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| Council overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1965; 60 years ago (1965) |
| Status | Council withinUK Research and Innovation |
| Headquarters | Swindon,Wiltshire, England |
| Annual budget | £134 million (FY2024/25)[1] |
| Ministers responsible | |
| Council executive |
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| Parent department | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology |
| Parent body | UK Research and Innovation |
| Website | esrc |
TheEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is a council[2] ofUK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body sponsored by theDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology, responsible for funding and support for research and training in thesocial sciences. It is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues.
The ESRC was founded in 1965 as theSocial Science Research Council (SSRC – not to be confused with theSocial Science Research Council in the United States). The establishment of a statefunding body for the social sciences in the United Kingdom, had been under discussion since theSecond World War;[3] however, it was not until the 1964 election of Prime MinisterHarold Wilson that the political climate for the creation of the SSRC became sufficiently favourable.
The first chief executive of the SSRC wasMichael Young (later Baron Young of Dartington). Subsequent holders of the post have includedMichael Posner, later Secretary General of theEuropean Science Foundation.
Following the election of Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher in the 1979 general election, the Government expressed reservations about the value of research in the social sciences, and the extent to which it should be publicly funded. In 1981, the Education SecretarySir Keith Joseph askedLord Rothschild to lead a review into the future of the SSRC.[4]
It was ultimately decided (due in no small part to the efforts of Michael Posner, chief executive of the SSRC at the time[5]) that the Council should remain, but that its remit should be expanded beyond the social sciences, to include more 'empirical' research and research of 'more public concern'. To reflect this, in 1983 the SSRC was renamed the Economic and Social Research Council.[6]
The ESRC's mission, according to its website, is to:[7]
The ESRC is based at Polaris House inSwindon, which is also the location of the head offices of several other councils of UK Research and Innovation:AHRC,BBSRC,EPSRC,Innovate UK,MRC,NERC andSTFC, as well as theUK Space Agency. At any one time ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes.[citation needed]
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