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WHO WE ARE

The European Parliament's Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS) is the in-house research centre and think tank of the EP. It provides research, analysis and information, on an independent basis, to Members of the European Parliament and parliamentary committees on all EU policies, legislation and issues. Usually known as the European Parliamentary Research Service, we comprise four directorates: the Members' Research Service, the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, the Directorate for the Library and Knowledge Services, and the Directorate for Resources.

In addition, there are three horizontal units within the Directorate-General's central services: the Strategy and Innovation Unit, the Linking the Levels Unit and the Strategic Foresight and Capabilities Unit. The directorate-general comprises a total of 23 units and just over 300 staff.

'Empowering through knowledge' is the guiding principle of EPRS, underpinning the mission of the entire DG. In concrete terms, between 2014 and 2020, EPRS:

• Answered over 19,000 requests for substantive research and analysis from over 90 per cent of individual Members of the European Parliament;
• Replied to over 2,900 such requests from other parliamentary clients;
• Undertook targeted research work for 20 parliamentary committees;
• Treated over 125,000 reference requests from within the Parliament and over 330,000 citizens' enquiries;
• Produced over 6,600 publications, most recently at a rate of around 700 physical publications and 250 digital-only texts annually.

A video about the EPRS is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7mXXUZSq0g

A video specifically on EPRS publications is available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1bUdGQF96Y&feature=youtu

The Strategic Foresight and Capabilities Unit supports the European Parliament by helping foster a culture of 'anticipatory governance' and promoting thinking on and understanding of medium- and long term trends, challenges and choices.

It ensures that the European Parliament is well informed and prepared for the challenges of the coming decades by generating and coordinating analytical work on the risks, vulnerabilities, capabilities, opportunities and gaps of/for the EU with a view to promoting a higher degree of resilience and strategic autonomy. It promotes active participation in ESPAS – the process of EU inter-institutional, administrative-level cooperation on strategic foresight and long-term trends – and reaches out to think tanks, academic bodies and other external partners in these fields.

YOUR TASKS

The trainee will assist the Unit in its work of analysing global trends of importance for the European Union. This will involve drafting publications on one or more designated topics. The trainee might also be involved in the Unit's work in the framework of the inter-institutional European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS).

He/she will attend events organised by EP bodies or other organisations on relevant topics for the unit’s work, take notes, and share conclusions with colleagues. Finally, the trainee might be able to present the outcome of their research to EPRS colleagues during a so-called “Foresight Club” session.

This traineeship is an opportunity to learn about foresight methodologies to help policymakers anticipate potential futures and to get to know the world of strategic foresight more generally. The trainees are encouraged to propose their own research ideas and co-publish papers on a subject of their choice in addition to assisting with existing projects.

YOU ARE

• You have strong analytical skills and are well able to summarise complex material in clear language;
• You can take on independent research tasks;
• You may well have some communication, event management and teleconferencing experience;
• You have a keen interest in global challenges and the future of Europe;
• You want to contribute to a strategic foresight based approach to future challenges at a European level;
• You have an excellent command of English.

this job offer is not open for applications