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?