Organisation profile

Our research

• examines policy areas that affect us all in day-to-day life ranging from housing and neighbourhoods to health care, family policy to social justice, health inequalities to domestic violence, child welfare to social care for older people, poverty to social work, governance to criminology.
• influences and challenges policies implemented by governments and institutions by looking at issues such as how we organise services for children and families, provide housing and health care for older people, develop our cities and neighbourhoods, and how effectively we provide social care and services for the vulnerable.
• investigates the issues, factors and attitudes underlying the social concerns that make our headlines every day: the ever-widening gap between rich and poor, migration, domestic violence, forced marriage, out-of-hours GP services, mental health services, how we apply criminal justice, the rise in obesity and less active lifestyles.

Main areas of research:

• Adoption and foster care
• Ageing
• Cities, housing and neighbourhoods
• Child and family welfare
• Criminal justice and social harm
• Determinants of nutrition and physical activity
• Health and social care
• Inter-professional practice
• International social and public policy
• Mental health
• Poverty and social exclusion
• Social work practice and education
• Violence against women and gender-based violence