Goal

To undertake high quality research of international significance that contributes to critical scientific understanding as well as policy and practice, and is oriented to new and emerging challenges of the contemporary world.

Strategic aims

• Recruit, develop and retain academic staff of the highest calibre and promise
• Strengthen our research capacity and sustainability
• Build and sustain world-wide research partnerships of high repute and strengthen the policy science community in the UK and internationally
• Secure local, national and global impact for our research across the academic community and with public policy-makers, practitioners and users in public services, business, civil society and the media
• Strengthen the alignment between our research and our teaching, and ensure that our graduates are equipped to think in a critical and research-sensitive manner in support of their future careers
• Enable all academic staff, contract researchers and research students to contribute to a common research culture and find professional and personal fulfilment therein

Objectives

• Provide a common and well-defined focus for research in the Department, integrating the various groups in a shared mission
• Ensure that the Department is well-prepared for a REF2021 submission that builds upon its achievements in REF2014
• Strengthen the level of research grant and contract capture across the Department, both in value terms and in terms of the proportion of academic staff successfully bidding
• Secure external impact and esteem for our research, including through consultancy and knowledge transfer activities
• Attract high calibre research students and provide them with a high quality environment in which to develop their craft and scientific skills
• Support and manage workloads and resources in support of the above

Document information

Professor Graham Room, Director of Research

Updated: October 2016