Working with the public sector

Collaboration with the public sector is one of ESRC’s most successful areas of partnership to date. Through partnerships with Central Government departments and the Devolved Administrations  we have co-funded research initiatives, identified and delivered data priorities and co-sponsored a series of collaborative studentship schemes.

There are a huge range of areas where social science can help the public sector, some examples include, understanding the economic and social impacts of an ageing population, understanding individual behaviour in order to help tackle climate change, regulation and reform of public services, and boosting innovation and enterprise in the UK.

Example collaborations between the ESRC and the public sector include:

  • A Joint Research Programme between HM Revenue and Customs and ESRC: to fund research that addresses tax policy and operations in the context of economic and societal change
  • ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation) here you can find details of the projects that have been funded under this scheme run collaboratively between the ESRC and the Department for International Development on the theme of international poverty alleviation.
  • The ESRC has also engaged with local government through the Local Authority Research Council Initiative.  More details of this can be found at the LARCI website. The next round of knowledge exchange funding opportunities will also be open to Local Authorities.
  • The ESRC and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) are working, with others, to create an Alliance for Useful Evidence. Our objective is to ensure that rigorous evidence is available, accessible and considered appropriately to inform economic and social policy. 

Examples of impacts from previous projects of relevance to the public sector include:

The ESRC offers a number opportunities for both academics researching areas relevant to and research users from the public sector. These opportunities are intended to provide funding for a variety of activities including: new research, people exchange (fellowships) and knowledge exchange activities.  If you would like to find out more about collaborative opportunities with the public sector, please visit the funding opportunities page or email us at knowledgeexchange@esrc.ac.uk.

On 6 June the ESRC, the government Heads of Analysis and British Academy held an event on Engaging Academic Social Scientists in Government Policy Making and Delivery. The aim of the event was to encourage better engagement between academic social scientists and government with a view to increasing the influence of evidence and expertise from the academic social science community on policy making and delivery in government.