy are reflected in the architecture of the Austrian parliamentary building. In her interdisciplinary research, she combines architectural history, spatial sociology, and perception studies.

More detailed information can be found in this article (in German):

"Forschungsjahr im Parlament" 2025

The preliminary results of the project will be presented by Julia Rüdiger at the Day of Parliamentary Research on June 16, 2026.

The last "Research Year in Parliament" was conducted by political scientist Josef Lolacher. The final report of his project "Do parliamentarians listen to experts or ordinary citizens?" can be found here (in German):

"Forschungsjahr im Parlament": Abschlussbericht veröffentlicht

The Selection Process

The call for submissions opened in November 2025 and closes on March 9, 2026. In the subsequent review phase, the documents received will be checked for formal criteria and prepared for the decision of the Scientific Advisory Board.

On April 20, 2026, the Scientific Advisory Board will meet to select a project for the "Research Year in Parliament" 2026. The selected project will be publicly announced and presented at the Day of Parliamentary Research on June 16, 2026. The research year will start between August 1, 2026 and October 1, 2026.

Scientific Advisory Board

Since May 2023, the Scientific Advisory Board has been composed as follows:

  • Susanne Janistyn-Novák, Deputy Secretary General of the Austrian Parliament
  • Daniel Barben, Professor: Head of the Department of Science, Technology and Society Studies, University of Klagenfurt
  • Zoe Lefkofridi, Professor of Politics & Gender, Diversity & Equality: Department of Political Science, University of Salzburg
  • Maria Stopfner, Senior Lecturer and Senior Researcher: Department of German Studies, University of Innsbruck and Institute for Applied Linguistics, Eurac Research
  • Felix Uhlmann, Professor: Faculty of Law, University of Zurich, Co-Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies, Chair for Constitutional and Administrative Law as well as Legislative Studies