Professor Nicholas Pleace

Profile

Biography

Interim Associate Dean (Research)
Faculty of Social Sciences

• BA Hons, Politics (Portsmouth Polytechnic)
• MA (Econ) Public Policy and Administration (University of Manchester)

Nicholas joined the University of York in 1991. He is an interdisciplinary researcher whose interests centre on homelessness, housing exclusion and inequalities linked to the built environment. He is developing an interest in the intersections between homelessness and climate justice. Alongside his academic interests, Nicholas has worked extensively on impact-driven research on homelessness policy and practice, both within and beyond the UK. He has been a member of the European Observatory on Homelessness, operating under the auspices of FEANTSA, the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless, since 2010. He is on the Editorial Boards of the European Journal of Homelessness and the Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness. His other affiliations include the US NAEH Homelessness Research Network. 

Nicholas is currently acting as Interim Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Social Sciences at York and has temporarily left his role as Associate Dean of School for Research and Impact for the School for Business and Society (held since 2024). He was previously the University of York Research Theme Champion for Justice and Equality (2019-2022) and Interdisciplinary Research Champion for the SBS in 2023. He is a Professor of Housing and Society at SBS.

Research

Overview

Research interests

• Evaluation
• Cost effectiveness
• Social and community integration
• Economic integration
• Homelessness and housing exclusion
• International comparisons
• Welfare taxonomies
• Urban studies

Nicholas has an interest in experimental and quasi-experimental service evaluation and international comparative research. He is a specialist in mixed methods and interdisciplinary research.

Projects

• Fidelity Assessment of Housing First England (2016)
• Evaluating the Threshold Housing First service (2015 - 2017)
• Promoting protection of the right to housing - Homelessness prevention in the context of evictions - EU (2013-2015)
• European Core Learning Outcomes for the Integration of Support and Housing - EU (2013 - 2015)
• Assessment of need and evaluation of housing support for homeless veterans (2013 - 2016)
• Evaluation of the Crisis Skylight programme (2013-2015)
• European Observatory on Homelessness (2010-)
• Evaluation of the Finnish homelessness strategy (2014)
• Measuring the impact of Supporting People in Wales (2013)
• Improving Health and Social Integration through Housing First (2013)
• Camden Housing First: A Housing First Experiment in London (2013)
• Evaluating homelessness services and strategies: A Review (2013)
• Review of the evidence base for Housing First (2012)

Teaching

Postgraduate

He is interested in PhD supervision centred on housing inequalities and/or wider inequalities in the built environment and has a general interest in work intended to enhance quality of life by improving access to better homes in better environments.