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Useful resources

Directory of organisations, networks and projects spanning IPPO’s policy topic areas

One of the International Public Policy Observatory’s key roles is to encourage useful new connections among all those working on responses to the social impacts of COVID-19 and the pandemic recovery. This directory presents an overview of many such organisations, networks and projects throughout the UK (and even beyond), arranged according to IPPO’s seven broad policy topic areas (in terms of their main area of focus) plus an eighth on ‘data collection’.

There are, of course, also a number of organisations, like IPPO, which work across all of these areas – we list these under ‘multiple social impacts’. All entries marked with an asterisk receive funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

If you would like to add your organisation or project to this list, or adjust an existing entry, please let us know at [email protected].

Multiple social impacts

IPPO and partners

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), supports independent, high quality social and economic research which has an impact on business, the public sector and civil society.

  • This document offers an overview of ongoing work funded by UKRI/ESRC and major relevant activity being undertaken by ESRC investments in response to Covid-19. It is updated as new funding is granted.
  • This topic map shows a range of projects which were awarded research grants by UKRI in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • This topic map shows a range of projects which were awarded innovation grants by UKRI in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Newsletter (at bottom of page), Twitter

The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO)*

The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) aims to mobilise and assess evidence from around the world to inform UK policy makers.

Economics Observatory (ECO)*

The Economics Observatory (ECO) bridges the gap between academic research, government policy and the general public. Its goal is to provide balanced and reliable answers to the economics questions that Covid-19 and its aftermath will bring.

EPPI-Centre, UCL*

The EPPI-Centre at UCL is committed to informing policy and professional practice with sound evidence through two main areas of its work: systematic reviews and research use.

International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA)

The International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) provides a forum for policy makers, practitioners, national academies, scientific societies and researchers to share experience, build capacities, and develop theoretical and practical approaches to the use of scientific evidence in informing policy at all levels of government.

Social Science Research Park (SPARK)

The Social Science Research Park (SPARK) at the University of Cardiff aims to develop innovative solutions to societal problems through collaborative research activity.

Scottish Policy and Research Exchange (SPRE)

The Scottish Policy and Research Exchange (SPRE) supports researchers and officials as they seek smart solutions to policy challenges. It is a network of professionals working together to deliver evidence-informed policy in practice.

Pivotal

Pivotal, based in Northern Ireland, is a new future-facing public policy forum, focused on evidence-based ideas and policies to improve our society, economy, and public services.

Policy Impact Unit, UCL (PIU)

The Policy Impact Unit (PIU) at UCL provides professional policy engagement expertise and skills to help increase the use of research-based evidence by policymakers.

IPPO Living Map*

Maintained by IPPO’s partner, the EPPI-Centre, the Living map organises systematic reviews of social sciences research evidence on Covid-19 by topic, population, and other selected review characteristics.

Covid-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT)

The Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) systematically collects information on several different common policy responses that governments have taken to respond to the pandemic on 23 indicators. It now has data for more than 180 countries.

Other cross-cutting organisations

Youth Futures Foundation

Youth Futures Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in December 2019 to improve employment outcomes for young people from marginalised backgrounds. 

British Academy

The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. It is an independent fellowship of scholars and researchers, a funding body that supports new research, and a forum for debate and engagement.

Centre for Cities

The Centre for Cities is the leading think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns, and it conducts research into the pandemic recovery through the lens of cities.

Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research

Co-funded by the University of Bristol and Wellcome, the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research is researching the social impacts of COVID on BAME communities; mental health; housing, communities and cohesion; living online; and vulnerable individuals and communities.

The Health Foundation

The Health Foundation is an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and healthcare for people in the UK. It is investigating the social impacts of Covid-19 in the areas of care; vulnerable communities; mental health; and living online.

Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)*

Although it focuses primarily on economic affairs, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has released publications, working papers, and reports regarding the policy areas of mental health; vulnerable individuals and communities; and education.

Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER)*

The Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex is conducting research into the impact of the pandemic on mental health; housing, communities and cohesion; vulnerable individuals and communities; the experiences of BAME communities; and living online.

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit

The University of Glasgow’s MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit works to understand how different factors affect the health and wellbeing of people and populations. It is conducting research in the areas of education; mental health; vulnerable individuals and communities; living online; and care homes and adult social care.

NatCen Social Research Centre

NatCen is an independent social research centre, conducting research into the social impacts of COVID-19 in the areas of mental health; housing, communities and cohesion; education; and living online.

The Nuffield Foundation

The Nuffield Foundation, an independent charitable trust, is working on research in the areas of education; vulnerable individuals and communities; mental health; living online; and housing, communities and cohesion.

The Policy Institute

The Policy Institute at King’s College London works to solve society’s challenge with expert expertise. It has been tracking public attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Policy Scotland

Policy Scotland at the University of Glasgow sets out to generate, and provide a space for local, national and international public policy debates. It is conducting research into the social impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable individuals and communities; education; and housing, communities and social cohesion.

Post-Covid Futures Commission

The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Post-Covid Futures Commission aims to build a fairer and more resilient society through addressing both immediate challenges and longer-term policy and practice questions. It is investigating the social impacts of Covid-19 in the areas of housing, communities and cohesion; mental health; BAME; vulnerable individuals and communities; and data collection.

Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC)*

Led by the University of Essex, the Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC) is an ESRC-funded collaboration between universities that is researching COVID-related social impacts in education; housing, communities and social cohesion; experiences of BAME communities; and vulnerable individuals and communities.

Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP)*

The Wales Centre for Public Policy collaborates with leading policy experts to provide ministers, the civil service and public services with high quality evidence and independent advice that helps them to improve policy decisions and outcomes.

Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD)

A collaboration between five Welsh Universities, the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) is working on projects in areas of education; living online; care homes and adult social care; and vulnerable individuals and communities.

The Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

UPEN is a community of UK universities committed to increasing the impact of research on policy. UPEN, chaired by Professor Matthew Flinders, offers a dedicated contact point for policymakers, and a collective response to requests for evidence. It organises knowledge exchange events with government, parliament, devolved bodies, and identifies mechanisms to take forward specific projects. UPEN is also developing best practice amongst universities in policy engagement activities, and will act as a champion for this relatively new role within universities.

Campaign for Social Sciences COVID-19 hub

The Campaign for Social Science COVID-19 hub was launched to highlight the vital contribution of the social sciences to the pandemic response; it brings together a range of resources and provides easy access to portals and hubs developed by universities, think tanks, learned societies and other research institutions.

Academia Europaea Cardiff Knowledge Hub

This Knowledge Hub, a collaboration between Academia Europaea and Cardiff University, acts as a catalyst for knowledge exchange to: (1) connect research and scholarship with policymaking in Europe and the wider world; (2) promote outstanding research, facilitated by a programme of events and effective outreach; and (3) maximise engagement with stakeholders and the wider public.

Shaping the Post-COVID World

LSE’s ‘Shaping the Post-COVID World’ initiative is convening a debate about the direction the world could and should be taking after this crisis, specifically in the areas of education; vulnerable individuals and communities; and care homes and adult social care.

The Strategy Unit

The Strategy Unit is a specialist NHS team, based in the Midlands, that focuses on the application of high-quality, multi-disciplinary analysis. It has compiled this evidence tracker, summarising COVID-19-related evidence in a number of topic areas.

Usher Network for COVID-19 Evidence Reviews (UNCOVER) 

The Usher Network for COVID-19 Evidence Reviews, a network of population health researchers and information specialists, has put together a register of COVID-19 Evidence Reviews surrounding both medical and social impacts of the pandemic.

Black, Asian & minority ethnic communities

Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE)*
The Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE), based at the University of Manchester, examines how changing patterns of ethnicity and inequalities relate to the ways in which ethnic identities are perceived, acted upon and experienced.

Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies
The Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies at the University of Leeds is an interdisciplinary centre, engaging the fields of race and ethnicity to identify and unpack current trends in the global and political order.

Centre for Research in Race and Education (CRRE)
The University of Birmingham’s Centre for Research in Race and Education (CRRE) works to close gaps in education achievement and improve educational experience and career outcomes of Black and minority ethnic people.

Institute of Race Relations (IRR)
The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) produces research and analysis that informs the struggle for racial justice in Britain, Europe and internationally.

NHS Race and Health Observatory
The NHS Race and Health Observatory works to identify and tackle ethnic inequalities in health and care by facilitating research, making health policy recommendations and enabling long-term transformational change.

Race Equality Foundation
The Race Equality Foundation promotes race equality in social support and public services through developing evidence-based better practice.

Centre for Ethnic Health Research
The Centre for Ethnic Health Research works to address health inequalities in health care access and health outcomes by supporting individuals and organisations in planning and undertaking research.

UK-REACH

  • University of Leicester

Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS)

  • Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE)

The social, cultural and economic impacts of the pandemic on ethnic and racialised groups in Britain*

  • University of Manchester

Co-POWeR: Consortium on Practices for Wellbeing and Resilience in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Families and Communities (BAMEFC)*

  • University of Leeds

Religious community organisations’ interventions around the impact of Coronavirus on Muslims in Birmingham in post-COVID Britain*

  • Birmingham City University

A collaborative approach to understand and remediate the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in BAME communities: a pilot study*

  • King’s College London

Working with community groups to understand and reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority individuals in the UK*

  • University of Aberdeen

Identifying and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on inequalities experienced by people from BAME backgrounds working in health and social care*

  • King’s College London

Impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic and migrant groups*

  • UCL

Risk of infection and death from COVID-19 in individual ethnicity groups*

  • University of Southampton

Designing human resource management practices to improve the wellbeing of healthcare workers from BAME backgrounds in the context of COVID-19*

  • University of Leeds

Exploring the psychological drivers of public health communications on vaccination beliefs of minority ethnic groups*

  • King’s College London

Working with community groups to understand and reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority individuals in the UK*

  • University of Aberdeen

Care

Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC)
The Care Policy and Evaluation Centre at the LSE is an international research centre conducting research in areas of long-term care, mental health and developmental disabilities across the life course.

Centre for Research in Health and Social Care
The University of Bristol’s Centre for Health and Social Care generates new insights into contemporary health and social care problems for diverse populations.

Coram Family and Childcare 
Coram Family and Childcare focuses on childcare and the early years to make a difference to families’ lives now and in the long-term, conducting research to provide definitive data on the issues families face. 

Improving Adult Care Together (IMPACT)*
The ESRC and Health Foundation-funded Improving Adult Care Together (IMPACT) centre is dedicated to implementing evidence in adult social care. (In planning phase)

The King’s Fund
The King’s Fund is an independent charitable organisation working to improve health and care in England available to all.

Research and Economic Analysis for Long term (REAL) Centre
The Health Foundation’s Research and Economic Analysis for the Long term (REAL) Centre provides independent analysis and research to support long-term decision making in health and social care.

School for Social Care Research (SSCR)
The NIHR-funded School for Social Care research is a partnership of seven leading universities in adult social care research. Commissioning and conducting research, it strives to develop the evidence base to inform and improve adult social care practice.

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) co-produces, shares, and supports the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about ‘what works’ in social care.

Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH)
Established by the NIHR, Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH) sets out to bring together care home staff, residents and their families with researchers.

Supporting Adult Social Care Innovation (SASCI)*
The ESRC-funded Supporting Adult Social Care Innovation (SASCI) project sets out to bring together partners and stakeholders to build up evidence of innovation in adult social care. 

Advance care planning for nursing homes in a COVID-19 outbreak, necessary discussions*

  • Queen’s University Belfast

Supporting innovation in adult social care*

  • LSE

Supporting family carers in making decisions for older relatives with dementia*

  • UCL

DETERMINED-C19: Impact of COVID-19 on people newly diagnosed with dementia and their family carers, a mixed method study*

  • University of Plymouth

Burden and impact of COVID-19 in care homes*

  • UCL

The impact and implications of COVID-19 on the relational, social, and healthcare experiences of hospice care in the West Midlands*

  • University of Warwick

Understanding the financial impact of COVID-19 on the UK care home sector – implications for business and the workforce*

  • University of Warwick

Establishing the impact of COVID-19 on the health of domiciliary care workers in Wales: developing a model for UK service planning and care support*

  • Cardiff University

The impact of Covid-19 on the provision of Early Years childcare in England and Wales*

  • University of Leeds

Childcare and wellbeing in times of Covid-19: developing crisis-resilient care solutions*

  • University of Edinburgh

Childcare Survey 2021

  • Coram Family and Childcare

Education

Centre for Higher Education Transformations (CHET)
The Centre for Higher Education Transformations (CHET) at the University of Bristol is committed to empirical and conceptual analyses of the economic, social, and cultural dynamics of globalised higher education.

Centre for Leadership, Educational Effectiveness & Policy (LEEP)
The University of Southampton’s Leadership, Educational Effectiveness and Policy (LEEP) is a research centre, producing evidence in a wide range of education areas.

Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID)
The Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID) University of Edinburgh undertakes high quality research to inform policy and practice in the pursuit of equality.

Education Policy Institute
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) is an independent research institute seeking to promote high quality education outcomes for children and young people from all social backgrounds. 

Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI)
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) is an independent think tank devoted to the study of higher education, and it sets out to shape the higher education policy debate through evidence.

Institute of Education (IoE)
The Institute of Education (IoE) at UCL is a centre for research and teaching in education and social science.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
The National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) is a provider of research insights in education aiming to improve outcomes for future generations and support positive change across education systems.

Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL)
The Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge pioneers research into overcoming barriers to education.

British Educational Research Association (BERA)
The British Educational Research Association (BERA) is the leading authority on educational research in the UK, committed to advancing quality, building capacity, and fostering engagement of education research.

Identifying effective remote literacy teaching methods for primary-aged children*

  • Bangor University

A duty of care and a duty to teach: educational priorities in response to the COVID-19 crisis*

  • IoE, UCL

Learning inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic: how families cope with home-schooling*

  • University of Southampton

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on young peoples’ learning, motivation, well being, and aspirations using a representative probability panel*

  • UCL

The impact of COVID-19 related school closures on foundation skills in reception children, aka. The Impact of COVID on Key Learning and Education (ICKLE) Project*

  • University of Leeds

Mind the Gap: Educational Inequalities during COVID-19*

  • ISER (Essex)

Leading school learning through COVID-19 and beyond*

  • The Open University

COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study (COSMO)*

  • UCL

Generation COVID and Social Mobility: Evidence and Policy*

  • LSE

WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study*

  • Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data

Student to degree mismatch: the role of schools and the impact of disruption from COVID-19*

  • University College London

Essential experiences in science: addressing the gap in primary enquiry-based practical science created by lockdown and aiding school recovery*

  • Canterbury Christ Church University

Home Learning Study

  • In.Psy.Ed.

Housing

Cambridge Centre for Housing & Planning Research
The Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) at the University of Cambridge provides evidence and analysis to influence and support better policy and practice.

Institute for Community Studies
The Institute for Community Studies engages with communities and experts across the UK to see what’s working and share where there are weaknesses and gaps in our understanding.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, with concentrations in Housing as well as Cities, Towns and Neighbourhoods, is an independent social change organisation working to solve UK poverty.

LSE Housing and Communities
LSE’s Housing and Communities, part of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, investigates the impact of policies on social housing and other tenures with a particular focus on residents in disadvantaged areas.

UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE)*
Led by the University of Glasgow and funded by the ESRC, the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) is a multidisciplinary partnership between academia, housing policy, and practice.

Belong – the Cohesion and Integration Network
Belong – the Cohesion and Integration Network aims to create a more integrated, less divided society and strengthen good relations across differences by offering academic research, consultancy, training, networking and various events.

Housing and Communities research network
The Housing and Communities Research Network at the University of Birmingham seeks to improve links and build an active research community, and provide stimulus for new research partnerships.

Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN)
The Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) brings together housing, health and social care professionals to exemplify housing solutions for an ageing population.

Housing Quality Network (HQN)
The Housing Quality Network (HQN) offers research and analysis written by experts, as well as conferences and workshops to all of its members.

Locked down, locked out? Local Partnership Resilience in the COVID-19 pandemic*

  • Edinburgh Napier University

Experiences of COVID-19 and recovery: learning from polyphonic voices for communities, policymakers and health and social care providers*

  • University of Oxford

Crowd and Identities: Facilitating the public response to COVID-19 by harnessing group processes*

  • University of Sussex

Investigating the use of temporary accommodation to house asylum seekers and refugees during the COVID-19 outbreak*

  • Edinburgh Napier University

Virus Watch: Understanding community incidence, symptom profiles, adn transmission of COVID-19 in relation to population movement and behaviour*

  • University College London

Communities Response COVID-19

  • Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University

Mental health

Centre for Mental Health
The Centre for Mental Health is a charity providing research, economic analysis, and policy influence in mental health.

Centre for Society and Mental Health (CSMH)*
The ESRC-funded Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London develops research to promote and sustain good mental health in communities.

Institute of Mental Health
The University of Nottingham’s Institute of Mental Health, a partnership between the University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, aims to advance mental healthcare through excellence in research.

Institute of Mental Health (IoMH)
The Institute of Mental Health (IoMH) at UCL is a centre for research into mental disorders, aiming to unite researchers behind the goal of improving the understanding of mental health.

Mental Health Foundation
In collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge, Swansea, Strathclyde, and Queen’s University Belfast, the Mental Health Foundation is leading an ongoing, UK-wide, cross-sectional study investigating the effects of the pandemic on metal health.

NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit (MHPRU)
The NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit (MHPRU), established by UCL and King’s College London, produces evidence and expert use for policy making.

COVID-Minds Network
UCL and Wellcome Trusts’ COVID-Minds Network aims to support the establishment of longitudinal studies to explore the effects of the pandemic, establish international collaboration, and catalogue and disseminate findings.

The Lancet COVID-19 Resource Centre
The COVID-19 Resource Centre, created by The Lancet medical journal, brings together COVID-related research, reviews, commentary, news, and analysis from across the Lancet family journals. It features research in the area of mental health.

NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC)
The NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC) is a network of centres of excellence in mental health translational and clinical research that facilitates collaboration with charities and industry partners.

Covid:WIRED

Covid:WIRED* is a collection of over 400 findings from research that have been organised with wellbeing domains on the vertical axis and dimension of inequality along the horizontal axis. Find out more about the data behind the dashboard here and watch a short explainer video here.

Link: contact form

Monitoring socioeconomic and mental health trajectories through the COVID-19 pandemic*

  • NatCen Social Research Centre

A longitudinal mixed-methods population study of the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: psychological and social adjustment to a global threat*

  • University of Sheffield

The role of the neighbourhood environment in shaping the mental health consequences of COVID-19*

  • Leeds University

Practices and Combinations fo Practices for Health and Wellbeing at Work*

  • University of East Anglia, RAND Europe

Impact of COVID-19 on staff mental health and wellbeing in SMEs: Strategies and interventions to support workforce and boost productivity in the UK*

  • Ashton University

Rapidly formed COVID-19 teams in the NHS: implications for leadership, team-working, career intentions and individual mental health*

  • Oxford Brookes University

COVID-19: Supporting parents, adolescents and children during epidemics (C0-SPACE)*

  • University of Oxford

Supporting people bereaved during COVID-19: a mixed methods study of bereaved people’s experiences and the bereavement services supporting them*

  • University of Bristol

MH-CAT: A longitudinal survey of the mental health of children in State Care in England through the COVID-19 pandemic*

  • University of Bristol

Adolescence, Mental Health and the Developing Mind

  • UCL, UKRI Medical Research Council

COVID-19 Social Study*

  • UCL-led collaboration with: Nuffield Foundation, LSHTM, Mind, What Works Centre for Wellbeing, University of Oxford

Online life

Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit)*
Led by the Business Schools at the Universities of Sussex and Leeds, the Digital Futures at Work Centre (Digit) aims to advance understanding of how digital technologies are reshaping work, impacting on employers, employees, job seekers, and governments.

Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
The University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department, dedicated to the social science of the internet.

The PETRAS National Centre of Excellence for IoT Systems Cybersecurity
The PETRAS National Centre of Excellence for IoT Systems Cybersecurity is a consortium of 22 research institutions, which collaborates with academia, industry, adn government to deliver research that spans the physical and behavioural sciences.

COVID-19 App Store and Data Flow Ecologies*

  • University of Warwick

Enhancing the use of ResilienceDirect in the COVID-19 response: a comparative analysis of Local Resilience Forms*

  • Loughborough University

COVID-19: Human Rights Implications of Digital Certificates for Health Status Verification*

  • University of Exeter

Is it ‘remotely’ possible?*

  • Northumbria University

Vulnerable communities

Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion 
LSE’s Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion conducts research on the relationship between social and public policies and multiple forms of social and economic disadvantages.

Patient Experience Research Centre (PERC)
Imperial College London’s Patient Experience Research Centre (PERC) is a multidisciplinary group of clinicians, public health specialists and social scientists, researching the experiences of vulnerable individuals and communities during the pandemic.

Centre for Research on Children and Families (CRCF)
The University of East Anglia’s Centre for Research on Children and Families (CRCF) undertakes research on a wide range of child and family issues in order to advance understand og the development of children and the diverse meanings of families.

Centre for Vulnerable Children and Families
The Centre for Vulnerable Children and Families at University of Greenwich focuses on benefiting the lives of vulnerable children and their families across a broad range of contexts.

AgeUK
Charity AgeUK carries out research on the health, social and economic issues of ageing, undertaking literature reviews and developing indices of dimensions of ageing.

Centre for Ageing Research (C4AR)
Lancaster University’s Centre for Ageing Research (C4AR) conducts interdisciplinary research around aging, older people, and age-related disease.

Centre for Abuse Research (CARe)
The Centre for Abuse Research (CARe) at the University of Suffolk sets out to improve the evidence base on domestic abuse to inform service provision and policy design.

Women’s Aid
Women’s Aid is a national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. It conducts research projects on key issues to ensure to ensure that it is leading the way in evidence and data on domestic abuse.

Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB)
The University of East London’s Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) aims to build knowledge and understanding of the related issues of migration, refugees, and belonging through research, teaching, and dissemination.

Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS)
The Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford conducts research, develops theory, and facilitates knowledge exchange in the field of migration.

Refugee Studies Centre (RSC)
The University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) aims to build  knowledge and understanding of the causes and effects of forced migration in order to help improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Centre for Homelessness Impact
The Centre for Homelessness Impact is an independent organisation that supports the use of data and evidence in bringing about a sustainable end to homelessness.

Women’s Budget Group
The Women’s Budget Group is an independent and not-for-profit membership network consisting of women’s voluntary organisations, academics and policy experts whose aims are to promote a gender equal economy.

Women:
Gendering the UK’s social policy response to the COVID-19 crisis*

  • King’s College London

Carrying the work burden of COVID-19: Working class women in the UK*

  • University of Nottingham

The elderly:
Impacts on social connections and wellbeing of COVID-19 policies in the Older Population: CFAS cohort over 75s*

  • University of Cambridge


Vulnerable children and families:
Children and young people living in poverty: COVID-19 needs and policy implications*

  • Newcastle University

Psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Identifying mental health problems and supporting wellbeing in vulnerable children and families*

  • Cardiff University

Food vulnerability during COVID-19 

  • Institute of Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield
  • UKRI-funded

COVID-19 and Child Criminal Exploitation: Closing Urgent Knowledge and Data gaps and the implications of the pandemic for county lines*

  • University of Nottingham

Disabled people:
Disabled people in the UK and the impact of COVID-19*

  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Road to recovery understanding the impact of COVID-19 and recovery phases on children and young people with intellectual disabilities and their families*

  • University of Edinburgh

Impact of COVID-19 on family carers for profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD): Development of a support programme*

  • Queen’s University of Belfast

Rural communities:
Farming resilience: civil society’s role in supporting vulnerable rural communities through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic*

  • University of Exeter

Migrants/Migrant workers:
Health, social, economic & cultural impacts of COVID-19 on migrant essential workers in the UK*

  • University of Glasgow

Feeding the Nation: seasonal migrant workers and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic*

  • University of Leeds

Homeless Migrants and COVID-19*

  • University of Portsmouth

Supporting separated migrant children to thrive during COVID-19*

  • University of Stirling

Refugees/asylum seekers:
Responding to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the context of COVID-19 – resilience, adaptation, and new forms of care*

  • Newcastle University

‘Lives on Hold: Our stories told’ – the legal and social impacts of COVID-19 on young unaccompanied asylum-seekers in England*

  • University of Liverpool

Domestic abuse:
Outreach to domestic abuse victims in times of quarantine*

  • LSE

Domestic abuse safeguarding during the COVID-19 pandemic*

  • Manchester Metropolitan University

Domestic abuse: harnessing learning internationally under COVID-19*

  • University of Central Lancashire

Responding to the COVID-19 domestic abuse crisis: developing a rapid policy evidence base*

  • College of Policing (City, University of London)

Domestic Abuse: Responding to the Shadow Pandemic*

  • University of Liverpool

A rapid review of informal social support interventions for victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse (ReachIn)*

  • EPPI-Centre, UCL

Sexual abuse:
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on criminal justice journeys of adult nad child survivors of sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault*

  • Coventry University

Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on stranger sex offender behaviour and victim vulnerability*

  • University of Birmingham

The homeless/rough sleepers:
COVID-19 and rough sleepers: a RCT to evaluate models of housing and support to reduce infection and homelessness*

  • University of Cardiff

Modern slavery victims:
COVID-19 Risk and Response: Impacts and mitigations for modern slavery victims and survivors*

  • University of Nottingham

Addiction:
The impact of COVID, lockdown and subsequent easing on recovery in an ongoing international study of people in recovery from drug addiction*

  • University of Derby

Transitions to more harmful forms of gambling during COVID-19 pandemic: behaviours and targeted marketing in young people and bettors on sports*

  • University of Stirling

Prisoners:
Coping with the COVID Crisis in Prison*

  • Queen’s University of Belfast

Learning from the impact of and recovery from COVID-19 within prisons: the effect of COVID-19 management and the environment on wellbeing and harm*

  • Swansea University

The impact of COVID-19 on the delivery and receipt of prison healthcare in England: a mixed methods study*

  • University of York

Miscellaneous:
The impact of social care ‘easements’: Removing rights from the vulnerable?*

  • University of Birmingham

Financial lives and wellbeing in low-income groups post COVID-19 (FinWell-COVID)*

  • Glasgow Caledonian University

Data gathering & analysis

Administrative Data Research (ADR) UK*
Administrative Data Research (ADR) UK’s aims to transform the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, making high quality evidence less expensive and time-consuming, as well as ensuring that evidence from academic research focuses on what the government needs most to make policy decisions and deliver effective services.

The Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC)*
The Consumer Data and Research Centre, run out of UCL and Leeds University, leads academic engagement between industry and the social sciences to utilise consumer data for academic research purposes.

EPPI-Centre*
The EPPI-Centre is committed to informing policy and professional practice with sound evidence through two main areas of its work: systematic reviews and research use.

Understanding Society – the UK household longitudinal survey*

  • University of Essex

Understanding the social impacts of Coronavirus under different health restrictions: Longitudinal analysis using the ONS OPN COVID-19 survey*

  • University of Strathclyde

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) COVID-19 Substudy*

  • UCL

Understanding the economic, social and health impacts of COVID-19 using lifetime data: evidence from 5 nationally representative UK cohorts*

  • UCL

Co-producing knowledge about the impacts of emergencies/pandemics: developing remote participatory visual methods using smartphones*

  • LSE

Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS)

  • CoDE