Empowering policy with quality research evidence

Over the last few years, global societies have faced big challenges. The COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the cost-of-living squeeze have all contributed to many citizens feeling concerned about their future. Now, more than ever, getting the policy decisions right is critical to supporting the country to respond to these challenges for the benefit of wider society.

In the UK, we cannot divorce the health of the public purse from policy decisions. From NatCen’s work across government and non-governmental departments, it is obvious that there is a balance to be struck between social investments and tackling persistent social issues. In both primary and secondary settings, the NHS continues to present headaches for government and real concerns for the population. In education, we continue to see boys from working-class households falling behind, the number of households claiming Universal Credit is on the up, affordable housing remains an issue up and down the country, and confidence in the justice system is eroding with reforms in the prison system underway. With these and many more issues to grapple with, reflecting much of the portfolio of our research, it is perhaps unsurprising that there are tensions around prioritising of budgets.  

The role of policy research has never been more pertinent and, as social researchers, we have an obligation to work closely with our customers and funders to ensure we are designing relevant research that policy makers and service providers can use with confidence. We are smart about the options we deploy to address research questions, whilst offering value for money all the time. As mixed methods researchers, evaluators and analysts, we relish the opportunity to find the most effective approaches to answer research questions. The ubiquitous focus groups and depth interviews remain a staple in NatCen’s methods toolbox; however, we also continue to innovate, and deliberative and participatory methods are now firmly established within our practice. At a time where the validity of information can be widely contested and we face increasing social division, deliberative methods offer an opportunity for the public to make informed decisions based on facts. 

With our research portfolio encompassing all topic areas and methodologies, NatCen is leading the way in policy research and innovation. Our evaluation portfolio is going from strength to strength, with our dedicated Centre continuing to develop novel approaches. We are seeing more place-based evaluations, bringing communities closer to the decision-making process. Central to our work is an appreciation of the complexities of the contexts in which people live and work and how this impacts their ability to effect positive change to improve their own and the lives of others. We are particularly excited about these types of studies, not only do they allow us to put communities front and centre, they demand that we embed ourselves ‘locally’ ensuring that solutions are truly aligned to local needs. As every evaluator has experienced, innovative programmes are never static; our use of developmental evaluation approaches mean that we can work flexibly with policy makers, responding to complex systems changes in real time. 

Our Analysis Unit is in the enviable position of working with some of the richest and most authoritative data sets, including our very own British Social Attitudes survey. Our analysts have full accredited researcher status under the Digital Economy Act 2017, which enables us to access a wealth of unpublished data for research projects for the public good. Our recent work with the BBC’s ‘Undercover Voters’ project and our flagship Society Watch report illustrate our deep understanding of society, enabling us and our customers to tell powerful stories about the communities we serve. We are proud of our heritage of always prioritising rigour and quality. In a world where the truth is often contested and data misrepresented, at NatCen, we always ensure quality evidence is at the centre of every discourse. 

Building on our success, we launched our Centre for Gambling Research in January 2024 and are now firmly established as an authority in this area. As part of our Making Life Better strategy, NatCen is committed to ensuring its research covers all the important social issues of our time. Our dedicated energy and environment, social care, and equalities teams have all enabled us to meet this important strategic objective. 

In an uncertain world, it is reassuring that we can always rely on good quality data. When you get the research right, everything else falls into place.