For the past 40 years the ESRC has been funding cutting edge social and economic research. Its origins lie in the establishment of its predecessor body the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in 1965 which, from its inception, sought to focus on investing in research into those aspects of contemporary society that required evidence-based policy responses.
For example, the SSRC came into existence at a time when the growth of trade union power, and in particular the rise in unofficial stoppages, was seen to be having a major adverse impact on the British economy. In response the Council established an Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick. The thrust of the Unit's research was initially aimed at achieving a better understanding of workplace industrial relations and it played a key role in informing changes in the laws governing trade unions. In the 1980s its remit shifted to exploring the role of management in the industrial relations process this included much-needed research into the then new science of Human Resources Management. In the 1990s its main emphasis was on employment in the context of an increasingly globalised world.
"I find the work carried out by the ESRC is tremendously helpful to my team in Westminster. It is frequently due to ESRC research that we come to an understanding of the thorniest issues confronting our society today."
NORMAN LAMB, MP
The 1960s was not only a time of growing trade union power but also one of growing immigration into the UK. In response the SSRC funded the new Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations at Bristol University. Following riots in Brixton and elsewhere, it produced a series of reports for both Whitehall departments and parliamentary select committees that played an influential role in the development of immigration and urban policy over the next decades. The Centre, now no longer funded by the ESRC and now based at the University of Warwick, has been in the vanguard of research into minority ethnic groups, exploring themes such as racial discrimination, political participation, cultural identity and ethnic mobilisation.
The 1980s saw a Conservative Government in power, led by a Prime Minister who claimed "there is no such thing as society" and the SSRC found its very existence called into question by the establishment of an inquiry under Lord Rothschild. Its eventual outcome was a change of name to the Economic and Social Research Council and a 30 per cent budget cut.
The research funded by the ESRC is a vital resource not just because it is high quality and frequently undertaken by leading world experts but because it tackles those pressing issues which so urgently require our attention.
ALAN SIMPSON, MP, CHAIR OF THE ALL PARTY GROUP ON SOCIAL SCIENCE AND POLICY
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