About Research
What is the purpose of research in the Scottish Parliament?
Relevant, credible, and independent research is essential for good scrutiny and informed debate. Within the Parliament, research is used for:
- committee work
- constituents’ enquiries
- preparing for debates
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) provides research for the Parliament.
What is the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe)?
SPICe is the Parliament’s internal research centre. We provide impartial, factual, accurate and timely information and analysis. Members and Parliament staff use this for parliamentary business.
The SPICe team:
- are information and subject specialists on a range of policy issues
- carry out research on behalf of the Parliament's committees, Members and their staff, and Parliament staff
- offer a confidential enquiry service to Members and their staff
- create electronic resources and graphics as well as reports and briefings
- help to commission and manage research from external providers
- maintain and publish parliamentary data and information
- provide library, collections management and documentation services to the Parliament
Where can I access research?
Research briefings
We provide impartial information and analysis on many subjects.
Supporting parliamentary committees
We work with committee clerks to support committees. We bring policy knowledge and technical expertise to their work. We provide:
- policy briefings
- Bill briefings
- advice on work programmes
- support in commissioning research
The publicly-available outputs of this work are available in:
- committee meeting papers in Committee pages
- reports and briefings in individual Bill pages
SPICe Spotlight blogs
Our Spotlight blogs give impartial information and analysis on current issues. Follow now to receive email updates on issues which interest you.
Intergovernmental Activity Hub
The SPICe intergovernmental activity hub collates information on intergovernmental activity between the Scottish Government and the UK Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
Engaging with SPICe
Follow us on SPICe X, formerly known as Twitter, @SPICe_Research
There are several ways for academics to work with our SPICe team