INFORMATION & UPDATES UPDATES & INFORMATION


News briefs NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST 2011


Several people with links to the ESRC have received awards in the New Year Honours list 2011.


n Knights Bachelor – Knighthoods Sir David Butler, CBE, FBA, OA Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford. For services to political science. Peter James Bottomley, Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Social Science and Policy. For public service. n Order of the British Empire – Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire


BIRTH COHORT FACILITY PROJECT The Birth Cohort Facility Project has received a landmark £28.5 million commitment from the Government’s Large Facilities Capital Fund (LFCF). This investment adds to the £5 million committed by the ESRC and Medical Research Council (MRC). This pioneering project will combine a new Birth Cohort Study and Cohort Resources Facility.


ESRC FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE The ESRC Festival of Social Science will be held from 29 October to 5 November 2011. This celebration of the social sciences includes initiatives across the UK including public debates, conferences, workshops, interactive seminars, film screenings, virtual exhibitions and more. We will open the call for applications in April, with closing dates for both funded and non- funded applications in June. For more information, visit www.esrc.ac.uk/news- and-events/events/festival/index.aspx


BBC GREAT BRITISH CLASS SURVEY The BBC’s Great British Class Survey was launched on 26 January 2011. The largest ever survey of social class in the UK, it draws on research from the ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC). The


Professor Helen Wallace, former Director of the ESRC’s ‘One Europe or Several?’ programme. For services to social science. Professor John Benington, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy and Management and a member of Local Authorities and Research Councils’ Initiative. For public service. n Order of the British Empire – Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Earl John Selborne, KBE, Chair of the RCUK Living with Environmental Change programme. For services to science. n Order of the British Empire –


BBC’s LabUK team developed the survey under the direction of CRESC’s former convening director Mike Savage (now at the University of York) and sociologist Fiona Devine, University of Manchester. To take part in the survey, visit www. bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/class


Officers of the Order of the British Empire


Professor Susan Cox, Dean, Lancaster University Management School, and former member of the ESRC’s Strategic Research Board. For services to social science. Professor Fiona Steele, FBA Professor of Social Statistics, University of Bristol and member of the ESRC’s Methods and Infrastructure Committee. For services to social science. Alastair Kent, Genetic Alliance UK, a reviewer for the ESRC’s Knowledge Exchange Schemes. For services to healthcare.


These first findings cover a wide range of topics including family life, employment during the recession, and young people’s attitudes to climate change. For more information, visit www.understandingsociety.org.uk


ESRC DELIVERY PLAN PRIORITIES: YOUR VIEWS COUNT


The ESRC’s Strategic Plan 2009- 2014 identifies an ambitious agenda for the social sciences, set out in the format of seven cross-cutting challenges. Following the publication of our new Delivery Plan 2011-2015 we have sharpened our focus with the introduction of three priorities:


n Economic Performance and Sustainable Growth n Influencing Behaviour and Informing Interventions n A Vibrant and Fair Society


UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY – EARLY FINDINGS The first findings of the Understanding Society study have been published. The study, which follows 40,000 UK households, is a major social science investment with potentially huge long-term implications for the understanding of the UK in the early 21st century.


The three priorities will provide a focus for maximising the impact from our existing portfolio of research, resources and training investments, realigning the activity of investments working in relevant areas and directing a proportion of our budget towards new activities. We welcome your views on refining these priority areas; please visit www. esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/14950/ working-together-to-deliver-our-strategic- goals.aspx before 14 April 2011.


SPRING 2011 SOCIETY NOW 29


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32