The announcement of the general election, scheduled for 8 June 2017, means that we are now in an official period known as ‘purdah’ which will end when a new government is formed.
During purdah, there are restrictions on actions and announcements that could potentially be seen to influence the outcome of the election, or show affiliations to particular political parties.
With this in mind, University colleagues are reminded to act with caution when publishing or sharing details of their involvement in government-funded research or initiatives. New announcements regarding funding of research by the research councils should be avoided with no press releases, web stories or social media activities taking place during the purdah period.
Research Councils UK also advises that researchers called upon to provide expert comment about the elections or local issues during this period should do so under their university affiliation and not attribute research to the relevant Research Council. This also applies to printed materials such as features in commercial magazines and newsletters which may have been scheduled before the election was announced.
In addition, researchers scheduled to deliver papers or speak about their research at academic or public conferences relevant to the elections must not attribute their research to the Research Councils. Any Research Council funded data which relates to voting patterns, or predicts or influences voting behaviour that is currently not in the public domain should not be published during this period.
Data already in the public domain can be commented on under an individual’s university affiliation but not attributed to the Research Councils. This includes publication in magazines and newsletters, press releases and press announcements and academic conferences.
Further guidance is available from the relevant Council. The University’s Media Relations team can also be contacted for further information.
