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2ND ANNUAL MEETING OF ESRC WITH LEARNED SOCIETIES
27TH OCTOBER 2010
CHANGE, CONTINUITY AND THE SPENDING REVIEW
Change: New Chief Executive
Paul BoylePreviously:School of Geography and Geosciences
University of St Andrews
President, BS for Population Studies 2007-9
Co-Director, Centre for Population Change
Director of Longitudinal Studies Centre, Scotland
Responsible for Scottish LS to August 2010
Research Population Geography, inc migration, fertility
interests: & family dynamics, Health Geography.
Governance Structure
Change: New Committee and Network Structure
Change: New Committee and Network Structure New Structure:
Grants Delivery Group
Panel AEducation
PsychologyLinguistics
Panel BSociology
Social WorkSocial PolicySocial LegalArea StudiesAnthropology
Stats & MethodsPolitics & Int. Studies
Science and Technology Studies
Panel CEconomics
ManagementDemographyEnv. Planning
GeographyHistory
Peer Review College
Change: New Peer Review College
1800 UK academics
50 overseas academics
250 ‘user’ members
Thanks to learned societies for their nominations!
Response rates already much improved. Classifications to be
developed further.
N.B. Maximum call on reviewers is 8 per year.
Continuity/Change
Economic and societal impact
N.B. broad framework
Lifecycle approach – application to evaluation
pathways to impact
impact toolkit
Taking Stock: case study portfolio
Continuity
Enduring values, clear commitment to:
Quality
Impact
Independence
ContinuityPartnership working
Partners who share the quality, impact and independence values
ESRC operated partnerships bring in £25m. to social science, externally granted partnerships – at least as much again.
Internally operated e.g. DFID poverty alleviation; civil society Centres; public health centres
Externally operated e.g. National Prevention Research Initiative; Assisted Living; Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation
Continue but greater strategic focus and emphasis on ESRC as knowledge broker –N.B. business (financial services, retail and perhaps green business models/technologies)
Continuity
Core data infrastructure, for example:
Economic and Social Data Service
Birth Cohort Studies
Household Panel Study
Continuity but linkage to administrative data and ensuring
optimal use of infrastructure.
Continuity
Development of methods
especially, but not exclusively quantitative methods
importance of innovation in research methods
importance of mixed methods.
Continuity/Change
Postgraduate Training
greater institutional concentration of funding
greater proportion of studentships in priority areas
high quality DTC proposals being considered with a view to early 2011 announcement.
Continuity
Importance of innovation in Research:
welcome bold, ambitious proposals
new Peer Review College should help
time of austerity is not time for modest, incremental research
Continuity
Interdisciplinarity, within and beyond social science
Challenge based approach to interdisciplinarity by RCUK
Programmes, n.b. social science participation in all current
6 RCUK Programmes
But never interdisciplinarity for its own sake, always as a
means to the end of “excellence with impact”.
Continuity-Social Science at the Core
Social Science lies at the heart of understanding and tackling complex challenges facing societyo Social science remains essential and central to all the
cross-Council themes
o This fact increasingly recognised by all the Research Councils
o A reduction in ESRC’s budget would have detrimental effect on the whole RCUK research agenda
Continuity
International dimensions of social science
global challenges – climate change, poverty, security
facilitate international collaboration, that is administratively light for researcher
European agenda: Innovation Union, Eurohorcs/ESF
Global agenda: US, India, China, Latin America…
Spending Review
Process: announcement of 20th October
Council 22nd October
new Delivery Plans for Research Councils,public in December
between now and then adjustments will be made between RC allocations
Outcome to date: “Despite enormous pressure on public spending, the overall level of funding for science and research programmes has been protected in cash terms”
Spending Review
Issues for all Research Councils:
“implement the efficiency savings identified by Bill Wakeham”
programme and capital spend
demand management
administration costs to be reduced by at least 33% over the Spending Review period.
Spending Review
Issues for ESRC:
greater focus than 7 challenges provide (see next slide)
fewer competitions providing more flexible opportunities
e.g. merger of large grants/Centres
importance of provision for new researchers
end/transform less effective schemes – mid career fellowships? smaller awards?
any evolution of QR.
Spending Review-Priority Areas
oNew strategic investments will be highly focused - 7 challenges remain important but we will not have sufficient funds to support new work in all of the areas
oThe priorities be kept under regular review and be flexible and responsive
oNeed to maximise impact of existing investments and may need to ask some existing investments to refocus their activities
2ND ANNUAL MEETING OF ESRC WITH LEARNED SOCIETIES
27TH OCTOBER 2010
CHANGE, CONTINUITY AND THE SPENDING REVIEW
- ANY QUESTIONS?