We are not directed by short-term political or commercial constraints and we listen carefully to people from across all sectors when setting our research agenda. Our committees and networks are responsible for research priorities, resources, grants and training. They work together with our Chief Executive and directorates to ensure that we provide independent social science research and training of the highest quality and greatest relevance to society, and that the findings reach the widest audience.

Research

We are committed to supporting the very best research with scientific excellence the primary criterion for funding. All our funding opportunities are highly competitive and only those proposals judged by experts in the field to be of the highest scientific quality are supported.

We support research in two principal ways:

Responsive funding: This allows individuals and research teams to put forward research proposals in any area within the ESRC’s remit without needing to fit within a particular set of priorities.

Directive funding: This enables us to support new work within our directive research priorities by inviting proposals against a specific research brief and topic area.

Training

The ESRC plays a key strategic role in promoting and supporting the training of members of the UK social science community throughout their research careers. We invest in high-quality research training and development opportunities to produce skilled researchers able to tackle the most pressing social and economic challenges, and to have a broader impact on society.

Partnerships

Partnerships bring a wealth of opportunities to the social sciences, from the development of researchers skilled in knowledge exchange to creating maximum impact of our research on society’s most complex challenges. Building strategic partnerships with academia, the public and private sectors, and civil society is therefore key to the ESRC delivering its Strategic Plan.

Infrastructure

Researchers require access to world-class data and pioneering research methods to deliver the highest quality research and to maximise impact. The ESRC continues to take a strategic lead in driving the expansion of the UK’s data infrastructure and supporting cutting-edge methodological developments.

International leadership

We are an international leader within the social sciences. We foster international collaboration with a wide range of international partners and, through a number of joint schemes, we enable UK social scientists to collaborate on challenging global issues with the very best international researchers from around the world.