WIREDGOV

Nine existing ESRC research centres have been awarded a total of just under £10.5 million in follow-on 'centres transition funding' to continue their pioneering social science research and activities to increase the use of their research in policy and practice. 

Research organisations will support this follow-on period with a substantial co-funding total of £19.7 million in partnership with ESRC to secure the long term sustainability of social science centres of research excellence in the UK. The nine centres are:

• Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD): Civil Society
• International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD)
• Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC)
• Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC)
• Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN)
• Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)
• Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC)
• Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC) 
• Business and Local Government Data Research Centre

Professor Jennifer Rubin, ESRC’s Executive Chair said: "We are delighted that these nine centres have secured transitional funding. The breadth of social science that these centres of excellence encompass illustrates the strength of UK social science. This funding will support these centres and help set them on a path to long term sustainability. This model for funding social science research centres in partnership with research organisations in the UK recognises their strategic and financial benefits and their potential for making a contribution to better lives nationally and internationally."

Notes for editors

1. Transition Review Application Guidance and Centres Transition Funding FAQs are both available in our guidance for ESRC centres and institutes.
2. The centres ‘transition funding' model facilitates follow-on support equating to a minimum 45% of the full economic costs of an ESRC centre’s original five-year grant funding.  This is co-funded with a contributions from ESRC (20%) and their host research organisation (25%).  
3. ESRC centres have considerable scientific, societal and policymaking influence and while ESRC is not in a position to fund existing centres in full for a further five years, an additional period of three to five years of ESRC support at a lower level will assist these centres to maximise the impact and use of their research findings, methods and data developments, and provide a base level of funding to support them to become more self-sustaining.  
4. All ESRC Centres coming to an end of their funding are invited to apply for transition funding. Ten centres applied for funding in 2018. Nine were awarded.
5. Centre hosts are as follows: 
   • Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) is a collaborative venture between the universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, South Wales and Swansea
   • International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD) is at University of Manchester
   • Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) is led by the University of Leeds and UCL, with partners at the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford.
   • Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC) is a partnership between the University of Exeter and the Institute of Fiscal Studies. 
   • Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN) is led by Surrey University. 
   • Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) is at the University of Warwick.
   • Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) is at the University of Glasgow.  
   • Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC) is at the University of Essex
   • Business and Local Government Data Research Centre is a collaboration between the University of East Anglia, University of Essex, University of Kent and London School of Economics.