School of Social and Political Science

SPS’ Marc Geddes awarded an ERC Starting Grant for his work exploring the relationship between parliament and knowledge



Headshot of Marc Geddes beside ERC logo

School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academic Dr Marc Geddes has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for research exploring the relationship between parliament and knowledge. 

From early 2024, Dr Geddes’ five-year project – Studying Parliaments and the Role of Knowledge (SPARK) – will examine entanglements between parliaments and different types of knowledge. SPARK aims to better understand the practices of using knowledge to enhance democratic governance 

Dr Geddes' project team will try to identify: 

  • The landscape of what kinds of knowledge are used in seven case- study parliaments in Europe 

  • Which types of knowledge are valued by parliamentary actors 

  • The impact of different types of knowledge on parliaments and wider democracy. 

The research will rely on an eclectic mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches. . 

The ERC is the leading European funding organisation for frontier research. Dr Geddes, who works within the Politics and International Relations subject area at SPS, is the recipient of one of 400 ERC Starting Grants awarded to scholars across Europe. The grants support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from medicine and physics to social sciences and humanities. They help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their best ideas. 

Dr Geddes said: “I’ve worked on this idea for a long time, so I’m absolutely thrilled – and a bit daunted – to actually be able to carry it out. It’s an amazing opportunity and I really hope that the project will achieve its aims – to spark debates about parliaments and knowledge!”