Social policy

Focusing on major global challenges, our Social Policy research is committed to addressing social inequalities and delivering positive change.

We are an internationally leading research team recognised as harnessing evidence based research to deepen our understanding of the intersection between policy and practice. We are ranked 39th in the QS world for Social Policy and Administration. Our Social Policy and Social Work research ranked 11th in the UK - according to the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the latest REF results (2021).

We work in partnership with government, policy makers, practitioners and people with lived experience, to ensure our research improves people’s lives. Our research has transformed policy and practice at local, national and global levels.

We are home to the Social Policy Research Unit - a leading UK centre that conducts high impact policy and practice research across the lifecourse.

Our School is also home to many internationally renowned research centres, including the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre and the NIHR School for Social Care Research (SSCR).

Our research strengths

detail from cover of report titled 'Sticking Plasters and Systemic Solutions'

The Cost of Living Research Group

Our Social Policy research team is affiliated to the University of York’s Cost of Living Research Group.

Key publications

Research in the community

We are connected to our local community through a range of partnerships that seek to meaningfully bridge research and policy to improve people’s lives. Examples of how our research connects to our local community in York and the surrounding areas include:

Funded Research Projects

Changing Realities - Professor Ruth Patrick
Code encounters: algorithmic risk-profiling in housing - Professor Nicholas Pleace
Family Finances: What Difference Does Cash Support for Children Make? Professor Ruth Patrick
Needs And Entitlements: How Welfare Reform In The UK Affects Larger Families - Professor Ruth Patrick
Social Security UK: Devolution, Families, And Alternative Futures - Professor Ruth Patrick
The Roadmap to End Homelessness among Veterans in the United Kingdom - Dr Lisa O’Malley
Understanding criminality in the private rented sector and co-producing solutions - Dr Julie Rugg
Understanding Mental Health In The UK Welfare System: Representations Of Distress Among Benefit Claimants And Implications For Assessment And Support - Dr Annie Irvine
Youth Geographies of Inequality: Young People and Place: Emotional resources and relationships - Dr Aniela Wenham and Dr Antonios Roumpakis

Group leadership

Dr Enrico Reuter- Head of Group
Dr Aniela Wenham - Deputy Head of Group
Dr Lisa O’Malley - Social Policy Research Seminar Coordinator

Publications

Read our latest publications on the York Research Database.

See the database

Research degrees

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