New multi-million grant for Research Centre on Micro-social Change announced

ISER is delighted to announce a new multi-million pound funding grant from the Economic and Social Research Council for the ESRC Research Centre for Micro-social Change: Understanding individual and family behaviours in a new era of uncertainty and change.

The centre will be directed jointly by Mike Brewer, Professor of Economics and David Voas, Professor of Population Studies.

The ESRC Research Centre for Micro-social Change is one of the longest running investments by the ESRC and with this announcement, will have received 30 years of continuous funding. Researchers will now begin work on a new five year cycle.

Announcing funding of £29 million for four new ESRC research centres and investments, Universities Minister David Willetts said:

“Investment in these research priorities is key to driving innovation and growth, helping to influence and shape policy and deliver a better society for us all. The UK through its research councils, universities and research institutions is well known for world class research and driving excellence. These new investments and the research they produce will contribute to this and ensure that the UK stays ahead in the global race.”

ESRC Chief Executive Paul Boyle, welcomed the new centres and investments announced today:

“Not only do these new centres and investments take forward an ambitious research agenda, they also add value by encouraging interdisciplinary working in the social sciences and beyond; while also enabling research collaboration in the UK and internationally to provide key research outcomes of the highest standards.”

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex, Professor Anthony Forster, said:

“This is fantastic news for the University and for our Institute for Social and Economic Research, and recognises that we are at the forefront of research excellence as the UK’s leading university for social science.

MiSoC has built an excellent reputation for the impact of its interdisciplinary research output over the past 25 years. I look forward to the next five years with ISER’s high profile researchers working on vitally important studies, which inform policy on a range of issues both in the UK and internationally.”

Co-Director Professor Mike Brewer commented:

“I am greatly looking forward to our new programme of work. I expect it to benefit a range of organisations involved in policy debates, policy design and practice, in a range of domains, and to provide evidence informing key policy choices.”

Co-Director Professor David Voas went on to add:

“MiSoC has long had a reputation for high-quality, multi-disciplinary empirical research rooted in economics and sociology, and I am excited about the opportunities we now have to deepen our understanding of social change, both empirically and through the development and testing of new theories.”

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