Our evidence briefings highlight research findings and their relevance in key policy areas. The views expressed in the evidence briefings are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the ESRC.
February 2016
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Evidence briefing
There are currently no policies that provide genuinely integrated management of water, energy, food and land. Progress towards more integrated policymaking is too slow to match the rate of the ongoing environmental and demographic changes.
February 2016
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Evidence briefing
The timeliness and degree of detail for flood information need to improve, and flood management responsibilities need to be more clearly defined, according to research on how communities and businesses cope with flooding.
November 2015
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Evidence briefing
Research findings suggest a migration policy ‘balloon effect’, where squeezing it at one end (restricting the number of non-EEA high-skilled workers) lead to an increased size at the other (inflating the number of EEA high-skilled workers).
November 2015
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Evidence briefing
Framing the migration ‘crisis’ as a recent phenomenon ignores the longer-standing history of precarious migration to the EU across the Mediterranean. To be effective, policy interventions need to be co-ordinated regionally, and global in their outlook.
October 2015
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Evidence briefing
The uptake of engineering and science in school is low, raising concerns for these sectors. The ASPIRES 2 study is tracking the science and career aspirations of young people aged 10-19, the impact of ‘Triple Science’ and the underrepresentation of girls in Physics and Engineering.
October 2015
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Evidence briefing
The single biggest impact on economic growth is the widening gap between the lower middle class and poor households compared to the rest of society. Research from the LLAKES Centre indicates that England’s post-16 education and training system is failing to reduce skills inequality in literacy and numeracy.
September 2015
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Evidence briefing
The UK’s infrastructure is amongst the most interconnected in the world and has a pressing need to adopt a broad and integrated approach to infrastructure planning. The iBUILD report Are you being served? has set out five priority action areas and recommendations to improve infrastructure business models.
September 2015
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Evidence briefing
Current performance indicators do not appear to either tell the whole story of infrastructure performance, or adequately support UK infrastructure development. A new report concludes that a new assessment approach is required, using a broader and more sophisticated set of indicators.
August 2015
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Evidence briefing
The ongoing Unity out of Diversity research project is exploring how immigrant integration is perceived and understood in different sectors of society. A comparison of integration outcomes shows that ethnic majority and minority groups in the UK share a wide range of common values, aspirations, attitudes and sense of responsibilities.
August 2015
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Evidence briefing
Research has examined whether public information campaigns in 2013 focusing on immigration were effective in achieving their objective. Publicity campaigns with 'tough' messages on immigration increased anxiety and anger for a significant minority of people