Reciprocal visits
Dr Kate Bishop and Mr Andrew Love MP
After the ‘Week in Westminster’ the pairs undertake reciprocal visits. Scientists paired with an MP might spend a day at the MP’s constituency office attending meetings on local issues, observing a session of the MP’s surgery (an opportunity for constituents to raise problems or seek advice from their MP) and attending an event, such as a meeting at a school.
The MPs and civil servants are invited to visit the scientist’s research facilities and have the opportunity to talk to staff and students, hear about the research and help conduct an experiment.
Therefore in total we ask MPs and civil servants to commit 3-4 days of their time over an extended period during which they will both share their experiences and receive a unique opportunity to gain an insight to the scientific process.