The Health of the Social Sciences

Lead Research Organisation: Lancaster University
Department Name: Linguistics and English Language

Abstract

The UK academic community is entering a challenging period. For the social sciences the challenges are profound - the Higher Education funding landscape is turbulent, the Covid pandemic is disrupting student flows both domestically and internationally and the productivity of researchers is being impacted. Covid related factors seem to be impacting differently across disciplines, protected characteristics and Universities. There is also evidence that the impact of the Covid pandemic may vary at a regional level also. All of this is happening at a time when major geopolitical and domestic events threaten to further exacerbate the issues discussed. Changes in UK/China and UK/EU relations could, for example, impact on the flow of fee paying students to the UK. Similarly changes arising from the Augar review may yet provide further challenges for the sector.

In this context, there is a need to monitor the health of UK social sciences over a critical period of intense pressure on universities. In part that is to provide an observatory than can warn, in an evidence based fashion, of emerging and developing issues. Yet it is also necessary because the context outlined is one in which there are potentially rich research opportunities for the social sciences - the observatory function of this grant has, accordingly, as much focus on identifying opportunities as threats. This project will establish this observatory, based on a collaboration between Lancaster University and the Academy of Social Sciences.

Publications

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Description Changes and challenges brought about by Brexit and Covid are complex - at
institutional, discipline and individual levels - with some clear differential impacts for the
social sciences.
2. Academic staff at all levels rose to the Covid response and pulled together.
Frequent reports of staff exhaustion and 'burn out' caused by the sheer effort put into
making the simultaneous transition in teaching and home working/caring happen under
lockdown, and in sustaining it. HE management responded well and imaginatively to
the demands placed on them.
3. Teaching modes and working from home are likely to see long-term changes
(especially in the non-lab-based sectors that include most of the social sciences) that
may also impact on strategic decisions over university estate management. Covid
demonstrated that large scale online teaching is possible; and some students are
expressing a preference for some content to be delivered online. International PGT
students, dominated by Chinese nationals, are one such group. Strategic decisions will
need to be made about when and for whom to use online teaching and when not.
4. Complex impacts of the pressures above on staff. Three groups were identified
as particularly affected in multiple different and intersecting ways: ECR/PGR; female
(with childcare or other caring responsibilities); and mid-career (with additional
administrative or leadership responsibilities). It especially hit their current research
continuity and research planning capacity, and the development of the pipeline in terms
of the PGR/ECR cohort.
Highly differentiated effects on research at the individual level - some had a 'good
covid' and others did not. This led to unpredicted distortions to research activity and
possibly to research grant applications. Some social scientists whose work was fieldbased, location specific, or based on face-to-face qualitative methods, were especially
impacted. Loss of research funding where the social sciences excelled, specifically
ODA (GCRF) and EU funding will further add to differential impacts. However, social
scientists also benefitted significantly from their success in Covid-related and Brexitrelated research, including successes in the associated UKRI calls.
6. Pandemic experiences brought about further changes in the research culture in
the social sciences and may have also helped to accelerate changes that were
already underway beforehand. The changes reported include enhanced approaches to
mission-oriented research, multi-disciplinary research and locally focused research
(and teaching), and to collaboration in general. This offers institutions and funders
strategic pathways for building future research agendas.
7. Student numbers in the social sciences remained robust and increased at
UG/PGT despite initial fears otherwise. This largely resulted from changes to A Level
marking in both 2020 and 2021 leading to a bulge in home student entry in many, but
not all, institutions; and from additional measures put in place to boost international
PGT recruitment, which more than compensated for falling numbers of EU students
from 2021. Social science faculties are facing strategic decisions over whether to retain
extended numbers or revert to pre-Covid planned levels.
8. Student increases (UG and PGT) in the social sciences were disproportionately
high in disciplines that might more readily be identified by applicants as
professional (business and management, law, economics), vocational (education),
and/or that enjoy among the highest A Level student numbers (business and
management, sociology). This is not currently a threat to institutional support across the
breadth of social sciences but is a trend that has the capacity in the long term to
reshape the social sciences.
9. Initial fears of financial difficulties arising from student responses did not
materialise and, in early 2022, the financial position in the social sciences was
reported as better than many had feared. However, that may be short-lived in the face
of recent government policy for HEI funding and once access to EU funding is decided.
Future challenges are coming that will be disproportionately felt in the social sciences.
10. Brexit impacts on staffing in the social sciences is still working its way through.
Currently a steady trickle is reported of EU nationals returning 'home'. This was
believed likely to increase as future access, or otherwise, to EU funding clarifies and
face-to-face teaching returns fully. Differential impacts on certain disciplines may be
anticipated as proportions of EU origin staff vary considerably. A negative change in
attitude to UK collaboration on EU funding applications was widely reported.
11. Future levels of research funding for social sciences are under pressure and
likely to be even more competitive. Central government direct spend and charitable funding has essentially been flat since 2010. UKRI spend has been up somewhat due
largely to multi-disciplinary mission-led initiatives like GCRF and the Industrial Strategy,
but Brexit is now impacting through the likely loss of EU Horizon funding in which the
social sciences did disproportionately well. This is happening at a time when, arguably,
the need for better social science data infrastructure, and more social science research
and evidence is greater than ever given current UK and global challenges.
12. With the tuition fee freeze further extended, teaching income is also now under
pressure with institutions reporting income is no longer covering teaching costs in the
social sciences, let alone STEM. Some see international students as the main way to
bring in more teaching income in the social sciences, as even during Covid
international student numbers were healthy. But expansions in international student
numbers could put pressure on the numbers of UK students that can be accepted.
Others are looking to try to diversify income sources.
13. There will be differential impacts across different university groups, with the
Post-92 group perceived to be relatively more vulnerable, although this does not
apply to all institutions. This group expressed greater concerns over the introduction of
employability metrics and minimum grade entry requirements. The challenges for some
of the Post-92 group raises questions as to whether we will start to see greater
differentiation in HE. It also raises some serious concerns over the effects on access to
higher education among the most disadvantaged groups in society, on training for key
workers, and on 'levelling up'.
14. At the time of our most recent data gathering, in early February to early April
2022, confidence across the social sciences community was high, although
uncertainty about the future was starting to creep in. Social science leaders felt that the
past two years had underscored the importance of the social sciences to universities
and society in research, financial and employment terms, and that this had been
recognised. It is undoubtedly something to build upon.
15. The decisions in 2023 over research funding will be critical
in affecting whether or not the UK retains a world leading reputation in social
science research and further develops the applications of that research to the
challenges facing the UK and the world. It is vital that social science research is fully
recognised and supported in any UK replacement for EU funding and in future UKRI
strategic funding and multi-disciplinary cross-Council programmes.
Exploitation Route Of use both to research funders and research organizations with an interest in the social science research base.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare,Other
URL https://acss.org.uk/wp-content/uploads//SSTC-Final-Project-Report-210722-.pdf
 
Description The grant led to the establishment of a forum for Deans of social sciences to coordinate activity and share experiences. This group receives input from and provides guidance to relevant stakeholders.
First Year Of Impact 2022
Sector Education,Government, Democracy and Justice
Impact Types Societal,Policy & public services