The International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN) brings together academics, parliamentary officials and third sector representatives from across the world, to promote collaboration and encourage knowledge sharing around parliaments and public engagement.
IPEN was founded in 2020 as a collaboration between the Centre for Democratic Politics at the University of Leeds and the UK House of Commons Service, both of which are the core partners at the heart of IPEN.
In May 2022 IPEN started to co-host the Public Engagement Hub of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), with its Centre for Innovation in Parliament (CIP). The IPU is therefore another key partner of IPEN.
Our Executive Team
The network is run by an Executive Team which sets its strategic direction and plans activities. The team is a mixture of academics and parliamentary officials, including representatives of IPEN’s core partners, who are committed to the network’s aims, shape its agenda and help deliver its objectives.
Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira acts as the Chair of IPEN, with Dr Sarah Moulds and Dr Elise Uberoi as its Deputy-Chairs. Please see below more details on the Executive team’s members:
Cristina Leston-Bandeira
Chair of IPEN
Professor of Politics,
University of Leeds
Elise Uberoi
Deputy Chair of IPEN
Head of Social Policy Section,
House of Commons Library
Sarah Moulds
Deputy Chair of IPEN
Associate Professor in Law,
University of South Australia
Fiona Blair
Communications and Events Coordinator,
University of Leeds
Emma Brewis
Administrative Support IPEN,
University of Leeds
Cristiane Brum Bernardes
Professor and Researcher at the Master’s in Legislatures,
Brazilian Chamber of Deputies
Eva Campos Domínguez
Senior Lecturer in Communication,
University of Valladolid (Spain)
Temitayo Odeyemi
Administrative Support IPEN
PhD Researcher,
University of Leeds
Charlie Parkin
Administrative Support IPEN
Committee Specialist,
UK House of Commons
Alex Prior
Lecturer in Politics,
London South Bank University
Matt Ringer
Director of Participation
UK House of Commons
Chris Shaw
Clerk of the Foreign Affairs Committee,
House of Commons
Mairéad Treanor
Head of Public Engagement
Houses of the Oireachtas (Ireland’s national parliament)
Caroline Wallis
Education Lead,
Parliamentary Engagement Team
New Zealand Parliament