Economics Observatory Phase 2
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Economics
Abstract
The Economics Observatory (ECO) bridges the gap between academia, policy and the public to provide balanced and reliable answers to the economic questions related to Covid-19 and other long-term economic and societal challenges including productivity, the environment and sustainability, regional disparities and levelling-up, and the cost of living and inflation. A distributed and nationwide project, the ECO's leadership is drawn from across the countries and regions of the UK. With a core-hub based in Bristol and leadership in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Observatory provides daily updates on policy-relevant questions.
The overarching aims of the ECO rest on two pillars.
First, to provide the highest-quality analysis of contemporary questions to policymakers, the public and other stakeholders and to be a trusted source for balanced and accessible material.
Second, to pursue impact for this work by building a tailored outreach plan that uses masterclasses, private policy seminars, public events, publications and our on-line "Hubs" for better communication of economic data and clearer economic writing.
Take together these two pillars are designed to help ECO drive improvements in public policymaking, discourse and understanding.
The overarching aims of the ECO rest on two pillars.
First, to provide the highest-quality analysis of contemporary questions to policymakers, the public and other stakeholders and to be a trusted source for balanced and accessible material.
Second, to pursue impact for this work by building a tailored outreach plan that uses masterclasses, private policy seminars, public events, publications and our on-line "Hubs" for better communication of economic data and clearer economic writing.
Take together these two pillars are designed to help ECO drive improvements in public policymaking, discourse and understanding.
Organisations
- University of Bristol (Lead Research Organisation)
- OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS (Collaboration)
- London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) (Collaboration)
- Scottish Economic Society (Collaboration)
- National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) (Collaboration)
- Bristol Cultural Development Partnership (Collaboration)
- Institute for Government (Collaboration)
- Economic and Social Research Council (Collaboration)
- HMRC HM Revenue & Customs (Collaboration)
- University of Glasgow (Collaboration)
- HM Treasury (Collaboration)
- Civil Service (Collaboration)
- Cardiff University (Collaboration)
- Bank of England (Collaboration)
- Queen's University Belfast (Collaboration)
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (Collaboration)
- Royal Economic Society (Collaboration)
- University of Strathclyde (Collaboration)
- Competition and Markets Authority (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
Publications
Correa-Jimenez A
(2024)
Macroeconomic modelling: A Review
Davies R
(2025)
BRITAIN'S TRADE CHALLENGE: TRACKING THE COSTS IN REAL TIME
in National Institute Economic Review
Davies R
(2024)
Faster, bigger, cheaper: how AI can improve UK price data.
Davies R
(2024)
Ideas for the UK - election economics collection
Economics Observatory
(2023)
ECO. Issue 3: Summer 2023
Richard Davies
(2023)
Lessons from Adam Smith - ECO Magazine Summer 2023
| Description | ? In short, this project has strengthened the connection between policy-makers, academic economists and the general public, providing a repository of articles on critical economic topics relevant to the UK and global economy. The project has sought to improve the way in which economic policy research is communicated, leading by example and through training and editorial guidance. 1. Pipeline • Agile pipeline using a flexible and responsive approach to commissioning new material has supported our engagement with policy contacts and generated high demand for policy engagement seminars. • Themed weeks: commissioning a series of articles on a topic, over a period of a week or two, allows us to publish a wider range of research on a topic in a concentrated way and to promote the findings to readers/stakeholders via newsletters and social media. Our summary articles that draw together the research and policy lessons from a number of previously published articles continue to be valued, for example a recent piece on geopolitical risks has received 58k views and driven web traffic to our other articles on the topic. Themed weeks over this period have also included collaborations, for example with lead editors, other academics and organisations such as the Productivity Institute. Topics have included: the war in Ukraine, growth and productivity, crime, lessons from the financial crisis, health and privatisation of the NHS, business and innovation, housing, education and early years care. Upcoming content will focus on elections in the UK and abroad, the economic effects of conflict, resilience, regional inequalities. • We have published 927 articles across 25 broad topics (including our original focus on the Covid-19 crisis and well beyond to the climate crisis, the cost of living crisis, the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and big geopolitical threats, as well as many pressing UK issues around health, education, competition, work, productivity, finance, investment, urban and regional policy and macroeconomic policy) - this includes 99 news articles. These articles have been written by 578 authors based across the UK and internationally, indicating the size of our network upon which we can draw. Data • Increased data visualisation grew in web traffic and engagement on social media, as well as generating positive qualitive feedback from authors and collaborators. • Data presentation moving away from static images, and instead displaying interactive data. This enabled greater legacy and gives users access to the underlying data for their own work/research/general interest. • With the Data Hub, we have learned the value of working on projects in parallel. While our web developers were building the page, the core team developed material to populate the hub. This will be drip fed into the hub over the next few weeks to slowly build up the database of data visualisations. • Data Hub launch. May 2023, a new version of the Data Hub (built around the three tools) was launched as the ESCoE Conference at Kings College London. This launched the ECO-API, the chart builder and the chart sharer. A key lesson concerns the novelty of these tools, and the relatively basic level of understanding of data visualisation principles among ECO's main stakeholder groups, ECO magazine • Interactivity: The magazine links back to the website through QR codes, and made a strong addition to and strengthened ECO's reputation for robust and balance economics and policy research, including insights from some of the world's leading experts. • Design: ECO magazine is unlike most other academic publications. It has design, style, accessibility at its core. It is research and data- driven but focuses on policy and is accessible and appealing to a broad audience. • Frontline stories: including non-economic voices strengthen the articles and contribution of the magazine to the issues it addresses. The magazine has featured a doctor, youth climate campaign, UN Messenger of Peace, senior economic advisor, social justice campaigner and food bank staff. This feature makes ECO stand out from other economics publications and has helped us reach audiences outside of academia. Website • Website traffic. Web traffic was slightly reduced over Christmas for both academic and policy audiences but recovered strongly from January 2024. • Total page views: We have achieved 5.1 million page views and continue to draw over 85,000 users per month. The website currently gets about 4.9k views per day. Training • Writing masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. • Data masterclasses are in high demand. In terms of feedback, across the cohort taught over the past year, around 96% would recommend the class to a colleague, and 100% said the class helped them identify new tools and methods for data analysis. One challenge concerns system access: some government laptops block software downloads and even some online tools. This means the ECO teaching team must react to restrictions on a case-by-case basis. Policy engagement • ECO's policy engagement - both closed-door and more public events - brings leading experts from universities and research institutions around the country together with policy-makers, focusing on live policy issues and drawing evidence from across the UK and internationally. To date, we have run 17 policy seminars (both online and in person). This includes sessions for the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, the Department for Education, the Scottish Government and many more. • Our distributed model puts us in Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh as regularly as we are in London. We have run eight events in the devolved nations and have a further three planned before the summer. We also ensure that we include regional voices in our 'nationally' focused events, including the Festival of Economics. • The quality of these events has lead to other collaborations and requests for future sessions, as well as contributed questions that feed into the website pipeline. Public engagements • Adam Smith 300: 2023 marked the tercentenary of the birth of Adam Smith, with celebrations focused around a week of events at the University of Glasgow in June. ECO used this occasion to draw together research and insight on the influence of Adam Smith and the lessons that can be drawn for today. From this, we published an issue of ECO magazine, which was launched at the Adam Smith 300 events, and we also organised and ran a student competition with the University of Glasgow. • Conferences: Builds ECO visibility and reputation among diverse audiences. Enables us to contribute to academic, policy and public debates and to build our networks. Festival of Economics • Festival of Economics: this event, with its mixed format of sessions, highlights the benefit of bringing together diverse audiences, including academics, journalists, practitioners and the general public under one roof. It enables these 'audiences' to learn from one another - for the public and policy-makers to hear from expert speakers and for academics, researchers, policy-makers and journalists to hear the public's questions and concerns. The Festival also has a no slides and no jargon rule, which means it is a great way for experts to learn and practice communicating their research and complex topics in an accessible way. Internships • Student support. We also made use of the network of economics undergraduates at the University of Bristol. A key lesson learned was the value of outsourcing social media work. In particular, students are given autonomy over ECO's new Instagram account and helped to formulate our undergraduate engagement plan. Our intention is to continue working closely with students, both in Bristol and at a range of other partner universities. Macroeconomic Modelling: A Review • This paper provides a review of macroeconomic modelling in the UK, including the current models used by principal forecasting institutions, the latest academic and non-academic approaches to modelling and the current developments in data, coding, and computer power. Macroeconomic modelling has been changing over the past 60 years, driven by the introduction of new technologies and the availability of better data. • The objective of this paper is to explore the opportunities to improve macroeconomic modelling to inform the ESRC's strategy and activities in relation to this topic and provide areas where the UK should strategically focus to push the frontier of UK macro research. HMT Fellowship • This macroeconomics and fiscal sustainability fellowship Opportunity to build a macro-economic model to improve the government's understanding about the interaction be-tween fiscal policy and the economy and the impact on the UK's fiscal position. The policy question is what is the long run economic and fiscal impact of high healthcare spending on the UK economy. • The fellowship provides insights into how academics can better engage with policy makers, in varied methods in a non-technical manner. |
| Exploitation Route | - Skills. Masterclasses are developing individual and team data competencies that will contribute to team function throughout careers. - Connections. FoE, seminars, events are bringing practitioners, economists, researchers together and forming fruitful connections that will have a long-lasting impact. - Data. Informed data approaches in other institutions. For instance, diffusion of knowledge and methods in price microdata research through active collaboration with colleagues at Bank of England and ONS. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://economicsobservatory.com |
| Description | ? ECO's outputs are used regularly via the website. The site receives an average of 33,000 page views per week, with approximately 85,000 users visiting the domain each month. ? Articles and charts are shared via social media, cited in the press, and used by educators, researchers, and policy-makers, as well as students. ? The material covered in our policy seminars is used by policy-maker teams to inform their work, either by providing them with a broad literature base, insights into cutting edge research or by facilitating new channels for expert advice going forward. These have often led to smaller one-to-one meetings to discuss specific policy challenges. ? Our methodology for knowledge mobilisation is also 'used' by partners, with other organisations often interested in learning about ECO's operational structure for related projects. ? Our writing guides, communication/data masterclass material, policy seminar slides, and data visualisation code/guidance are also used by relevant audience groups. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Adam Smith 300 events |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Dissemination of ideas among policy stakeholder audience. |
| URL | https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/adamsmith300 |
| Description | Festival of Economics |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Strengthened network between policy and academic stakeholder groups. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2023 |
| Description | Masterclasses |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Direct delivery of technical training in both writing and data science skills among both policy and academic stakeholder audiences. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/courses |
| Description | Pipeline articles |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Dissemination of academic economic expertise among policy stakeholder audience. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com |
| Description | Policy seminars/meetings |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Closer connection between policy and academic stakeholders, both in terms of specific policy issues and general access. |
| Description | Summer 2023 edition of ECO magazine (Adam Smith) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Dissemination of ideas to policy audience. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/issue-3-summer-2023 |
| Title | AutoCPI prices microdata |
| Description | A live dataset of 55 million prices collected from British supermarkets. The dataset represents a rich picture of grocery prices in the UK with comprehensive coverage, and unprecedent granularity and dimensionality. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Application for policy formation and evaluation, including the ongoing monitoring of prices, guided by HMRC, in expectation of tax and excise policy changes. Our work has informed similar microdata collection at the Bank of England, and we've provided technical and strategic support for its creation. Research outputs created using the database are publicly available, though the full dataset is not. The data is being used by researchers at the Bank of England and in collaborative projects with policy stakeholders, including for policy evaluation. While access is currently limited, we are exploring ways to broaden availability while ensuring ethical and access considerations are carefully addressed. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/autocpi |
| Title | Data hub |
| Description | The Data Hub offers a large set of 248 live data series, from 24 countries. The dataset is unique in that it operates as an 'API of APIs', all unified under a common structure. This means that the dataset is constantly growing, and comes direct from each source. If the ONS, FRED or another stats agency updates their figures, the ECO API (within the Data Hub) will update automatically. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Creation of a unique, unified dashboard of charts, linked to live data sources where possible. A simplification and unification of multiple APIs, as well as a re-work of the Vega-Lite UX, converted into an easy 'point and slick' interface. This is a unique tool. No other organisation in our knowledge has created an 'API of APIs' in this way. In terms of impact, this public good has been advertised directly to both academics and policy-makers, through both the ECO website (and newsletters) and the data masterclasses. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/data-hub |
| Title | Economics Observatory GitHub repository. |
| Description | Code used for data visualisations is all open source, available via the charts themselves (on both the data hub and across ECO articles), and via the ECO GitHub organisation repo https://github.com/EconomicsObservatory. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Creation of an open source guide to data sourcing, cleaning and visualisation. Again, this is a public good, allowing users to see exactly how data visualisations are designed and deployed. |
| URL | https://github.com/EconomicsObservatory |
| Title | ONS data release stories |
| Description | Regular data stories are posted as part of the main ECO pipeline of articles. These take data releases from the Office for National Statistics (and other sources) and provide interactive charts, together with analysis from experts (as well as ECO interns): https://www.economicsobservatory.com/news-2. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Website page views, demonstrating engagement with topics. For example, a recent article covering new labour market, price and growth data received over 4,000 page views in just over a week. This demonstrates engagement with the topic among ECO's core audience. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/news-2 |
| Title | ONS data release stories |
| Description | Regular data stories are posted as part of the main ECO pipeline. These take data releases from the Office for National Statistics (and other sources) and provide interactive charts, together with analysis from experts (as well as ECO interns). |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Available to the public via website. The code and data, as well as links to ONS data releases, are all open source. Impact measured by website page views, demonstrating engagement with topics. |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/news-2 |
| Description | Data advisory |
| Organisation | Bank of England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Shared implementation and technical approaches for digital microdata collection with the Bank of England's current economic assessment team. Drawing from our expertise with the AutoCPI dataset, we've helped them overcome technical hurdles and enhance their data collection. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Bank of England team has developed new microdata collection system for economic surveillance, informed by our technical guidance. Their system provides targeted, granular price information for internal economic assessments. |
| Impact | Internal Bank of England datasets and analysis. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Data hub |
| Organisation | Bank of England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Office for National Statistics - access to data and resources, advice on Application Programming Interface (API) configuration. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Creation and day to day running of hub, including maintenance of the 250 automatic data series from 24 national sources. Derive content, establish and maintain partnership with external data providers. Create and promote content on social media and to policy-makers and university course leaders. |
| Impact | A three-part tool - Explore, Build, Share - that brings together a unified API (drawing 248 live data series from 24 countries), a simplified Vega-Lite (JavaScript) interface, and a timeline for users to share their work. This tool requires accessing and cleaning data from a vast array of data sources, including the ONS, FRED and several other national statistics agencies and data aggregators. Data visualisation increased web traffic and engagement on social media, as well positive qualitive feedback from authors and collaborators. Feedback that this is also useful for teaching. • Increased data visualisation grew in web traffic and engagement on social media, as well as generating positive qualitive feedback from authors and collaborators. • Data presentation moving away from static images, and instead displaying interactive data. This enabled greater legacy and gives users access to the underlying data for their own work/research/general interest. • With the Data Hub, we have learned the value of working on projects in parallel. While our web developers were building the page, the core team developed material to populate the hub. This will be drip fed into the hub over the next few weeks to slowly build up the database of data visualisations. • Data Hub launch. May 2023, a new version of the Data Hub (built around the three tools) was launched as the ESCoE Conference at Kings College London. This launched the ECO-API, the chart builder and the chart sharer. A key lesson concerns the novelty of these tools, and the relatively basic level of understanding of data visualisation principles among ECO's main stakeholder groups, |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Data hub |
| Organisation | Office for National Statistics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Office for National Statistics - access to data and resources, advice on Application Programming Interface (API) configuration. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Creation and day to day running of hub, including maintenance of the 250 automatic data series from 24 national sources. Derive content, establish and maintain partnership with external data providers. Create and promote content on social media and to policy-makers and university course leaders. |
| Impact | A three-part tool - Explore, Build, Share - that brings together a unified API (drawing 248 live data series from 24 countries), a simplified Vega-Lite (JavaScript) interface, and a timeline for users to share their work. This tool requires accessing and cleaning data from a vast array of data sources, including the ONS, FRED and several other national statistics agencies and data aggregators. Data visualisation increased web traffic and engagement on social media, as well positive qualitive feedback from authors and collaborators. Feedback that this is also useful for teaching. • Increased data visualisation grew in web traffic and engagement on social media, as well as generating positive qualitive feedback from authors and collaborators. • Data presentation moving away from static images, and instead displaying interactive data. This enabled greater legacy and gives users access to the underlying data for their own work/research/general interest. • With the Data Hub, we have learned the value of working on projects in parallel. While our web developers were building the page, the core team developed material to populate the hub. This will be drip fed into the hub over the next few weeks to slowly build up the database of data visualisations. • Data Hub launch. May 2023, a new version of the Data Hub (built around the three tools) was launched as the ESCoE Conference at Kings College London. This launched the ECO-API, the chart builder and the chart sharer. A key lesson concerns the novelty of these tools, and the relatively basic level of understanding of data visualisation principles among ECO's main stakeholder groups, |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | ECO magazines |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Coordinate and manage publication. Commission and copyedit articles and create charts. Liaise with authors, interviewees, designers, printers and distributors. Manage release events, distribution to stakeholders - print and online versions - and promotion. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Lead editor board - themes to explore, expert advice, recommended contacts, insight into contemporary research, accountability and challenge. |
| Impact | 3,000 copies of each issue printed and distributed to UK members of parliament, members of devolved governments, chief economic and scientific advisors, national and regional policy-makers, research centres, UK heads of university economics departments, university students and local schools. Magazines are also distributed at various events, including conferences, the Festival of Economics and in-person policy events. The summer 2023 issue of the magazine was a core component of the Adam Smith Tercentenary events at the University of Glasgow - drawing together research and insights from many speakers at the event. Copies of the magazine have also been requested by universities and used as promotional material at economics open days. The magazine helped elevate the project substantially and to attract high-profile contributors. This is a unique, policy-orientated and data-driven magazine that is sent to senior policy-makers across government (Westminster and devolved administrations), MPs, academics and the public. Contributors are leading academics, policy-makers and practitioners, but the magazine breaks the mould of a 'academic' publication with its design, style and accessibility to a wide general audience. • Interactivity: The magazine links back to the website through QR codes, and made a strong addition to and strengthened ECO's reputation for robust and balance economics and policy research, including insights from some of the world's leading experts. • Design: ECO magazine is unlike most other academic publications. It has design, style, accessibility at its core. It is research and data- driven but focuses on policy and is accessible and appealing to a broad audience. • Frontline stories: including non-economic voices strengthen the articles and contribution of the magazine to the issues it addresses. The magazine has featured a doctor, youth climate campaign, UN Messenger of Peace, senior economic advisor, social justice campaigner and food bank staff. This feature makes ECO stand out from other economics publications and has helped us reach audiences outside of academia. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | ECO reading lists |
| Organisation | Civil Service |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Bespoke reading lists of ECO articles for partners facilitating events or researching particular fields. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Demand from partners used to inform the curation of personalised lists of ECO articles. |
| Impact | Reading lists used by school teachers to deliver A-Level economics curriculum. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Economics Observatory internships |
| Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provide programme of work for student interns. Provide training (writing and data/chart creation), publication opportunities, initiate partnerships/mentoring with experts, access to seminars and other external sessions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Pipeline exceptional students who perform in the top 5% on the University of Bristol's third-year Communicating Economics module, and LSE's Automated Data Visualisation for Policy. |
| Impact | Internships: Embedding undergraduate students in ECO's day to day work has provided excellent learning opportunities for the students and support for their next steps into work and further study. It has also ECO with insight into how to improve engagement with students in schools and universities. o Two data interns have gone on to work full-time at the London School of Economics, as part of the ECO team. o One part-time social media intern based at Bristol continues to provide content for ECO. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Economics Observatory internships |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provide programme of work for student interns. Provide training (writing and data/chart creation), publication opportunities, initiate partnerships/mentoring with experts, access to seminars and other external sessions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Pipeline exceptional students who perform in the top 5% on the University of Bristol's third-year Communicating Economics module, and LSE's Automated Data Visualisation for Policy. |
| Impact | Internships: Embedding undergraduate students in ECO's day to day work has provided excellent learning opportunities for the students and support for their next steps into work and further study. It has also ECO with insight into how to improve engagement with students in schools and universities. o Two data interns have gone on to work full-time at the London School of Economics, as part of the ECO team. o One part-time social media intern based at Bristol continues to provide content for ECO. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Festival of Economics |
| Organisation | Bank of England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Design event programme and topics for discussion in partnership with Bristol Ideas. Invite panels of experts to speak at the event, including academics, journalists and leading practitioners. Liaise with Bristol Ideas, University of Bristol and local media contacts to promote event. Disseminate outcomes on website and social media - commissioning summary articles from writers-in-residence, sharing links to relevant existing articles, recordings of events and publishing responses to questions arising. Data team develop interactive visualisations to share on large touchscreens at the event. |
| Collaborator Contribution | o Bristol Ideas: Partnered with Bristol Ideas to programme, organise and run the 12th annual Festival of Economics. From 2024 onwards, the Festival has been run as a Bristol Ideas legacy event, with their support. o Bank of England: to organise and run a BoE citizens' panel as a key part of the event, bringing together BoE policy-makers and the public. |
| Impact | Our headline Festival, held in Bristol attracts 2,400+ attendees each year, with ticket sales at over 85% capacity. Speakers at the event are leading academics, acclaimed journalists and practitioners working at the frontline of the issues discussed. We have many attendees from the Government Economics Service - and regular slots with top officials from the Bank of England and local citizens. Collaboration with Bristol Ideas to organise and run a three-day public event that engaged all of ECO's audiences and extended the audience base and geographic reach of the existing Festival of Economics. Integrated data visualisation work via interactive touchscreens. From 2024 onwards, the Festival has been run as a Bristol Ideas legacy event, with their support. Summary articles, written by journalists, published on ECO website and disseminated via newsletter and social media. Questions and discussion topics raised during the festival fed into the website pipeline for future publications. • Ran the 2023 Festival of Economics in collaboration with Bristol Ideas - the themes were food affordability and security, society and health and building the future (write-ups on each available on the website). The following articles cover the discussion: • Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/boes-pill-says-pay-growth-is-slowing-still-too-high-2023-11-14/ • Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-14/boe-chief-economist-pill-warns-uk-pay-growth-is-stubornly-high • Investment week: https://www.investmentweek.co.uk/news/4146673/boes-huw-pill-hints-rate-hikes-inflation-remains-stubbornly-reports • The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/price-rises-likely-to-be-stubborn-warns-huw-pill-3lvjhg8mp • #economicsfest: What does food tell us about the economy? by Bethan Staton (Financial Times) • #economicsfest: How can we create an economy that cares for everyone? by Ma-rie Segger (The Economist) • #economicsfest: How can we build a better future? by Melissa Lawford (The Tel-egraph) Session recordings are also available on the ECO website: https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2023ECO, https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2024 • Over 2,700 tickets to 17 events, over 3 days (2024 figures) including book talks, panel discus-sions, Bank of England citizens' panel and live podcast recordings - bookings in-cluded school and university students, journalists, policy-makers and members of the public. • Interactive data screen available in the venue to integrate data visualisations to in-form and engage attendees with an interactive map showing metrics including wellbeing, inequality, housing, productivity, income, across regions/cities of the UK. This event, with its mixed format of sessions, highlights the benefit of bringing together diverse audiences, including academics, journalists, practitioners and the general public under one roof. It enables these 'audiences' to learn from one another - for the public and policy-makers to hear from expert speakers and for academics, researchers, policy-makers and journalists to hear the public's questions and concerns. The Festival also has a no slides and no jargon rule, which means it is a great way for experts to learn and practice communicating their research and complex topics in an accessible way. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Festival of Economics |
| Organisation | Bristol Cultural Development Partnership |
| Department | Bristol Festival of Ideas |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Design event programme and topics for discussion in partnership with Bristol Ideas. Invite panels of experts to speak at the event, including academics, journalists and leading practitioners. Liaise with Bristol Ideas, University of Bristol and local media contacts to promote event. Disseminate outcomes on website and social media - commissioning summary articles from writers-in-residence, sharing links to relevant existing articles, recordings of events and publishing responses to questions arising. Data team develop interactive visualisations to share on large touchscreens at the event. |
| Collaborator Contribution | o Bristol Ideas: Partnered with Bristol Ideas to programme, organise and run the 12th annual Festival of Economics. From 2024 onwards, the Festival has been run as a Bristol Ideas legacy event, with their support. o Bank of England: to organise and run a BoE citizens' panel as a key part of the event, bringing together BoE policy-makers and the public. |
| Impact | Our headline Festival, held in Bristol attracts 2,400+ attendees each year, with ticket sales at over 85% capacity. Speakers at the event are leading academics, acclaimed journalists and practitioners working at the frontline of the issues discussed. We have many attendees from the Government Economics Service - and regular slots with top officials from the Bank of England and local citizens. Collaboration with Bristol Ideas to organise and run a three-day public event that engaged all of ECO's audiences and extended the audience base and geographic reach of the existing Festival of Economics. Integrated data visualisation work via interactive touchscreens. From 2024 onwards, the Festival has been run as a Bristol Ideas legacy event, with their support. Summary articles, written by journalists, published on ECO website and disseminated via newsletter and social media. Questions and discussion topics raised during the festival fed into the website pipeline for future publications. • Ran the 2023 Festival of Economics in collaboration with Bristol Ideas - the themes were food affordability and security, society and health and building the future (write-ups on each available on the website). The following articles cover the discussion: • Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/boes-pill-says-pay-growth-is-slowing-still-too-high-2023-11-14/ • Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-14/boe-chief-economist-pill-warns-uk-pay-growth-is-stubornly-high • Investment week: https://www.investmentweek.co.uk/news/4146673/boes-huw-pill-hints-rate-hikes-inflation-remains-stubbornly-reports • The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/price-rises-likely-to-be-stubborn-warns-huw-pill-3lvjhg8mp • #economicsfest: What does food tell us about the economy? by Bethan Staton (Financial Times) • #economicsfest: How can we create an economy that cares for everyone? by Ma-rie Segger (The Economist) • #economicsfest: How can we build a better future? by Melissa Lawford (The Tel-egraph) Session recordings are also available on the ECO website: https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2023ECO, https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2024 • Over 2,700 tickets to 17 events, over 3 days (2024 figures) including book talks, panel discus-sions, Bank of England citizens' panel and live podcast recordings - bookings in-cluded school and university students, journalists, policy-makers and members of the public. • Interactive data screen available in the venue to integrate data visualisations to in-form and engage attendees with an interactive map showing metrics including wellbeing, inequality, housing, productivity, income, across regions/cities of the UK. This event, with its mixed format of sessions, highlights the benefit of bringing together diverse audiences, including academics, journalists, practitioners and the general public under one roof. It enables these 'audiences' to learn from one another - for the public and policy-makers to hear from expert speakers and for academics, researchers, policy-makers and journalists to hear the public's questions and concerns. The Festival also has a no slides and no jargon rule, which means it is a great way for experts to learn and practice communicating their research and complex topics in an accessible way. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Festival of Economics |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Design event programme and topics for discussion in partnership with Bristol Ideas. Invite panels of experts to speak at the event, including academics, journalists and leading practitioners. Liaise with Bristol Ideas, University of Bristol and local media contacts to promote event. Disseminate outcomes on website and social media - commissioning summary articles from writers-in-residence, sharing links to relevant existing articles, recordings of events and publishing responses to questions arising. Data team develop interactive visualisations to share on large touchscreens at the event. |
| Collaborator Contribution | o Bristol Ideas: Partnered with Bristol Ideas to programme, organise and run the 12th annual Festival of Economics. From 2024 onwards, the Festival has been run as a Bristol Ideas legacy event, with their support. o Bank of England: to organise and run a BoE citizens' panel as a key part of the event, bringing together BoE policy-makers and the public. |
| Impact | Our headline Festival, held in Bristol attracts 2,400+ attendees each year, with ticket sales at over 85% capacity. Speakers at the event are leading academics, acclaimed journalists and practitioners working at the frontline of the issues discussed. We have many attendees from the Government Economics Service - and regular slots with top officials from the Bank of England and local citizens. Collaboration with Bristol Ideas to organise and run a three-day public event that engaged all of ECO's audiences and extended the audience base and geographic reach of the existing Festival of Economics. Integrated data visualisation work via interactive touchscreens. From 2024 onwards, the Festival has been run as a Bristol Ideas legacy event, with their support. Summary articles, written by journalists, published on ECO website and disseminated via newsletter and social media. Questions and discussion topics raised during the festival fed into the website pipeline for future publications. • Ran the 2023 Festival of Economics in collaboration with Bristol Ideas - the themes were food affordability and security, society and health and building the future (write-ups on each available on the website). The following articles cover the discussion: • Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/boes-pill-says-pay-growth-is-slowing-still-too-high-2023-11-14/ • Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-14/boe-chief-economist-pill-warns-uk-pay-growth-is-stubornly-high • Investment week: https://www.investmentweek.co.uk/news/4146673/boes-huw-pill-hints-rate-hikes-inflation-remains-stubbornly-reports • The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/price-rises-likely-to-be-stubborn-warns-huw-pill-3lvjhg8mp • #economicsfest: What does food tell us about the economy? by Bethan Staton (Financial Times) • #economicsfest: How can we create an economy that cares for everyone? by Ma-rie Segger (The Economist) • #economicsfest: How can we build a better future? by Melissa Lawford (The Tel-egraph) Session recordings are also available on the ECO website: https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2023ECO, https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2024 • Over 2,700 tickets to 17 events, over 3 days (2024 figures) including book talks, panel discus-sions, Bank of England citizens' panel and live podcast recordings - bookings in-cluded school and university students, journalists, policy-makers and members of the public. • Interactive data screen available in the venue to integrate data visualisations to in-form and engage attendees with an interactive map showing metrics including wellbeing, inequality, housing, productivity, income, across regions/cities of the UK. This event, with its mixed format of sessions, highlights the benefit of bringing together diverse audiences, including academics, journalists, practitioners and the general public under one roof. It enables these 'audiences' to learn from one another - for the public and policy-makers to hear from expert speakers and for academics, researchers, policy-makers and journalists to hear the public's questions and concerns. The Festival also has a no slides and no jargon rule, which means it is a great way for experts to learn and practice communicating their research and complex topics in an accessible way. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | HM Treasury Fellowship |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Responding to ESRC fellowship programme and requirements from HM Treasury. These requests include developing two working papers on supply side reforms economic impact of large debt increases using an overlapping generations model. Developing a seminar series for GES members, developing writing masterclasses and bridging the gap between officials and academics for current policy challenges through workshops and conferences. This has led to one-to-one meetings with HMT teams, seniors and Special Advisors. |
| Collaborator Contribution | HMT are the host organisation for the primary 12 months of the fellowship. Training has been provided by UKRI through their partner, Institute for Government. |
| Impact | The fellowship has supported the development of economists in HMT; we have delivered a writing Masterclass with HMT economists, delivered three academic seminars and are drafting two papers on supply side reform modelling and high debt using an overlapping generation model. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | HM Treasury Fellowship |
| Organisation | HM Treasury |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Responding to ESRC fellowship programme and requirements from HM Treasury. These requests include developing two working papers on supply side reforms economic impact of large debt increases using an overlapping generations model. Developing a seminar series for GES members, developing writing masterclasses and bridging the gap between officials and academics for current policy challenges through workshops and conferences. This has led to one-to-one meetings with HMT teams, seniors and Special Advisors. |
| Collaborator Contribution | HMT are the host organisation for the primary 12 months of the fellowship. Training has been provided by UKRI through their partner, Institute for Government. |
| Impact | The fellowship has supported the development of economists in HMT; we have delivered a writing Masterclass with HMT economists, delivered three academic seminars and are drafting two papers on supply side reform modelling and high debt using an overlapping generation model. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | HM Treasury Fellowship |
| Organisation | Institute for Government |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Responding to ESRC fellowship programme and requirements from HM Treasury. These requests include developing two working papers on supply side reforms economic impact of large debt increases using an overlapping generations model. Developing a seminar series for GES members, developing writing masterclasses and bridging the gap between officials and academics for current policy challenges through workshops and conferences. This has led to one-to-one meetings with HMT teams, seniors and Special Advisors. |
| Collaborator Contribution | HMT are the host organisation for the primary 12 months of the fellowship. Training has been provided by UKRI through their partner, Institute for Government. |
| Impact | The fellowship has supported the development of economists in HMT; we have delivered a writing Masterclass with HMT economists, delivered three academic seminars and are drafting two papers on supply side reform modelling and high debt using an overlapping generation model. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | HM Treasury Fellowship |
| Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Responding to ESRC fellowship programme and requirements from HM Treasury. These requests include developing two working papers on supply side reforms economic impact of large debt increases using an overlapping generations model. Developing a seminar series for GES members, developing writing masterclasses and bridging the gap between officials and academics for current policy challenges through workshops and conferences. This has led to one-to-one meetings with HMT teams, seniors and Special Advisors. |
| Collaborator Contribution | HMT are the host organisation for the primary 12 months of the fellowship. Training has been provided by UKRI through their partner, Institute for Government. |
| Impact | The fellowship has supported the development of economists in HMT; we have delivered a writing Masterclass with HMT economists, delivered three academic seminars and are drafting two papers on supply side reform modelling and high debt using an overlapping generation model. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Macroeconomic Modelling Review (MMR) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Responding to ESRC request for detailed assessment of future funding and research needs for macroeconomic modelling in the UK. Hosting a series of macroeconomics roundtables on behalf of the ESRC, with stakeholders such as BoE, HMT and OBR to consider where to make necessary investments in macroeconomics. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ESRC requested the work and offered feedback on report drafts. Stakeholders across BoE, HMT, NIESR and universities were interviewed to further understand the modelling landscape. The report was published in June and led to a senior-level roundtable in November 2024. A technical roundtable has been planned for May 2025. |
| Impact | 1. Macroeconomic Modelling: A Review: Draft report submitted alongside interview summary document. Final report was published in June 2024. A roundtable with senior civil servants and academics was held in November 2024. A technical roundtable is planned for May 2025. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Macroeconomic Modelling Review (MMR) |
| Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Responding to ESRC request for detailed assessment of future funding and research needs for macroeconomic modelling in the UK. Hosting a series of macroeconomics roundtables on behalf of the ESRC, with stakeholders such as BoE, HMT and OBR to consider where to make necessary investments in macroeconomics. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ESRC requested the work and offered feedback on report drafts. Stakeholders across BoE, HMT, NIESR and universities were interviewed to further understand the modelling landscape. The report was published in June and led to a senior-level roundtable in November 2024. A technical roundtable has been planned for May 2025. |
| Impact | 1. Macroeconomic Modelling: A Review: Draft report submitted alongside interview summary document. Final report was published in June 2024. A roundtable with senior civil servants and academics was held in November 2024. A technical roundtable is planned for May 2025. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Microdata research collaboration |
| Organisation | Bank of England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Using our growing AutoCPI price microdata for research and policy evaluation. Monitoring soft drink and alcohol prices in collaboration with HMRC and HMT, in anticipation of tax changes. Sharing prices microdata with BoE economists to identify popular responses to inflation. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Microdata research collaboration. HMRC and HMT have motivated specific areas of data collection, identified target products for monitoring, and provided guidance on research priorities related to tax policy changes. The Bank of England economist research partner has collaborated directly with analysis. |
| Impact | Ongoing price surveillance for policy insight. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Microdata research collaboration |
| Organisation | HMRC HM Revenue & Customs |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Using our growing AutoCPI price microdata for research and policy evaluation. Monitoring soft drink and alcohol prices in collaboration with HMRC and HMT, in anticipation of tax changes. Sharing prices microdata with BoE economists to identify popular responses to inflation. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Microdata research collaboration. HMRC and HMT have motivated specific areas of data collection, identified target products for monitoring, and provided guidance on research priorities related to tax policy changes. The Bank of England economist research partner has collaborated directly with analysis. |
| Impact | Ongoing price surveillance for policy insight. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Microdata research network |
| Organisation | Bank of England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Brought together teams from policy institutions working on digital microdata. Shared research findings and methodological approaches. Learned from others' experiences and applications. Organising our first in-person workshop for March 2025 at LSE to formalise the network and build collaborative opportunities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners have shared their ongoing work and preliminary findings. They have offered guidance and feedback on our research approaches and data collection methodologies. Their teams have identified policy priorities and research questions. |
| Impact | Frequent bilateral methodology and policy seminars with researchers at partner institutions, informing statistical development and policy evaluation. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Microdata research network |
| Organisation | Competition and Markets Authority |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Brought together teams from policy institutions working on digital microdata. Shared research findings and methodological approaches. Learned from others' experiences and applications. Organising our first in-person workshop for March 2025 at LSE to formalise the network and build collaborative opportunities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners have shared their ongoing work and preliminary findings. They have offered guidance and feedback on our research approaches and data collection methodologies. Their teams have identified policy priorities and research questions. |
| Impact | Frequent bilateral methodology and policy seminars with researchers at partner institutions, informing statistical development and policy evaluation. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Microdata research network |
| Organisation | Office for National Statistics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Brought together teams from policy institutions working on digital microdata. Shared research findings and methodological approaches. Learned from others' experiences and applications. Organising our first in-person workshop for March 2025 at LSE to formalise the network and build collaborative opportunities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners have shared their ongoing work and preliminary findings. They have offered guidance and feedback on our research approaches and data collection methodologies. Their teams have identified policy priorities and research questions. |
| Impact | Frequent bilateral methodology and policy seminars with researchers at partner institutions, informing statistical development and policy evaluation. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Policy seminars/meetings |
| Organisation | Civil Service |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Respond directly to questions from policy-makers. Assemble panel of academic experts based on the content of the enquiry. These include 'public' seminars, which are designed for policy audiences, as well as closed-door events which can enable more open engagement and discussion. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Lead editors contribute to these seminars as speakers and in terms of organisation, and advise on relevant research and other academic experts to invite/consult on policy questions. Teams from across government inform ECO on topics and research questions for discussion. The research questions provided by the team are fed into the publication pipeline together with other questions and topics that arising during the seminar. ECO also invited to contribute to closed policy discussions by University of Bristol and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). |
| Impact | Policy Seminars and Collaborations The demand for closed policy seminars between government departments and academic networks has exceeded expectations. Interest spans multiple levels of seniority within institutions, engaging both national government departments and devolved administrations. ECO's policy engagement-ranging from closed-door discussions to public events-brings leading experts from universities and research institutions together with policymakers. These sessions focus on live policy issues, drawing on evidence from the UK and internationally. Collaborating Partners Scottish Government, Irish Fiscal Council, Welsh Centre for Public Policy, Welsh Treasury, Public Health Wales, Centre for Public Policy (University of Glasgow), HM Treasury, Government Economic Service, Information Commissioner's Office, Office for National Statistics, Office for Statistics Regulation, Competition and Markets Authority, Financial Conduct Authority, and more. Policy Seminars and Roundtables March 2023 - Policy Roundtable on Economic Inactivity, hosted in collaboration with the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), with ECO lead editor contributing to an online IPPO event. March 2023 - Policy Seminar on Rural Economies and Tourism. Speakers and attendees from University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, Dumfries and Galloway Council, The Usual Place, Economic Development Association Scotland, Better Lives Partnership, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), University of Swansea, South of Scotland Destination Alliance, National Centre for Resilience, South of Scotland Enterprise. May 2024 - Policy Seminar on Inequality and Education. Speakers and attendees from Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, Scottish Government, Institute for Education, University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, University of Surrey, Scottish Centre for Social Research, University of Sheffield, University of Bristol, University of Essex, University of Dundee, Department for Education, Scottish Government Learning Directorate, Big Urban Data Centre. June 2024 - Macroeconomic Modelling: A Review published. Roundtable held with senior civil servants and academics in November 2024. A technical roundtable scheduled for May 2025. August 2024 - Supply Side Model Review, Special Advisors Office, with John Van Reenen and Anna Valero. September 2024 - Policy Seminar on Fiscal Rules and Frameworks. Speakers and attendees from Scottish Fiscal Commission, Irish Fiscal Council, Office for Budget Responsibility, Birkbeck University of London, Institute for Government, University of the West of England, Centre for Economics and Business Research. September 2024 - UK Growth Diagnostics Seminar, Enterprise & Growth Unit. Followed by discussions with Fiscal Group (September 2024) and Economics Group (September 2024). November 2024 - LSE Masterclass Workshop, Economics and Fiscal. Training GES economists on writing and data visualization skills; led to plans for a second session in 2025. November 2024 - Macroeconomic Modelling Roundtable, Economics, with HMT discussing research priorities. Attended by the Director of Economics Group (HMT) and David Miles (OBR). December 2024 - OLG Presentation, Special Advisors Office. Presenting an OLG extension paper to John Van Reenen. January 2025 - OLG Project Group Meeting, Fiscal, Economics, Enterprise & Growth Unit. Presenting initial findings of the OLG report. January 2025 - FCA Paper and Conference, paper delivered under a formal agreement. January 2025 - GES Trade Seminar, GES. Thomas Sampson presenting on trade policy. February 2025 - ARI Dissemination, Economics. Engaged with Economics team to disseminate the ARI new document across LSE. February 2025 - OLG Seminar, Fiscal Group. Presented OLG findings to Jennifer Gray (Deputy Director, HMT). February 2025 - Tax Modelling Discussion, Economics Group. Meeting with Andy Stuckey (HMT). February 2025 - GES Green Finance Seminar, GES. Matthew Agarwala presenting on green finance. March 2025 - Dynamism Workshop, Economics Group, Enterprise & Growth Unit, DBT. Richard Davies workshop with officials in Economics Group (HMT), EGU (HMT), and DBT on dynamism and growth impacts. March 2025 - GES Housing Seminar, GES. Eric Protzer giving a talk on UK growth diagnostics. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Public engagements |
| Organisation | Royal Economic Society |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Contribute to public events and conferences. This can take the form of organising sessions with panels of experts, providing briefings, promoting ECO at external events and commissioning/authoring and disseminating outcomes on website and social media, such as articles on relevant topics, links to relevant papers, recording of events and responses to questions that arose during the event discussions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | engagement with individual academics, academic organisations and learned societies, including the Royal Economic Society (RES), Scottish Economic Society (SES), Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE), Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics, Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics, Economics Network, Data Visualisation Society and Federal Reserve of St Louis. |
| Impact | ECO Conference Engagements and Outreach ECO is a recognised organisation within academic and policy circles and regularly contributes to sessions with academics and policymakers, engaging the public on key policy issues. These engagements strengthen ECO's networks and reputation while promoting its research, data tools, and publications. Key engagements • American Economic Association ASSA Annual Meeting (2023, 2024) Promoted ECO and built contacts for commissioning articles. • Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (SGPE) Conference (2023, 2024) Presentations to Heads of Departments and students/academics. Focused on the work of the Observatory, effective writing, and a data masterclass. • Scottish Economic Society / Royal Economic Society Joint Conference (2023, 2024) ECO distributed magazines and resources. Presented to the Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics. • Scottish Economic Society Annual Conference (2023, 2024) ECO contributed to academic discussions and promoted its research tools. • RES Economics Society Conference (2023, 2024) Promoted ECO resources and insights in economic research. • Outlier Conference (2023) ECO Data Editor, Denes Csala, presented at the Data Visualisation Society's annual conference in Porto, Portugal. • ESCoE Conference on Economic Measurement (2023, 2024) ECO exhibited and promoted the beta version of the new Data Hub and wider ECO services. Richard Davies presented policy-driven data science research. • Tokyo Economic Measurement Workshop at Hitotsubashi University (2024) Presented ECO's data and research insights in an international context. • American Economic Association Conference on Teaching and Research in Economics Education (2023) Promoted ECO articles and Data Hub as teaching tools. • Developments in Economics Education Conference (2023) Promoted ECO as a teaching resource for economics university courses. • Government Economic Service (GES) Conference (2023) Attended conference sessions and hosted a stand promoting ECO to government economists. • Federal Reserve of St. Louis Conference for Professors (2023) Presented best practices for data visualisation and introduced ECO Data Hub as a teaching tool. • Economic History Society Conference (2024) Held at Northumbria University (5-7 April). Representation via ECO's board of editors, including John Turner. • June 2023: Adam Smith 300 Participated in the Adam Smith tercentenary week at the University of Glasgow. Co-hosted a student book cover competition and sponsored the event. Launched ECO4 magazine, distributing copies to delegates and keynote speakers. Promoted ECO at the tercentenary launch at the Scottish Parliament (January 2023). • 100 Days to Kickstart Britain: What Should the Government's Priorities Be? (June 2024) A public panel discussion on UK productivity growth, chaired by Richard Davies, featuring Souma Keynes, Eshe Nelson, Sam Richards, and Danny Sriskandarajah. These engagements enhance ECO's visibility and reputation among diverse audiences, contributing to academic, policy, and public debates while expanding ECO's networks. ECO's participation in key economic events ensures that its insights remain influential and widely disseminated. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Public engagements |
| Organisation | Scottish Economic Society |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Contribute to public events and conferences. This can take the form of organising sessions with panels of experts, providing briefings, promoting ECO at external events and commissioning/authoring and disseminating outcomes on website and social media, such as articles on relevant topics, links to relevant papers, recording of events and responses to questions that arose during the event discussions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | engagement with individual academics, academic organisations and learned societies, including the Royal Economic Society (RES), Scottish Economic Society (SES), Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE), Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics, Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics, Economics Network, Data Visualisation Society and Federal Reserve of St Louis. |
| Impact | ECO Conference Engagements and Outreach ECO is a recognised organisation within academic and policy circles and regularly contributes to sessions with academics and policymakers, engaging the public on key policy issues. These engagements strengthen ECO's networks and reputation while promoting its research, data tools, and publications. Key engagements • American Economic Association ASSA Annual Meeting (2023, 2024) Promoted ECO and built contacts for commissioning articles. • Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (SGPE) Conference (2023, 2024) Presentations to Heads of Departments and students/academics. Focused on the work of the Observatory, effective writing, and a data masterclass. • Scottish Economic Society / Royal Economic Society Joint Conference (2023, 2024) ECO distributed magazines and resources. Presented to the Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics. • Scottish Economic Society Annual Conference (2023, 2024) ECO contributed to academic discussions and promoted its research tools. • RES Economics Society Conference (2023, 2024) Promoted ECO resources and insights in economic research. • Outlier Conference (2023) ECO Data Editor, Denes Csala, presented at the Data Visualisation Society's annual conference in Porto, Portugal. • ESCoE Conference on Economic Measurement (2023, 2024) ECO exhibited and promoted the beta version of the new Data Hub and wider ECO services. Richard Davies presented policy-driven data science research. • Tokyo Economic Measurement Workshop at Hitotsubashi University (2024) Presented ECO's data and research insights in an international context. • American Economic Association Conference on Teaching and Research in Economics Education (2023) Promoted ECO articles and Data Hub as teaching tools. • Developments in Economics Education Conference (2023) Promoted ECO as a teaching resource for economics university courses. • Government Economic Service (GES) Conference (2023) Attended conference sessions and hosted a stand promoting ECO to government economists. • Federal Reserve of St. Louis Conference for Professors (2023) Presented best practices for data visualisation and introduced ECO Data Hub as a teaching tool. • Economic History Society Conference (2024) Held at Northumbria University (5-7 April). Representation via ECO's board of editors, including John Turner. • June 2023: Adam Smith 300 Participated in the Adam Smith tercentenary week at the University of Glasgow. Co-hosted a student book cover competition and sponsored the event. Launched ECO4 magazine, distributing copies to delegates and keynote speakers. Promoted ECO at the tercentenary launch at the Scottish Parliament (January 2023). • 100 Days to Kickstart Britain: What Should the Government's Priorities Be? (June 2024) A public panel discussion on UK productivity growth, chaired by Richard Davies, featuring Souma Keynes, Eshe Nelson, Sam Richards, and Danny Sriskandarajah. These engagements enhance ECO's visibility and reputation among diverse audiences, contributing to academic, policy, and public debates while expanding ECO's networks. ECO's participation in key economic events ensures that its insights remain influential and widely disseminated. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | UK financial services sector productivity research |
| Organisation | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Leading a research paper on the UK financial services sector productivity, the risks posed by the sector to the overall economy, and regulation needed. The papers will be presented at an LSE-hosted conference in June. Training and research; training officials on writing for policy and leading a research paper on the UK financial services sector productivity, the risks posed by the sector to the overall economy, and regulation needed. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Financial Conduct Authority. The partners would like to improve the writing of teams policy. They would also like support researching the UK financial services sector productivity, and bring together researchers and policymakers to share these findings. |
| Impact | An economic writing training masterclass. Presentations investigating UK financial services sector productivity, with a full paper forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Website pipeline |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Creation and day to day running of website. Collecting questions and topic suggestions from stakeholders - primarily policy-makers but also students and the public (through courses, events and the website). These topics are collected through various channels, including direct communication with policy-makers, via our lead editor board and other academic and research partners, and submissions to the website. Coordinate pipeline, commission articles (synthesis of current available evidence, and themed weeks with topic focus), manage relationships with authors, copyedit content, align with data work/insert relevant visualisations, determine publication schedule, publish on website and create social media content to promote articles and charts. Coordinate lead editor board meetings and engagement to maintain partnerships. Commission newsletter content (published on website and sent out to mailing list) that draws together topics addressed in articles, highlights data/charts and promotes upcoming events or content. Commissioning also includes themed weeks and summary articles to focus on particular topic or policy area. |
| Collaborator Contribution | multilateral collaborative partnership with lead editor board. Partners: University of Cambridge; Cardiff University; Centre for Economic Performance (LSE); Institute for Fiscal Studies; Imperial College London; National Institute of Economic and Social Research; University of Oxford; Queen's University Belfast; University of Bristol; University of Glasgow; University of Manchester; University of Strathclyde. |
| Impact | Topical and new articles published daily. Total of 795 articles across 25 topics - this includes 83 news articles. These articles have been written by 525 authors based across the UK and internationally. All articles available here: www.economicsobservatory.com. On the website we have had 3.5 million page views since launch in May 2020. Traffic is steadily rising - we are currently seeing over 100k views per month from over 70k users. Agile pipeline using a flexible and responsive approach to commissioning new material has supported our engagement with policy contacts and generated high demand for policy engagement seminars. Themed weeks and summary pieces (which synthesise evidence from other articles published) are particularly useful mechanisms through which ECO can channel research to inform policy. The quality of articles and experts engaged with ECO also means that it has become key point of contact for journalists. • Website traffic. Web traffic was slightly reduced over Christmas for both academic and policy audiences but recovered strongly from January 2024. • Total page views: We have achieved 3.5 million page views and continue to draw over 75,000 users per month. The website currently gets about 4k views per day. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Website pipeline |
| Organisation | National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Creation and day to day running of website. Collecting questions and topic suggestions from stakeholders - primarily policy-makers but also students and the public (through courses, events and the website). These topics are collected through various channels, including direct communication with policy-makers, via our lead editor board and other academic and research partners, and submissions to the website. Coordinate pipeline, commission articles (synthesis of current available evidence, and themed weeks with topic focus), manage relationships with authors, copyedit content, align with data work/insert relevant visualisations, determine publication schedule, publish on website and create social media content to promote articles and charts. Coordinate lead editor board meetings and engagement to maintain partnerships. Commission newsletter content (published on website and sent out to mailing list) that draws together topics addressed in articles, highlights data/charts and promotes upcoming events or content. Commissioning also includes themed weeks and summary articles to focus on particular topic or policy area. |
| Collaborator Contribution | multilateral collaborative partnership with lead editor board. Partners: University of Cambridge; Cardiff University; Centre for Economic Performance (LSE); Institute for Fiscal Studies; Imperial College London; National Institute of Economic and Social Research; University of Oxford; Queen's University Belfast; University of Bristol; University of Glasgow; University of Manchester; University of Strathclyde. |
| Impact | Topical and new articles published daily. Total of 795 articles across 25 topics - this includes 83 news articles. These articles have been written by 525 authors based across the UK and internationally. All articles available here: www.economicsobservatory.com. On the website we have had 3.5 million page views since launch in May 2020. Traffic is steadily rising - we are currently seeing over 100k views per month from over 70k users. Agile pipeline using a flexible and responsive approach to commissioning new material has supported our engagement with policy contacts and generated high demand for policy engagement seminars. Themed weeks and summary pieces (which synthesise evidence from other articles published) are particularly useful mechanisms through which ECO can channel research to inform policy. The quality of articles and experts engaged with ECO also means that it has become key point of contact for journalists. • Website traffic. Web traffic was slightly reduced over Christmas for both academic and policy audiences but recovered strongly from January 2024. • Total page views: We have achieved 3.5 million page views and continue to draw over 75,000 users per month. The website currently gets about 4k views per day. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Website pipeline |
| Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Creation and day to day running of website. Collecting questions and topic suggestions from stakeholders - primarily policy-makers but also students and the public (through courses, events and the website). These topics are collected through various channels, including direct communication with policy-makers, via our lead editor board and other academic and research partners, and submissions to the website. Coordinate pipeline, commission articles (synthesis of current available evidence, and themed weeks with topic focus), manage relationships with authors, copyedit content, align with data work/insert relevant visualisations, determine publication schedule, publish on website and create social media content to promote articles and charts. Coordinate lead editor board meetings and engagement to maintain partnerships. Commission newsletter content (published on website and sent out to mailing list) that draws together topics addressed in articles, highlights data/charts and promotes upcoming events or content. Commissioning also includes themed weeks and summary articles to focus on particular topic or policy area. |
| Collaborator Contribution | multilateral collaborative partnership with lead editor board. Partners: University of Cambridge; Cardiff University; Centre for Economic Performance (LSE); Institute for Fiscal Studies; Imperial College London; National Institute of Economic and Social Research; University of Oxford; Queen's University Belfast; University of Bristol; University of Glasgow; University of Manchester; University of Strathclyde. |
| Impact | Topical and new articles published daily. Total of 795 articles across 25 topics - this includes 83 news articles. These articles have been written by 525 authors based across the UK and internationally. All articles available here: www.economicsobservatory.com. On the website we have had 3.5 million page views since launch in May 2020. Traffic is steadily rising - we are currently seeing over 100k views per month from over 70k users. Agile pipeline using a flexible and responsive approach to commissioning new material has supported our engagement with policy contacts and generated high demand for policy engagement seminars. Themed weeks and summary pieces (which synthesise evidence from other articles published) are particularly useful mechanisms through which ECO can channel research to inform policy. The quality of articles and experts engaged with ECO also means that it has become key point of contact for journalists. • Website traffic. Web traffic was slightly reduced over Christmas for both academic and policy audiences but recovered strongly from January 2024. • Total page views: We have achieved 3.5 million page views and continue to draw over 75,000 users per month. The website currently gets about 4k views per day. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Website pipeline |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Creation and day to day running of website. Collecting questions and topic suggestions from stakeholders - primarily policy-makers but also students and the public (through courses, events and the website). These topics are collected through various channels, including direct communication with policy-makers, via our lead editor board and other academic and research partners, and submissions to the website. Coordinate pipeline, commission articles (synthesis of current available evidence, and themed weeks with topic focus), manage relationships with authors, copyedit content, align with data work/insert relevant visualisations, determine publication schedule, publish on website and create social media content to promote articles and charts. Coordinate lead editor board meetings and engagement to maintain partnerships. Commission newsletter content (published on website and sent out to mailing list) that draws together topics addressed in articles, highlights data/charts and promotes upcoming events or content. Commissioning also includes themed weeks and summary articles to focus on particular topic or policy area. |
| Collaborator Contribution | multilateral collaborative partnership with lead editor board. Partners: University of Cambridge; Cardiff University; Centre for Economic Performance (LSE); Institute for Fiscal Studies; Imperial College London; National Institute of Economic and Social Research; University of Oxford; Queen's University Belfast; University of Bristol; University of Glasgow; University of Manchester; University of Strathclyde. |
| Impact | Topical and new articles published daily. Total of 795 articles across 25 topics - this includes 83 news articles. These articles have been written by 525 authors based across the UK and internationally. All articles available here: www.economicsobservatory.com. On the website we have had 3.5 million page views since launch in May 2020. Traffic is steadily rising - we are currently seeing over 100k views per month from over 70k users. Agile pipeline using a flexible and responsive approach to commissioning new material has supported our engagement with policy contacts and generated high demand for policy engagement seminars. Themed weeks and summary pieces (which synthesise evidence from other articles published) are particularly useful mechanisms through which ECO can channel research to inform policy. The quality of articles and experts engaged with ECO also means that it has become key point of contact for journalists. • Website traffic. Web traffic was slightly reduced over Christmas for both academic and policy audiences but recovered strongly from January 2024. • Total page views: We have achieved 3.5 million page views and continue to draw over 75,000 users per month. The website currently gets about 4k views per day. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Website pipeline |
| Organisation | University of Strathclyde |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Creation and day to day running of website. Collecting questions and topic suggestions from stakeholders - primarily policy-makers but also students and the public (through courses, events and the website). These topics are collected through various channels, including direct communication with policy-makers, via our lead editor board and other academic and research partners, and submissions to the website. Coordinate pipeline, commission articles (synthesis of current available evidence, and themed weeks with topic focus), manage relationships with authors, copyedit content, align with data work/insert relevant visualisations, determine publication schedule, publish on website and create social media content to promote articles and charts. Coordinate lead editor board meetings and engagement to maintain partnerships. Commission newsletter content (published on website and sent out to mailing list) that draws together topics addressed in articles, highlights data/charts and promotes upcoming events or content. Commissioning also includes themed weeks and summary articles to focus on particular topic or policy area. |
| Collaborator Contribution | multilateral collaborative partnership with lead editor board. Partners: University of Cambridge; Cardiff University; Centre for Economic Performance (LSE); Institute for Fiscal Studies; Imperial College London; National Institute of Economic and Social Research; University of Oxford; Queen's University Belfast; University of Bristol; University of Glasgow; University of Manchester; University of Strathclyde. |
| Impact | Topical and new articles published daily. Total of 795 articles across 25 topics - this includes 83 news articles. These articles have been written by 525 authors based across the UK and internationally. All articles available here: www.economicsobservatory.com. On the website we have had 3.5 million page views since launch in May 2020. Traffic is steadily rising - we are currently seeing over 100k views per month from over 70k users. Agile pipeline using a flexible and responsive approach to commissioning new material has supported our engagement with policy contacts and generated high demand for policy engagement seminars. Themed weeks and summary pieces (which synthesise evidence from other articles published) are particularly useful mechanisms through which ECO can channel research to inform policy. The quality of articles and experts engaged with ECO also means that it has become key point of contact for journalists. • Website traffic. Web traffic was slightly reduced over Christmas for both academic and policy audiences but recovered strongly from January 2024. • Total page views: We have achieved 3.5 million page views and continue to draw over 75,000 users per month. The website currently gets about 4k views per day. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Writing/data masterclasses |
| Organisation | Bank of England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Writing course is led by ECO's director and editor-in-chief. Writing and communication training for professional and academic economists of various experience levels (from first year of professional experience to 10+ year civil servants). Participants receive tailored feedback on a writing sample submitted before the class together with a pack of communication resources after the session. Data masterclasses led by ECO director and data team. The one-day class introduces policy economists to a suite of programming skills and languages, including HMTL, CSS, JavaScript and Python. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Endorsement of the programme and publicity across government departments. Participants are permitted work time to complete the programme and the hours count towards the participants' continuous professional development time. |
| Impact | 4. Writing/data masterclasses: Over 200 participants have attended a writing/data masterclass. Both masterclasses have a 100% satisfaction rate with all participants that responded to the evaluation survey either being satisfied or strongly satisfied. Across the board, around 90% of participants that responded to the anonymous survey would recommend the programme to a colleague. Writing/data masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. Both writing and data classes are substantially oversubscribed, suggesting high levels of demand for this kind of service. • Writing masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. • Data masterclasses are in high demand. In terms of feedback, across the cohort taught over the past year, around 90% would recommend the class to a colleague, and 100% said the class helped them identify new tools and methods for data analysis. One challenge concerns system access: some government laptops block software downloads and even some online tools. This means the ECO teaching team must react to restrictions on a case-by-case basis. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Writing/data masterclasses |
| Organisation | Civil Service |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Writing course is led by ECO's director and editor-in-chief. Writing and communication training for professional and academic economists of various experience levels (from first year of professional experience to 10+ year civil servants). Participants receive tailored feedback on a writing sample submitted before the class together with a pack of communication resources after the session. Data masterclasses led by ECO director and data team. The one-day class introduces policy economists to a suite of programming skills and languages, including HMTL, CSS, JavaScript and Python. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Endorsement of the programme and publicity across government departments. Participants are permitted work time to complete the programme and the hours count towards the participants' continuous professional development time. |
| Impact | 4. Writing/data masterclasses: Over 200 participants have attended a writing/data masterclass. Both masterclasses have a 100% satisfaction rate with all participants that responded to the evaluation survey either being satisfied or strongly satisfied. Across the board, around 90% of participants that responded to the anonymous survey would recommend the programme to a colleague. Writing/data masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. Both writing and data classes are substantially oversubscribed, suggesting high levels of demand for this kind of service. • Writing masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. • Data masterclasses are in high demand. In terms of feedback, across the cohort taught over the past year, around 90% would recommend the class to a colleague, and 100% said the class helped them identify new tools and methods for data analysis. One challenge concerns system access: some government laptops block software downloads and even some online tools. This means the ECO teaching team must react to restrictions on a case-by-case basis. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Writing/data masterclasses |
| Organisation | HM Treasury |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Writing course is led by ECO's director and editor-in-chief. Writing and communication training for professional and academic economists of various experience levels (from first year of professional experience to 10+ year civil servants). Participants receive tailored feedback on a writing sample submitted before the class together with a pack of communication resources after the session. Data masterclasses led by ECO director and data team. The one-day class introduces policy economists to a suite of programming skills and languages, including HMTL, CSS, JavaScript and Python. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Endorsement of the programme and publicity across government departments. Participants are permitted work time to complete the programme and the hours count towards the participants' continuous professional development time. |
| Impact | 4. Writing/data masterclasses: Over 200 participants have attended a writing/data masterclass. Both masterclasses have a 100% satisfaction rate with all participants that responded to the evaluation survey either being satisfied or strongly satisfied. Across the board, around 90% of participants that responded to the anonymous survey would recommend the programme to a colleague. Writing/data masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. Both writing and data classes are substantially oversubscribed, suggesting high levels of demand for this kind of service. • Writing masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. • Data masterclasses are in high demand. In terms of feedback, across the cohort taught over the past year, around 90% would recommend the class to a colleague, and 100% said the class helped them identify new tools and methods for data analysis. One challenge concerns system access: some government laptops block software downloads and even some online tools. This means the ECO teaching team must react to restrictions on a case-by-case basis. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Writing/data masterclasses |
| Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Writing course is led by ECO's director and editor-in-chief. Writing and communication training for professional and academic economists of various experience levels (from first year of professional experience to 10+ year civil servants). Participants receive tailored feedback on a writing sample submitted before the class together with a pack of communication resources after the session. Data masterclasses led by ECO director and data team. The one-day class introduces policy economists to a suite of programming skills and languages, including HMTL, CSS, JavaScript and Python. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Endorsement of the programme and publicity across government departments. Participants are permitted work time to complete the programme and the hours count towards the participants' continuous professional development time. |
| Impact | 4. Writing/data masterclasses: Over 200 participants have attended a writing/data masterclass. Both masterclasses have a 100% satisfaction rate with all participants that responded to the evaluation survey either being satisfied or strongly satisfied. Across the board, around 90% of participants that responded to the anonymous survey would recommend the programme to a colleague. Writing/data masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. Both writing and data classes are substantially oversubscribed, suggesting high levels of demand for this kind of service. • Writing masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. • Data masterclasses are in high demand. In terms of feedback, across the cohort taught over the past year, around 90% would recommend the class to a colleague, and 100% said the class helped them identify new tools and methods for data analysis. One challenge concerns system access: some government laptops block software downloads and even some online tools. This means the ECO teaching team must react to restrictions on a case-by-case basis. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Writing/data masterclasses |
| Organisation | Office for National Statistics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Writing course is led by ECO's director and editor-in-chief. Writing and communication training for professional and academic economists of various experience levels (from first year of professional experience to 10+ year civil servants). Participants receive tailored feedback on a writing sample submitted before the class together with a pack of communication resources after the session. Data masterclasses led by ECO director and data team. The one-day class introduces policy economists to a suite of programming skills and languages, including HMTL, CSS, JavaScript and Python. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Endorsement of the programme and publicity across government departments. Participants are permitted work time to complete the programme and the hours count towards the participants' continuous professional development time. |
| Impact | 4. Writing/data masterclasses: Over 200 participants have attended a writing/data masterclass. Both masterclasses have a 100% satisfaction rate with all participants that responded to the evaluation survey either being satisfied or strongly satisfied. Across the board, around 90% of participants that responded to the anonymous survey would recommend the programme to a colleague. Writing/data masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. Both writing and data classes are substantially oversubscribed, suggesting high levels of demand for this kind of service. • Writing masterclasses added substantial value to the wider professional and academic economics community by enhancing communication. ECO's reputation as a trusted information hub attracted applications to the class. • Data masterclasses are in high demand. In terms of feedback, across the cohort taught over the past year, around 90% would recommend the class to a colleague, and 100% said the class helped them identify new tools and methods for data analysis. One challenge concerns system access: some government laptops block software downloads and even some online tools. This means the ECO teaching team must react to restrictions on a case-by-case basis. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Festival of Economics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | ECO brought together economists, policymakers, academics, practitioners, and the public at the Festival of Economics to discuss key economic and social questions facing the UK. Previously a collaboration with Bristol Ideas, the Festival has been led by the Economics Observatory from 2024-onwards, with continued collaboration on select events, including a Citizens' Panel with the Bank of England. Audience members attended from across the UK for a three-day programme of panel discussions, interviews, book talks, podcast recordings, networking, and debates. Over 2,700 tickets were sold across 14 events in 2024. Themes included food affordability and security, society and health, and building the future (write-ups on each are available on the website). This is the leading and largest Festival of Economics in the country and has become a key event in the calendar for policy-focused academics and policymakers. It also attracts a diverse audience of members of the public in Bristol. The event provides an excellent opportunity for these stakeholders to discuss and debate important topics and learn from one another. Unique Aspects of the Festival: Mix of session formats - book talks, podcast recordings, and expert panels. Expert-led panels - chaired by leading journalists and featuring economists, academics, and practitioners (e.g., a recent panel on food costs and insecurity included a representative from a local food bank). Writers in residence - bringing fresh perspectives to discussions. Data visualisations incorporated into the event - large, interactive touchscreens with maps and charts relevant to topics and audience engagement (audience members can interact directly or discuss the data with ECO team members). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/festival-of-economics-2023 |
| Description | Masterclasses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Economics Observatory writing masterclasses are led by director, Professor Richard Davies, and editor-in-chief, Romesh Vaitilingam. The masterclass offers academic economists and policy-makers an opportunity to receive tailored advice and guidance on how to advance their written and communication skills - to support a career in economics. Richard and Romesh have extensive experience in journalism, publishing, policy, and communications - experience they draw on during the seminar to provide participants with the tools to write effectively for a public audience. Ahead of the session participants are asked to prepare a short piece of writing for a public audience. This could be something nearly ready to go in terms of a research paper to publicise, a policy briefing or a research proposal (or indeed a past publication). The piece should be in the form of an elevator pitch, consisting of a headline and a few paragraphs describing the key findings, why they are important, and what should be done as a result. Participants receive an edited copy of this piece, with bespoke feedback on how they can improve the quality and impact of their work. Turning to the data classes, participants are taken from complete beginners to having an introductory understanding of multiple coding languages, including HMTL, CSS, JavaScript and Python and best practice in data visualisation. The course is centred around practical skills for economic and policy analysis, with a wide range of tools and ideas demonstrated and explained over a one-day session. Ahead of the session participants are asked to watch a short introductory set-up video, to help familiarise them with the key tools. They are also invited to bring their own datasets to the class, to ensure that the practical elements of the course are relevant to the policy/research areas they work in day-to-day. 96% of data masterclass attendees would recommend to a colleague; 81% would be interested in a more advanced class to continue building on skills. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024,2025 |
| URL | https://www.economicsobservatory.com/courses |
| Description | Policy seminars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Policy Seminars and Roundtables March 2023 - Policy Roundtable on Economic Inactivity, hosted in collaboration with the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), with ECO lead editor contributing to an online IPPO event. March 2023 - Policy Seminar on Rural Economies and Tourism. Speakers and attendees from University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, Dumfries and Galloway Council, The Usual Place, Economic Development Association Scotland, Better Lives Partnership, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), University of Swansea, South of Scotland Destination Alliance, National Centre for Resilience, South of Scotland Enterprise. May 2024 - Policy Seminar on Inequality and Education. Speakers and attendees from Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, Scottish Government, Institute for Education, University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, University of Surrey, Scottish Centre for Social Research, University of Sheffield, University of Bristol, University of Essex, University of Dundee, Department for Education, Scottish Government Learning Directorate, Big Urban Data Centre. June 2024 - Macroeconomic Modelling: A Review published. Roundtable held with senior civil servants and academics in November 2024. A technical roundtable scheduled for May 2025. August 2024 - Supply Side Model Review, Special Advisors Office, with John Van Reenen and Anna Valero. September 2024 - Policy Seminar on Fiscal Rules and Frameworks. Speakers and attendees from Scottish Fiscal Commission, Irish Fiscal Council, Office for Budget Responsibility, Birkbeck University of London, Institute for Government, University of the West of England, Centre for Economics and Business Research. September 2024 - UK Growth Diagnostics Seminar, Enterprise & Growth Unit. Followed by discussions with Fiscal Group (September 2024) and Economics Group (September 2024). November 2024 - LSE Masterclass Workshop, Economics and Fiscal. Training GES economists on writing and data visualization skills; led to plans for a second session in 2025. November 2024 - Macroeconomic Modelling Roundtable, Economics, with HMT discussing research priorities. Attended by the Director of Economics Group (HMT) and David Miles (OBR). December 2024 - OLG Presentation, Special Advisors Office. Presenting an OLG extension paper to John Van Reenen. January 2025 - OLG Project Group Meeting, Fiscal, Economics, Enterprise & Growth Unit. Presenting initial findings of the OLG report. January 2025 - FCA Paper and Conference, paper delivered under a formal agreement. January 2025 - GES Trade Seminar, GES. Thomas Sampson presenting on trade policy. February 2025 - ARI Dissemination, Economics. Engaged with Economics team to disseminate the ARI new document across LSE. February 2025 - OLG Seminar, Fiscal Group. Presented OLG findings to Jennifer Gray (Deputy Director, HMT). February 2025 - Tax Modelling Discussion, Economics Group. Meeting with Andy Stuckey (HMT). February 2025 - GES Green Finance Seminar, GES. Matthew Agarwala presenting on green finance. March 2025 - Dynamism Workshop, Economics Group, Enterprise & Growth Unit, DBT. Richard Davies workshop with officials in Economics Group (HMT), EGU (HMT), and DBT on dynamism and growth impacts. March 2025 - GES Housing Seminar, GES. Eric Protzer giving a talk on UK growth diagnostics Connect cutting edge contemporary research and academic thought with policy audiences working on live policy projects, prioritising themes related to new government's 'pillars of growth'. Monthly seminar series to bridge the gap between both groups and encourage evidence informed policy-making. Civil servants from GES across UK government departments and international academics. Knowledge exchange between academics and civil servants working on live policy issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023,2024,2025 |
| Description | Public engagements |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | ECO's presence and engagement with public events and academic conferences has a number of benefits: - Raises the profile of our work - both data focused and articles highlighting research evidence - increasing readership and engagement. - Helps ECO team to be aware of new and cutting-edge research and to make connections with academic experts, including to commission articles for pipeline and for future policy seminars. - Enables ECO team to identify topics of interest on which they can commission evidence synthesis articles - To engage and network with researchers at different stages of their careers and highlight ECO as a resource and an output for their research. o Promoted ECO to various stakeholders including academics, policy-makers and students at a number of conferences and public events including: American Economic Association ASSA annual meeting (January), Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (January), Conference of Heads of University De-partments of Economics (January and April), Scottish Economic Society, Roy-al Economic Society joint conference (April), Outlier 2023 (May), ESCoE Con-ference on Economic Measurement (May), American Economic Association Conference on Teaching and Research in Economics Education (June), De-velopments in Economics Education Conference (September), Government Economic Service Conference (October), Federal Reserve of St Louis Con-ference for Professors (November). o Adam Smith 300 (June). Promoting ECO outputs on lessons from Adam Smith for the 21st century, including launching ECO4 magazine. Co-hosting and run-ning student book cover competition. ECO was also promoted at the tercen-tenary launch at the Scottish Parliament in January. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024,2025 |
| URL | https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/adamsmith300 |