ESRC Key Priorities and Future Strategy Consultation

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ESRC Key Priorities and Future Strategy
Consultation

• Adrian Alsop, Director for Research

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ESRC Strategic Plan 2009-2014

• PART ONE-Planning context
• PART TWO-Progress against current objectives
• PART THREE- Consultation Questions

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Part One ESRC Strategic Plan 2009-2014

• ESRCs current Strategic Plan covers the period
  2005-10
• This year ESRC will be developing its new
  Strategic Plan. The plan will set out the
  Councils key priorities for five years from 2009
  2014
• ESRC is holding a national consultation over the
  summer and autumn of 2008 with its
  stakeholders-closing date for initial written
  contributions was15th Sept Open Meeting 7th
  October.
• The Council will then use all these inputs to
  help set ESRCs priorities over the five year
  period

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Progress Against Current Strategic Plan
Objectives

• Part Two

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Strategic Objective 1 SEIZING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES SUPPORTING RESEARCH OF THE HIGHEST
QUALITY Support for large-scale long-term
funding introduction of Large Grants Scheme in
2005Support for researchers at all stages of
careers introduction of First Grants Scheme in
2005 continuation of other schemes including
Professorial FellowshipsBut success rate
improvement not achieved-below 20 for standard
response mode grants.
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 1. Succeeding in the Global
EconomyESRC/NESTA/TSB/DIUS Centre on
innovationESRC/DFID Initiative on Poverty
ReductionCurrent Research Centres competition
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 2. Energy, the Environment and Climate
ChangeUK Energy Research CentreCentre for
Climate Change Economics and PolicyClimate
Change Leadership FellowshipsSTEPS and BRASS
CentresLiving With Environmental Change
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 3. Education for LifeCentres on
Skills, Knowledge and on Learning and Life
ChancesTeaching and Learning Research
ProgrammeTargeted Initiative on Science and
Mathematics EducationTechnology Enhanced
Learning Programme
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 4. Understanding Individual
BehaviourCollaboration with MRC highlight
notice in responsive mode joint
studentshipsNational Prevention Research
InitiativeESRC/RIGT Problem Gambling
InitiativeCentres of Excellence in UK Public
Health Research
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 5. Population ChangeUnderstanding
Population Trends and ProcessesScottish
DemographyNew Dynamics of AgeingCentre on
Migration, Policy and SocietyCentre for
Population Change
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 6. International Relations and
SecurityLead on RCUK Global Uncertainties
programmeFellowships on Ideas and BeliefNew
Security Challenges ProgrammeRadicalisation
Targeted Initiative
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Strategic Objective 2 CREATING NEW RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH 7. Religion, Ethnicities and
SocietyIdentities and Social Action
ProgrammeReligion and Society Programme
Religion and Society Programme Youth Call
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Strategic Objective 3 STRENGTHENING OUR FUTURE
CAPACITY PEOPLE AND DISCIPLINES Volume of
studentships in priority disciplines increased by
more than 50 since 2004/5Doubling in stock of
collaborative studentships with government
departments and devolved administrationsFive
multi-disciplinary capacity building centres for
study of regions such as Arab World, East Asia
and Eastern EuropeResearch methods network to
build capacity in advanced quantitative methods
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Strategic Objective 4 STRENGTHENING OUR FUTURE
CAPACITY DATA AND METHODS Understanding
Society, the UK Household Longitudinal
StudyCentre for Microdata Methods and
PracticeInternational data resources European
Social Survey, International Data
ForumDeveloping methodological tools
techniques National Centre for Research Methods,
National Centre for E-Social Science
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Strategic Objective 5 ENGAGEMENT WITH
STAKEHOLDERSFollow-on Funding Scheme, September
2008Promoting social science research Britain
in online press briefings research
syntheses Festival of Social ScienceExtending
co-funding activities Ventures placement
fellowships KTPs and CASE studentships
relationship with Technology Strategy
BoardIncreasing interactions with business and
RDAs capacity building clusters innovation
voucher scheme Business Engagement
Opportunities Extending concordats with public
and voluntary sectors, leading to joint activities
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Strategic Objective 6 MEASURING IMPROVING OUR
PERFORMANCEEnsuring quality in research
international benchmarking seriesDeveloping
mechanisms for evaluating impactGenerating
co-funding income, now 32m paResearch
Councils Shared Service Centre
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Strategic Objective 7 MAXIMISING OUR
INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND OPPORTUNITIES
NORFACE Transnational Programme on
MigrationLinks with US social science through
NSF and NIHcollaborationsBilateral
collaborative agreements with other
agencies-objectiveno double jeopardySeize
opportunities from RCUK offices, Brussels,
Beijing, Washington and soon Delhi
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Part three-Consultation Questions (1)

• Thinking about our current strategic objectives -
  
• Which have been sufficiently addressed?
• Have there been new developments that need to be
  addressed?
• What are the most important and exciting research
  challenges facing social science in the next five
  to ten years?
• How can we
• further embed economic, social and policy impact
  into all of our activities?
• further embed internationalism into all of our
  activities?
• encourage more innovative, ambitious research?
• encourage more interdisciplinary research?

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Consultation Questions (2)

• What are the key issues in
• Training and career development?
• Data and Methods
• How can we ensure that we fully integrate
  capacity training, data and methods into our
  activities?

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ESRC Strategic Plan 2009-2014

• PART ONE - Planning context
• PART TWO - Progress against current objectives
• PART THREE - Consultation Questions
• PART FOUR - Now please have your say!!!