About us

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.

Find out how to join 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 Southern Australia

Fiona Blair

Communications and Events Coordinator,

University of Leeds

Emma Brewis

IPEN Admin Officer

PhD Researcher,

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

IPEN Diversity Champion

PhD Researcher,

University of Leeds

Charlie Parkin

Administrative Support IPEN

Committee Specialist,

UK House of Commons

Photo of Charlie Parkin

Alex Prior

Lecturer in Politics,

London South Bank University

Matt Ringer

Director of Participation

UK House of Commons

Photo of Matt Ringer

Chris Shaw

Clerk of the Foreign Affairs Committee,

House of Commons

Caroline Wallis

Education Lead

Parliamentary Engagement Team

New Zealand Parliament