News: research and funding
On this page, we report on the latest news about research and funding in the world of socio-legal studies. This can include information from the major UK funders, launches of research projects or research centres, calls for collaboration, in fact, any aspect of academic research that is of interest to socio-legal scholars.
Items will usually be retained for a period of about three months, or until any significant dates have passed.
If you would like a news item included on this page. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Latest . . .
AHRC: Change to 'Early Career Researcher' definition in light of pandemic
Funding bodies and other related organisations
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
Criminal Cases Review Committee
International Research Collaboratives
Legal Education Research Network
National Centre for Research Methods
Science and Technology Select Committee
Sociolegal Model-Making Project
UK Administrative Justice Institute
Women and Leadership International
Academy of Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is the voice of social sciences in the UK.
The Academy is composed of over 800 individual academicians and 44 learned societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors. Most of the learned societies (including the SLSA) in the social sciences in the United Kingdom are represented within the Academy.
Please visit the AcSS website for full details.
AHRC
AHRC: Change to 'Early Career Researcher' definition in light of pandemic
The AHRC has adapted its definition of ‘Early Career Researchers’ for existing grant-holders and prospective applicants in light of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the new definition, which you can read in full in the AHRC’s latest Funding Guide, Early Career Researchers are now defined as being either within eight years of the date of successfully completing a PhD viva (or equivalent professional training) or within six years of a first academic appointment, not including any period of career break such as for family care, health reasons or reasons consequent upon the Covid-19 pandemic, e.g. home schooling or increased teaching load..
AHRC Research in Film Awards: now open for 2021 entries
The AHRC Research in Film Awards (RIFA) is the only film awards dedicated to celebrating and recognising arts and humanities research through film. The prize fund is £25,000. There are five categories - two of which are open to the public. Please see wesbite for details. Closing date: 24 June 2021.
Trans-Atlantic Platform: Recovery, renewal and resilience in a post-pandemic world: open for applications
The RRR programme aims to address key gaps in our understanding of the dynamic and complex interaction of medium and long term societal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This understanding, in turn, should advance knowledge of how to mitigate the negative societal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and support recovery and renewal in a post-pandemic world. Applicants are required to submit novel interdisciplinary and significant social sciences and humanities research proposals. See website for further details. Closing date: 12 July 2021.
UKRII Research and innovation ideas to address Covid-19: open call with no deadline
The AHRC welcomes applications to the UKRI open call for research and innovation ideas to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. See website for details.
Researchers in residence
Researchers in Residence (RinR), funded by RCUK with support from the Wellcome Trust, brings together researchers, young people and teachers via exciting and innovative placements in secondary schools and colleges across the UK. The scheme is open to all PhD and post-doctoral researchers funded directly or indirectly by one of the seven UK Research Councils or the Wellcome Trust.
British Academy
The British Academy's funding page is constantly updated.
British Academy Funding Call – Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research 2022
The British Academy is inviting proposals from UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences wishing to develop international interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with colleagues from the natural, engineering and / or medical sciences, focusing on the question, 'what is a good city?'. See website for details. Deadline for submissions: 29 September 2021.
UK-Poland Knowledge Frontiers Symposium on ‘Just Transitions’: applications invited from early career researchers invited
The British Academy is inviting applications from early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences to participate in a virtual Knowledge Frontiers Symposium on the broad theme of Just Transitions. The symposium will take place over a series of dates during November and December 2021 and is being hosted by the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. Please see announcement for details. Closing date: 21 July 2021.
British Library
Social welfare portal
Please visit the social welfare portal, test the service, and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. your feedback. You can also read a blog post about the portal.
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
New graduate funding opportunities for under-represented groups, including new Black Academic Futures scholarships for DPhil in Socio-Legal Studies
The CSLS is keen to disseminate information about new opportunities for under-represented groups to study on our research degree programmes. We would be grateful if academic colleagues could draw the attention of promising black students to the scheme outlined below. Potential students interested in applying to the CSLS and applying for a scholarship are invited to contact the Director of the Centre, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for an informal talk.
The University of Oxford and its colleges are working hard to increase the number of promising postgraduate students from under-represented groups at Oxford. As part of our programme to transform our graduate population by creating more funding opportunities for under-represented groups, we’re proud to announce a major new PhD scholarship scheme: Black Academic Futures. Black Academic Futures will offer full scholarships for up to 10 UK Black and Mixed-Black students applying to start DPhil/PhD study in 2021–22.
Find out more about funding opportunities for under-represented groups and the university’s graduate access initiatives on the Graduate Access website.
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies wins grant to support lay users of virtual justice systems during Covid-19
The Centre for Socio-legal Studies has received a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. See press release for full details.
ESRC
Administrative Data Research Partnership launched by the ESRC
Combined data from across government and hundreds of UK public bodies will be used to improve healthcare, education, business growth and the fight against crime by making it available to world-leading research teams. The Administrative Data Research Partnership will maximise the potential of administrative data as a resource for high-quality innovative research in the UK. See website for further details.
ESRC New Investigator Grants: call
Applications are invited for this new scheme. Awards will be from £100,000 to £300,000. Please see website for details. This is an open call with no closing date.
Higher Education Academy
The Higher Education Academy (HEA) provides services to the higher education sector for individual learning and teaching professionals, senior managers in institutions and for subject and discipline groups. Please visit website for further information.
International Research Collaboratives
‘Law, Reason and Emotion’ – call for expressions of interest
The Law and Society Association (LSA) has awarded the status of International Research Collaborative (IRC) to the network entitled Law, Reason and Emotion. Please see attachment for full details of this IRC and of the call.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is an endowed charity that funds a large, UK-wide research and development programme. It seeks to understand the root causes of social problems, to identify ways of overcoming then and to show how social needs can be met in practice.
Please visit the website for more information.
Law and Society Association
The Law and Society Association was set up in the USA in 1964 to support its members in developing theoretical and empirical understandings of law. See the website for full details.
Legal Education Research Network
For information on the Legal Education Research Network (LERN) please see website.
Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Trust newsletter
The Trust publishes a newsletter three times per year.
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice: Areas of research interest
The Ministry of Justice has recently published its Areas of Research Interest. This document can be found here. It highlights the Ministry of Justice’s strategic evidence gaps with a focus on long-term and cross-cutting gaps in understanding. The aim is also to engage with the external community to expand and deepen the department’s underpinning evidence base. The Chief Social Researchers at the Ministry of Justice are keen to hear from researchers working on any of the strategic evidence gaps outlined in the Areas of Research Interest. Please do get in touch and describe in a few sentences what you are doing. The email address is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Court statistics
View the latest court statistics: published quarterly.
National Centre for Research Methods
The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) is a network of research groups, each conducting research and training in social science research methods. It is co-ordinated from a hub in the University of Southampton and nodes across UK universities. NCRM provides a focal point for research, training and capacity-building activities. These activities are aimed at promoting a step change in the quality and range of methodological skills and techniques used by the UK social science community, and providing support for, and dissemination of, methodological innovation and excellence within the UK.
The NCRM provides regular email bulletins. To register, please visit the subscriptions page. The centre also runs regular training events.
Nuffield Foundation
The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors. Lord Nuffield wanted to contribute to improvements in society, including the expansion of education and the alleviation of disadvantage. He called this the ‘advancement of social well-being’, and emphasised the importance of education, training and research in achieving that goal. Today, the foundation works to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation in education and social policy. the foundation is also increasing the proliferation and quality of research and professional skills – both in science and social sciences – through its capacity-building programmes.
Nuffield Foundation: Understanding communities fund – register your interest
Researchers are invited to register their interest in applying for this new research and policy collaboration from the British Academy and the Nuffield Foundation which will award over £500,000 in research funding to identify practical solutions to increase the cohesion and resilience of local communities in the UK. See website for details. Applications will open in late spring 2021.
Latest findings from Nuffield Foundation Covid-19 projects
The Nuffield Foundations has awarded £2 million for research that will help identify how to mitigate the social impacts of the pandemic, particularly for those who are worst affected. Its partner organisations, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute, and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory are also responding to the pandemic. See the webpage for the latest updates.
Research Cluster in Law, Justice and Society, Oxford
A new Research Cluster in Law, Justice and Society has been launched at Wolfson College, in collaboration with the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society (FLJS). The research cluster will join several other research clusters created under the guidance of college President, Professor Hermione Lee, which draw on the outstanding scholarly strengths and interests within the college to foster innovative approaches to interdisciplinary research.
Please see flyer for further details or visit the cluster website.
Research Councils UK
Each year the Research Councils invest around £3 billion in research covering the full spectrum of academic disciplines from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences and the arts and humanities.
RCUK statement on international collaboration post-EU referendum
The outcome of the EU referendum raises questions for UK researchers and international partners about the Research Councils’ international activities and collaborations. RCUK's statment can be found on the website.
Restorative Justice Council
Access to and experiences of restorative justice for BAME young people
The Restorative Justice Council is embarking on a research project to gain a better understanding of the access to and experiences of restorative justice for BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) young people who have offended. In addition to a lack of research in relation to BAME young people and criminal justice, there is also a perception among some practitioners that there are problems in effectively engaging and delivering restorative interventions with this group. The aim of the research is to develop practical solutions for the restorative field and recommendations for change to future policy development.
For more information please contact the RJC’s senior research officer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sociolegal Model-Making Project
The Sociolegal Model Making Project explores the risks and rewards of using design-based strategies, and model-making in particular, to enhance socio-legal research – that is, research that interprets law as a social phenomenon.
Please see website for details.
UK Research and Innovation
Operating across the whole of the UK with a combined budget of more than £6 billion, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) brings together the seven Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England. Research England will work closely with its partner organisations in the devolved administrations.