SSPSSR has a strong tradition of welfare state research, which has been at the centre of its REF and RAE submissions.
Social policy research in SSPSSR is ranked as one of the best in the UK – we were ranked 2nd for research power, 3rd for research intensity by the 2014 Research Excellence Framework in the Unit of Analysis Social Policy.
Our work includes a wide range of topics including:
- comparative social policy
- attitude research
- disability
- old age
- health and social care services
- young people and the family
- labour market policies
- immigration
- poverty and inequality
- the politics of welfare and the relationship between research and policy
We pride ourselves on the wide range of methods we use. A number of us use advanced quantitative methods, but also policy and document analysis, interviews, focus groups ethnographic research, as well as deliberate forums. We examine a wide range of countries including the UK, in comparison with wider Europe, East Asia including China and Korea, as well as Africa.
Cluster members hold large ESRC, NORFACE and EU grants. Many of our members are on the board of major international social policy journals, such as Journal of Social Policy, Social Policy & Administration, and various associations such as the Social Policy Association and the Korean Association of Social Policy.