Why am I here?

1. GROWING POLICE AND ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS – 28 NOVEMBER 2013Phil Sooben, Director of Policy, Resources and Communications, Economic and Social Research Council

2. Why am I here? • Promote ESRC’s work & funding opportunities, especially collaboration & impact agenda • Build relationship with what works partner • Strengthen our involvement in research around crime & policing

3. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) • Established in 1965 as the Social Science Research Council • Total budget for 2013/14 is £204 million (BIS allocation of £181 million) • Subject areas include: economics, psychology, political science, sociology, anthropology, geography, education, management and business studies

4. ESRC • The major public sector funder of social science research and post graduate training in the UK • Key Principles: • Quality • Impact • Independence • Economic and Societal Impact • ESRC supports excellent research that has impact • Creating, assessing and communicating impact is central to all our activities • Pathways to impact • Impact toolkit • Research Excellence Framework (20% for impact)

5. ESRC Funding • Total budget for 2012/13 is £204m (BIS allocation of £181m) • CSR 2010: • 2% cut in real terms to Programme budget • 23% cut in real terms to Admin budget • Will need to continue to make strong arguments for social science research in the next CSR • Key message - Importance of continuing to invest in the future: • Long-term infrastructure • Next generation of research leaders • Areas of major national importance Distribution of ESRC funding 2013/14

6. ESRC Funding Opportunities

7. Strategic Priorities • Economic Performance and Sustainable Growth • What are the determinants of economic performance and sustainable growth? • How to secure benefits for populations? • How to improve stability and resilience of economies? • Influencing Behaviour and Informing Interventions • How to understand behaviour and risks at multiple levels and settings? • How and why do behaviours change? • How does the interplay of childhood, family, community and wider society influence inequalities in wellbeing? • A Vibrant and Fair Society • What are inclusive communities and how best can we achieve them? • How do individuals and communities most effectively make their voices heard? • How mobile is our society?

8. Partnerships and Collaboration • Collaboration with private, public and third-sector bodies through co-funding of research and people exchange, especially in strategic priorities • ESRC attracts £20m of additional co-funding from government departments, civil society and international bodies • Co-production ensures research is better placed to inform policy and practice • Private sector prioritised for increased engagement and co-funding • Focus initially on financial services, green business and retail • ESRC-led partnerships, as well as drawing on our existing investments – making what we already fund more accessible to business

9. Impact Acceleration Accounts • Bring decisions closer to research, lower admin costs • Allocated to those HEIs in receipt of most ESRC research funding • Connect to other RC IAAs and HEI strategy • Open to all social science • Can fund KE specialists • Co-production of knowledge and follow-on • Funding to begin next year • Focus on sharing good practice and building a community • Responsive KE funding mechanisms will be turned off but we will maintain ability to fund strategic activities

10. Impact Prize • Annual prize (£10,000) for achieving outstanding economic /societal impact in six categories. • This year’s winners: • Business - Professor Paula Jarzabkowski, City University for global business impact on the re-insurance industry • Public Policy - Professor Cathy Nutbrown, University of Sheffield for family literacy framework practitioner workshops • Society - Professor Kevin Morgan and Dr Roberta Sonnino, Cardiff University for highlighting the potential of public procurement to promote sustainability • International - Professor Fulong Wu, University College London for impacts on Chinese urban development planning • Early Career - Dr John Jerrim, Institute of Education for influencing how statistical evidence on educational achievement is presented to the British public by government departments and policymakers • Impact Champion of the Year - Professor Alan Walker, University of Sheffield for an exemplary career-long record in championing impact

11. ‘What Works’ Phil Sooben, Director of Policy, Resources and Communications, ESRC

12. The Rationale for ESRC • Better more systematic use of social science evidence to inform policy making and professional practice • Strong push from centre of government and commitment from partners to quality and independence (the impact goes without saying here) • Greater willingness to engage from academic community (strong fields for two recent centres) • Availability of more & better evidence base than hitherto – longitudinal studies; ADRCs etc

13. The Network Overall initiative launched in March led by Cabinet Office. The network will involve existing programmes and work being commissioned: • NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) already in existence. • ‘Ageing Better’ funded by Big Lottery Fund – current discussions with government departments & ESRC over possible additional funding for specific commissioned work on top of core centre. • EIF (Early Intervention Foundation) initially funded by DfE • Work on local economic growth (with BIS & DCLG) and crime prevention (with College of Policing/Home Office). ESRC contribution £1.5m (50%) over three years.

14. The Network • National Advisor, Dr David Halpern, recently appointed by Cabinet Office to oversee the network and to chair the Advisory Council. • Development of ‘common framework’ for evaluation of quality of evidence and effectiveness of particular interventions • But…no single model for a ‘what works centre’– variations in size/duration, nature and focus • Plurality of evidence base – randomised control trials (RCTs) but also case studies and qualitative research; survey & admin data etc

15. What Next? • Council has given the green light to take forward possible additional collaborations with: • Scottish Government – themes of prevention and public service reform • Welsh Government and Public Policy Institute at University of Cardiff • A range of Government departments (including BIS) re wellbeing • Joseph Rowntree Foundation & DCLG re housing policy • EIF Programme • And - a methods hub/centre for more general underpinning work e.g. a central analytical/methodological/theoretical capability to support the whole network, including the provision of training

16. Some Challenges for ESRC • Maintenance of ESRC’s independence & objectivity – both the perception and the reality • Linking this initiative with other corporate priorities such as quantitative methods; Big Data/ADRN; greater use of existing datasets; our doctoral training centres; and KE opportunities such as secondments and placements • Marrying the immediate and specific (how a particular intervention works in a specific location) with the broader and longer-term (understanding the more fundamental drivers of change) • Balancing supply and demand – the expertise of the research community and the needs of policy-makers, practitioners and service users