Annual Report and Accounts 2024

The previous 12 months have been a successful period for rebuilding the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen)’s finances after last year’s investments into strengthening our technology and property, and in further developing our field force. It is during this period of consolidation, where we are reaping the rewards of these investments, that I introduce this year’s annual report, along with the audited financial statements, covering the year ending 30 June 2024. 

NatCen continues to deliver a wide variety of significant and timely social research projects to help inform policy on key issues, as well collecting data for a number of government surveys to produce official statistics. Through the technological investments made last year, we are introducing efficiencies across our operations in how we collect and manage this data at different stages of the process. These investments also include the innovations we are developing in our survey design. For instance, in 2023, NatCen was awarded the contract to develop the Welsh National Travel Survey. This will be delivered as a multi-mode web-first survey, which we hope will be the first to be granted National Statistics status. This method of data collection is more cost-effective than the traditional face-to-face mode and so will provide the organisation with some useful lessons. 

In this reporting period, we were pleased to renew our contracts for long-running government surveys, including the Scottish Health Survey, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and the Family Resources Survey. We are proud of our positive working relationships with key government departments and we look forward to continuing this with the new government in the year ahead. 

In addition to these projects, our Longitudinal Surveys team has also been successful in continuing its work on the latest wave of data collection for Understanding Society. These long-running surveys, including those we conduct on behalf of government, represent a significant area of work for NatCen. The data collected on these surveys helps to track trends over time, helping researchers to really understand the complexity and reality of people's lives, sharing the public’s voice to inform policy to better support society.

We have now also completed our first year of involvement in a three-year research project, entitled Survey Futures, which aims to deliver a step change in survey research, to ensure that it will remain possible in the UK to carry out high quality social surveys of the kinds required by the public and academic sectors to monitor and understand society, and to provide an evidence base for policy. Our Director of Methods sits on the Senior Leadership Team of the consortium leading this project, with various NatCen colleagues also involved with a number of associated projects. The innovation and developments coming out of this collaboration will help to inform how we will further strengthen our research methods to respond to a changing environment in social research. 

In parallel to this work, we have also been exploring our wider use of AI in our research. Earlier this year, a number of Trustees and staff members visited the Hartree Centre, a UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council investment, with a mission to transform UK industry. This provided some useful insights on the potential of such technology. We are harnessing the power of AI tools and services in responsible ways to help us deliver high quality research that contributes to making a better society. Our AI plan guides our activities within rigorous AI governance standards, as we develop partnerships and apply established and more experimental approaches to our work. For example, NatCen’s data analysts are using machine learning to generate insights for clients including the BBC, the Department for Transport, and the Financial Conduct Authority. We are also trialling a range of off-the-shelf solutions that utilise machine learning to speed up and improve the accuracy of our research processes, alongside trials of different large language models for data classification and assessments. The coming year will see NatCen upscaling promising AI-powered solutions and undertaking further trials.

In January 2024, our operations teams, including External Field, Survey Logistics, IT and Systems and Data Operations, were relocated to a modern fit-for-purpose facility in Romford, a few miles from the former location. These new offices provide an all-in-one space for our entire operations, with a dedicated warehouse and a more spacious environment. The offices are open plan to support collaborative working with flexible break-out spaces and an improved environment.

Our field force, comprising face-to-face interviewers, telephone interviewers and biomedical fieldworkers delivered over 82,000 household interviews in the last 12 months. Through our improvements in technology, systems and processes, we have increased the number of interviews throughout the year, with a 16% increase between January and June 2024, compared with July and December 2023. We are extremely grateful for the hard work from these valued colleagues who bring an exceptional suite of skills, in listening to and engaging with members of the public to capture their vital feedback in the delivery of our social research. 

To support our central staff team, we have launched our coaching and mentoring initiative, NatCen Prime, to provide opportunities for professional development to all colleagues, at every stage of their career. This initiative forms part of our dedicated People Approach, to create a stimulating and rewarding workplace. Alongside this programme, NatCen launched its two new apprenticeship schemes in May and June 2024, providing alternative routes to those interested in working in social research and business administration. From the hundreds of applications received, we look forward to working with the successful candidates who will join NatCen this Autumn. 

NatCen’s strategy, Making Life Better, outlines our plans for growth and we have seen various successes in meeting the commitments we set out. In particular, our global arm, NatCen International, was awarded a £1.3m grant from the Wellcome Trust for a project involving partners in Vietnam, shining a light on the impacts of climate change on vulnerable labour.

During this reporting period, we also established a new Centre for Gambling Research. Given the upcoming reforms to gambling legislation and the likelihood of larger and more research commissions in the field, especially around gambling harms, it is timely to ensure NatCen is clearly flagged as a leader in this field. 

Ahead of the 2024 General Election, NatCen published a series of relevant research reports and insights to inform the public, politicians and the media, to support a healthy debate. These outputs included Society Watch, which focused on ‘Understanding the new generation of voters’, providing an analysis of Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) attitudes towards law and order, social care and housing. A second project was led by NatCen’s Analysis Unit, creating a new classification of British voters. These insights informed the development of the BBC’s ‘Undercover Voters’ project to understand how social media was targeting the public during the election period. And, lastly, on 12th June, NatCen’s annual British Social Attitudes survey (BSA) was launched which reported that 45% of the public now “almost never” trust government to put the needs of the nation above the interests of their party, up from 34% in 2019.

At the beginning of our financial year, we were pleased to welcome Professor Sundari Anitha, Chair of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield, and John Mohan, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham, to NatCen’s Board of Trustees. Both bring excellent expertise and value to the governance of the organisation.

My thanks, as always, goes to the entire Board of Trustees for the enduring support and guidance they provide to NatCen, to ensure the organisation achieves its vision for growth, whilst meeting its charitable objectives, and delivering the high-quality social research it is known and respected for.

More recently, NatCen’s Chief Executive of some eight years, Guy Goodwin, left the organisation in May 2024 to enjoy semi-retirement. We are immensely grateful for everything he achieved whilst leading NatCen, for navigating the organisation through the COVID-19 pandemic and advancing the organisation. During his leadership, we have consolidated our business and grown different areas of policy research and strengthened our operations, whilst continuing to innovate in our survey methodologies.

We have appointed Guy’s successor, Michael Davis, who has joined NatCen from Kantar in August 2024. The Board of Trustees and I are excited for NatCen’s future and we are looking forward to working with Michael to help us further realise our ambitious plans for growth and impact.

My continued appreciation goes to the hard-working and dedicated staff team who come together under NatCen’s strong sense of purpose and belief that social research has the power to make life better. Thank you to each and every one of our colleagues for their valued expertise and teamwork in achieving our objectives.

And finally, NatCen simply could not continue without the contribution of the thousands of members of the public who agree to participate in our research studies and surveys. As an organisation, we are committed and passionate about sharing their voice with those who have the power and influence to inform and change policy to improve society. On behalf of the organisation, its staff team and Trustees, my sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed their views to our work.

Sir Stuart Etherington
Chair of the Board of Trustees