Welcome to KESS

The Assembly’s Research and Information Service (RaISe) jointly delivers KESS with the Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB – co-founder 2011), Ulster University (Ulster – 2012), The Open University (OU – 2013),  St. Mary’s University College (2018) and Stranmillis University College (2018).  It is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, formally partnering a legislative arm of government – the Assembly – with academia. 

Aiming to promote evidence-informed policy and law-making, KESS provides a forum in which academics present their research findings in a straightforward format, on issues that are relevant to governance in Northern Ireland.  It seeks to bring those findings to the attention of key participants and decision-makers, including MLAs, the wider public sector and others, in a “safe space” that encourages discussion, fosters improved understanding and seeks to enable opportunities for more in-depth engagement in future.